About Us – Charlie & Echo

Our Winery

We’re an urban winery in San Diego producing

natural, craft wine from local vineyards.

We’re on a mission to produce wines that exemplify San Diego.
Not only its terroir, but its cuisine, culture, and lifestyle.

We’re veteran-owned, woman-owned, small, independent, innovative, and care about everything we make.

And we like to have fun

Wine being poured from tank tap into glass

Four wine bottles on a table above a handwritten Charlie and Echo sign

Wasps and bees flying over a bin full of grapes

Grapes fermenting in a bin being punched down

Wine dropping from a tank into a man's mouth

Natural

We make our wines relying only on the naturally occurring microbiome, with as little intervention as possible and no chemical "corrections".

Local

We source from vineyards in San Diego County - the oldest and newest wine region in California. We love making wine from the area in which we live.

Urban

We're a fully functioning winery - just located in the city instead of the country.

Beyond Wine

While our wines are purist, we also love creating wine beverages - mimosas, sangrias, amaros. We make all kinds of crazy.

Woman Veteran Owned

That'd be Charlie. Feel free to call her Sarge.

Charlie (aka Clara)

Charlie has traveled the world. Bargained in exotic bazaars. Been inked by an octopus. Stared down machine gun yielding militias. Eaten boa constrictor. She's the most interesting woman in the world.

(Funny part is, that's all true.)

Echo (aka Eric)

Echo is a physics grad school dropout. He used to study charmonium. He used to be smart. Now he makes wine.

(Again, that's all true. Just not nearly as interesting.)

Beyond Carbon Neutral

We're happy to be a member of 1% for the Planet, and give 1% of our sales back to the environment — whether or not we are profitable.

With every vintage, we offset the complete carbon footprint of our wines, from grape growing, to wine making, packaging, and transportation.

Then, with every purchase you make, we use a portion of the sale to obtain even more carbon offsets.

Simply put, every purchase you make of Charlie & Echo has a positive impact on our climate (not just neutral).

We're also proud to be a Certified Green Business with the California Green Business Network. Certified Green Businesses exceed all environmental regulations, and implement specific practices to reduce pollution, save water, conserve energy, and protect human health.

In the News

All links go to externally hosted content

not created or owned by Charlie & Echo.

“Small but mighty, the independently-owned urban winery produces its natural craft wine from local vineyards, emphasizing the wine’s “authentic character” by preserving the naturally occurring yeast created during the production process.”

Where to Drink Wine in San Diego Right NowEater San Diego

“Charlie and Echo stands out for its small, but fun atmosphere and lineup of local craft wine. What’s more, operating on the belief in helping protect the planet, every sale made gives one percent back to the environment no matter what.”

10 Of The Best Wineries
In San Diego

Modern Luxury

“Here's a fascinating wine from Charlie & Echo in San Diego County—an area once viewed as the wild west of wine regions—but I've learned recently to be impressed.”

5 Sparkling Red American Wines Ideal For Tonight's DinnerForbes

“Making wine is an art and Eric Van Drunen never gets tired of creating...”

The crown jewel of craft beverage producersSpectrum 1 News

Woman tasting wine with a surprised expression

“This is so good, like I can't even...”

Charlie And Echo WineryJenny Milkowski

“Purists might balk at the notion of giving sacrosanct wine the craft brew treatment, but Charlie & Echo’s customers don’t register so stodgy.”

The character driven wines of Charlie & EchoSan Diego Reader

“Van Drunen at Charlie & Echo makes fantastic natural sparkling, white, rosé, and red wines from grapes grown in San Diego that you can try at their Miramar tasting room.”

A Wine Expert's Guide to Natural WinesSan Diego Magazine

Distro

If you're a restaurant, bar, or retailer looking to carry our wine, we love you already!

Here are our awesome distributors...

CA - Stay Classy Selections
DC, MD, VA - Well Crafted Wine & Beverage Co

Your state not in the list? Let us know who your favorite distributor is and we'll follow up.

Want to distribute us? You seem cool, we'd love to work together.

Assets

Images below are intended for use solely by the media, retailers and partners in connection with Charlie & Echo. Copyright is retained by the holder noted with each image. Any use must be authorized by Charlie & Echo. High resolution versions may be downloaded from each image.

Tasting room bar at night with people drinking

Two bottles and glasses of white and rose wine on a table

Tasting room bar during the day with people drinking

Black and white photo of a woman drinking a glass of wine