When you visit Big White House Winery & John Evan Cellars, be prepared to engage your senses with awesome wine and expand you mind with new knowledge about what you’ve tasted. In wine, and in life, balance is the key. Big reds like Syrah & Petite Sirah need to be allowed to show their fortitude, but also need to exercise some restraint. This is how Big White House & John Evan Cellars makes wine.

The team is John Evan Marion, winemaker; Jessica Carroll, assistant winemaker; John Marion “the Elder,” winemaker emeritus; and Stephanie Rebiejo, VP & club manager. Each bottle features a label painted by John Evan’s sister, Laura Marion, & the tasting room is filled with her artwork.

John “the Elder” originally started Big White House in the backyard and in 1998 went commercial, although still made wine at a small scale. With the help of a supportive community, the winery grew from hobby scale to boutique-size, producing nano-lots of premium wines with an emphasis on Syrah, Petite Sirah, and hard-to-find varieties. When John Evan turned 21, he launched his reserve brand, John Evan Cellars, and began taking over winemaking and management for the original Big White House label.

The winery still maintains its small size, intimate atmosphere, and promotion of education and enthusiasm for wine. Priding themselves on the use of traditional methods, the winemakers use minimal intervention and yet, with methods such as co-fermentation, still practice innovation. Visit Big White House and John Evan Cellars at the end of Greenville Road in Livermore to engage your senses: by taste and smell from the wine; by your eyes from the paintings and excellent vineyard view; by your ears from our fun, enthusiastic, and educational stories.