Hobo Wine Company

Kenny Likitprakong, owner and winemaker of Hobo Wine Company, in the vineyard
History

Kenny Likitprakong launched Hobo in 2002 with two barrels of Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. The company has been based in Santa Rosa, California since 2013.

Sourcing

Owns no vineyards and buys fruit from growers across California he has known for years. The company gives 1% of gross revenue to environmental nonprofits through 1% for the Planet.

Winemaking

Kenny works backward from a target price, aiming for quality bottles at about 17 to 35 dollars. Output is roughly 30,000 cases a year.

The wines

Labels include Hobo, Folk Machine, Banyan, Camp, Edith & Ida and Ghostwriter, covering a wide range of California varieties and styles.

The short version

Kenny Likitprakong's Sonoma-based negociant project making honest, affordable wines from longstanding grower relationships across California.
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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. We carry the Jeanne D'Arc Orange.

Natural Winemakers

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