Amy Jean Butler graduated from the University of California, Davis in 1997 and has some 15 vintages under her belt. She worked at a number of winery positions in the Napa Valley before moving to the Paso Robles area in 2002. She was the winemaker for Edward Sellers Vineyards and Wines and Pelletiere Estate in Paso Robles for several years and made wines under her own label, Ranchero Cellars.

Ranchero Cellars paid homage to the spur-jangling vaqueros of the Old West, as well as to the cowboy kitsch culture of 1950s America. The wine style evoked the pastoral history of early California: old vines and dusty fields, shady oaks, goats and chickens, rusty tractors, and barbed wire fences. She says, “I like those things.”

Based in Paso Robles, Ranchero Cellars was committed to the production of small batches of wine using unique varietals, time-honored methods, naturally occurring yeasts, and minimal processing. Amy made Carignan and Grenache Blanc each vintage, along with other varieties such as Viognier and Petite Sirah.

As of May 2018, Amy became the winemaker for the McBride Sisters Wine Company.