At the age of 22, Michael Honig took the reins of his struggling family vineyard and winery. With an old meat locker for an office, a shoebox marked "Misc" for an accounting system, and without any formal training, he began canvassing the streets of San Francisco, selling wine and delivering it himself.
Over the last 30 years, Michael has surrounded himself with an incredible team, and transformed the family business into a thriving success. With his seemingly endless energy, Michael, often referred to as "the James Brown of the wine industry," spends 75% of his time out in the world connecting with people and introducing them to Honig wines.
A leader in sustainable farming, he chaired the first California initiative to develop a "Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices," a voluntary program establishing statewide guidelines for sustainable farming and winemaking, and in 2005, took part in an innovative pilot program to help train yellow lab puppies to detect vine mealy bugs in the vineyard, thus, lowering the need for pesticides. Michael sits on the board of directors of the Napa Valley Vintners Association, as well as the boards of several other organizations including: the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance; California Farm Service Agency State Committee; Napa Crimestoppers; and Tower Road Wine Storage.
Regina Weinstein came to work for the family business in 1997, following a 15-year stint as a Product Marketing Manager in the high-tech world, bringing with her a wealth of knowledge and creativity. As Director of Marketing and Retail, she handles all aspects of marketing for the winery: design and creation of marketing materials (yes, the infamous Honig postcards); package design; the Honig website; sales materials; and handles social media for the winery. She also oversees Retails operations, including the Tasting Room and E-commerce.
Regina lives in Napa, with younger sons Ethan and Aidan. Older son Raphael runs the Honig wine club, and daughter Devin is a free-lance photographer who does all of the photography for the winery. Regina sits on the board of the Rutherford Dust Society, and Mentis Napa; founded the Rutherford Appellation Wineries; and serves on the Marketing and Communications Committee for the Napa Valley Vintners.
Was raised in San Francisco and enjoyed weekends with his brothers and family in Napa Valley riding mini bikes and tractors at the vineyard. In 1986, he graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder and went to work for the fledgling family winery as a sales rep in Los Angeles. After a year, he decided to move to Sweden, where he ran a bike messenger company, imported mountain bikes and parts and raced mountain bikes on an international level.
In 1994, Steven returned to San Francisco, remaining in the mountain biking industry serving as Director of Sales and Promotions for a sports marketing company, which organized world class cycling festivals. Returning to the family winery in 2000, he has turned his skills towards sales and business development. When he's not delivering wine to his account, or hosting a wine dinner, Steven can often be found walking with his wife Miriam and children, Annika and Gavin, in the vineyards.
Raphael (Rapha) Cruz, III grew up in the Napa Valley, in the small town of St. Helena. During high school, his first job was filing accounting reports for the family winery. As a high school junior, he spent a year in France as a Rotary International Exchange Student and attending a French high school. After graduation, he moved to Santa Barbara to study Culinary Arts. While at school, he spent 4+ years as a manager at Helping Hands Wellness Center, a medical marijuana dispensary.
In January of 2011, Rapha returned to his roots in the Napa Valley to join the family team at Honig. He began in the tasting room, then took over management of the wine club and events, where he could utilize his customer service skills, and extensive knowledge of food and wine.
Rapha lives in the city of Napa, but as an avid foodie, spends time going out for dinner and drinks with friends all over the Valley. Rapha spends his time traveling, hanging out with his dog Charlie, and finding disc golf courses all over California where he can hone his skills. He is an avid sports fan, and follows the SF Giants, SF 49ers and the Golden State Warriors, with a fiery passion, and spends his Thursday nights singing Karaoke at the local dive bar.