September 14, 2026 (Sonoma, CA) — Sonoma Valley’s Hamel has appointed Chris McFall as National Sales Manager, Western Region. McFall joins the biodynamically farmed winery from Healdsburg’s three-Michelin-starred SingleThread, where he served as Wine Director the past five years.
McFall has a distinguished background in wine and hospitality and was named one of the country’s Best New Sommeliers by Wine & Spirits Magazine in 2012, based on their poll of industry peers. He joined SingleThread in 2020 as a sommelier and has been Wine Director since 2022, overseeing an acclaimed wine program that is notable for its meticulous selection. Prior to SingleThread, McFall developed and led the award-winning beverage program at Lazy Bear, a two-Michelin-Star restaurant in San Francisco. Earlier in his career, he was a sommelier with the Grand Award-winning team at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse in Houston.
“Chris has a passion for terroir-driven wine and an extensive network of sommeliers, wine buyers, and distributors,” noted Taylr Cuneo, Hamel’s General Manager. “His relationships and ability to forge meaningful connections with the wine trade fit perfectly with Hamel’s effort to challenge some of the long-standing conventions of wine sales and help change how wine is shared, experienced, and brought to market.”
Chris McFall noted, “The wines of Hamel captivated my full attention and plucked my heartstrings with the high level of quality, varietal specificity, and commitment to terroir. Each varietal has such purity and honesty about them, and they collectively tell an incredible story of a place and time. The people behind the magic of Hamel are a big draw for me as well.”
Hamel makes estate-grown wines from certified biodynamic and organic vineyards on the western hillsides of the Mayacamas Mountains in the Moon Mountain District and Sonoma Valley. Under the direction of winemaker John Hamel, the winery has embraced a micro-terroir-based winegrowing approach, tailoring vineyard and winemaking practices to the unique volcanic terroir of the hillside vineyards. Hamel has close to 100 acres of planted vineyards, including Nuns Canyon Vineyard, Hamel Estate, and Tres Palmas Vineyard, and a majority of the acreage is dry farmed. Hamel wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, and Sauvignon Blanc, with distribution in 19 states.
Hamel is located at 15401 Sonoma Highway, Sonoma, CA 95476. Additional information is available at www.hamelfamilywines.com.
About Hamel
Pamela and George Hamel began growing grapes on an acre of land in the Sonoma Valley town of Kenwood in 2006, from which they made a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon. That site became the Tres Palmas Vineyard and remains a source of grapes for Hamel wines. In 2010, they acquired 120 acres of land farther south in Sonoma Valley, which would become the Hamel Estate vineyard and home of the Hamel winery estate. Three years later, in 2013, they purchased Nuns Canyon Vineyard in the Moon Mountain District, which they have developed into their flagship vineyard site. The Hamels broke ground on the winery on-site in 2012 and opened it in 2014.
