The winery Three Sticks does not owe its name to vines stuck in the soil of Sonoma but to its founder, Bill Price III, whose surfer buddies called him “Three Sticks.”

Born in Los Angeles, he got his love of wine via his French father. After achieving success as a lawyer, he joined GE Capital to work for CEO Jack Welch, as well as co-founding Texas Pacific Group, a private equity firm, which in 1995 purchased Beringer Vineyards and invested in Chateau St. Jean, whose Durell Vineyards Price bought in 1996 and launched Three Sticks in 2002.

“I realized I’d made all the money I needed to make in my career,” Bill says, “and I longed to return to something that brought me back in touch with the natural world on a more regular basis. Now we own six beautiful Sonoma Coast vineyards.”

Today his Price Family Vineyards & Estates includes ownership of Durell, Three Sticks, Gap’s Crown, Walala, Alana, One Sky, and William James Vineyard. And ownership of Kistler Vineyards, Gary Farrell Winery, and Head High.

Three Sticks makes only Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines (plus a small number of Rhȏne varietals), now overseen by Prema Kerollis as co-founder and general manager, who had worked with Price at TPG. In 2012, she oversaw the preservation and design of the Vallejo Casteñada Adobe, now home to the Three Sticks tasting salon in downtown Sonoma. Ryan Prichard joined the winemaking team at Three Sticks in 2015 and in 2023 was promoted to the position of Director of Winemaking. My interview was while they were on a trip to New York.

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