Anna Marie dos Remedios began making wine as a hobby to relieve the stress of her day job as a newspaper journalist and business owner. She focused on making small lot, single-vineyard designated wines from some of California’s best wine-growing regions.

She learned traditional winemaking methods from mentor and renowned Pinot Noir producer Josh Jensen at Calera Wine Company. When she began Idle Hour Winery, she used traditional methods – native yeast fermentation, gravity-flow racking, and the use of neutral French Oak – all of which are very gentle in nature, and she applied them to all of the varieties she ferments. She furthered her education by enrolling as a student in the University of California, Davis, winemaking certificate program to gain an understanding of the chemistry of wine and winemaking.

Anna Marie and her partner, Deb Payne, decided to relocate the winery to Oakhurst, which made Idle Hour the first winery in that small town located just outside the south entrance to Yosemite National Park. In addition to Pinot Noir, varietals produced by the winery include Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, and Tempranillo.

Idle Hour is named after Anna Marie’s paternal grandfather’s (Augustinho dos Remedios’s) Chinese junk, a sailing and fishing vessel that she enjoyed as a young child with her family in Hong Kong, where she was born.