Iridesse Wines is a small family-owned and operated winery. Who is this family? We are Patrick and Genevieve Llerena and our daughter Malia. It is our pleasure to present Iridesse Wines. After about six years of development, Iridesse is the sum of our efforts in wine to date. We each took a rather circuitous route to get here.

Patrick left almost a decade in the political world of our Nation’s Capital in 1995. He returned to his native California to chase his wine dreams. Patrick started in Calistoga where he began working at Clos Pegase Winery. Over the next five years he gained further experience with Robert Biale Vineyards, Silverado Vineyards and Dominus Estate. But, still there was something missing. And then, on one warm October night his life was changed. It was then that he met Genevieve…

Genevieve left her engineering career in Portland, Oregon in search of a warmer and dryer climate. Also a Southern Californian, she returned and landed in Healdsburg where her father and stepmother, Barry and Phyllis Rodgers, had decided to plant a vineyard. Well, the vineyard soon became a winery and Chateau Felice Winery was born. Genevieve became the winemaker and it was about that time that she met Patrick…

In the summer of 2000 Patrick and Genevieve married and decided to start their own winemaking project. In this project Patrick would take the lead in winemaking. We called our company, Viña de la Cruz and started by making a little Sangiovese and Zinfandel.

In the Fall of 2002, right after the harvest, the family grew by one more. Malia Susanna was born. In the winery Malia holds the title of Assistant. She’ll assist anything she can get her hands on. She certainly keeps everyone on their toes. Although she has started Kindergarten, she is still the center of all the glimmers in our pond.