Hobo Wine Company is the brainchild of Kenny Likitprakong, a Santa Rosa native who has spent more than two decades building a business around a simple idea: making wine he can actually afford to drink.
Backstory
Kenny grew up in Sonoma County, where his father Somchai managed the winery Domaine Saint George. He found his first winemaking job in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1999 and launched Hobo in 2002 with two barrels of Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. The "Hobo" name nods to his early years working from place to place, and to the fact that he owns no vineyards of his own, instead sourcing fruit from growers he has known for years.
The Region
Hobo has been based in Santa Rosa, California since 2013, drawing fruit from vineyards across the state, with early roots in Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel and a continued focus on Sonoma County and beyond.
Vineyards & Farming
Rather than farming his own land, Kenny works through longstanding relationships with vineyard owners around California. The company participates in 1% for the Planet, giving one percent of its gross revenue to vetted environmental nonprofits.
Winemaking
Kenny builds his wines backward from a price, asking what a bottle should cost and whether he can get there honestly, while keeping quality high. The result is a portfolio of roughly 30,000 cases a year, with bottles held between about 17 and 35 dollars.
The Wines
The work spans several labels, including Hobo, Folk Machine, Banyan, Camp, Edith & Ida and Ghostwriter, covering a wide range of California varieties and styles.
