About McConnell Estates Winery

McConnell Estates Winery is an award-winning, family-owned and operated winery in Elk Grove, California. For six generations, the Wackman family has farmed the land just north of the Cosumnes River, with the fifth and sixth generations now producing our 20+ estate-grown wines (Cosumnes River AVA, Lodi appellation). Enjoy wine tasting in the comfort of our historic, hundred-year-old homestead Tasting Room, and join us at our 20+ events hosted throughout the year, including concerts, wine-pairing dinners, holiday events, and more.

Our History

The Wackman brothers—Howard III, Michael, and Alan—are a fifth-generation farming family who own and operate Wackman Ranch in Elk Grove, California. Mike first decided to plant grapes on their ranch in 1993 after he and his brothers started to believe that the red clay soils in Elk Grove would produce full-flavored and unique wines.

After experimenting for a few more years, Mike decided to get serious about winemaking in 2003, opening up McConnell Estates Winery with Howard and Alan that same year. Right out of the gate, Mike won a Gold Medal at the CA State Fair with the first commercial vintage he ever produced.

Now, more than 20 years later, Mike has quite a few award-winning wines under his belt, including our most recent 2020 ACW Malbec, which is named after his brother Alan. Today, Howard grows the grapes on our sprawling 650-acre estate while Mike turns those grapes into award-winning wines that speak to the unique character and beauty of the Cosumnes River AVA.

You can visit our Tasting Room, which resides in a remodeled ranch house that was originally built by the Wackman family in 1860. Wines like our Sheepherder’s Blend and Barbera pay homage to the Wackman family’s origins as sheep farmers on this very land that we now grow our grapes on.