Our History
Owners Amy and Bruce Helsley purchased the 58-acre property in 2005. In 2006, they completed construction of a storage barn and horse barn and opened Kindred Pointe Stables. The name “Kindred Pointe” was inspired by Amy’s love of Anne of Green Gables, with the added “e” as a nod to Anne’s famously particular spelling of her name.
The 2008 Global Financial Crisis made the economy less favorable for horse boarding, prompting a shift in direction. It was then that Amy, a certified public accountant, decided that growing grapes would be a better use of the land than continuing to board horses. Bruce took the lead on cultivating wine grapes, planting their first crop, Merlot. At the time, the idea of opening a winery had not yet crossed their minds.
After their first harvest, it became clear that the profit lay in winemaking rather than grape growing. Inspired by this, Amy enrolled in viticulture and enology courses at UC Davis with the goal of becoming the winemaker for what would become The Winery at Kindred Pointe. In 2011, Bruce, along with his high school friend Andy, the winery’s first employee, began transforming the stables into the tasting room. The following year, after completing her coursework, Amy began an internship at Michael Shaps Wineworks. That same year, she and Bruce partnered with Michael Shaps to craft their first wines, ensuring quality and gaining invaluable experience.
In the early years, the estate vineyard faced challenges from disease and harsh winters, and the couple quickly learned that managing risk sometimes meant leasing vineyards outside the local microclimate for certain varietals. Much of the fruit for the first vintages came from these leased vineyards, and since then, the couple has focused on planting varietals better suited to their estate.
After years of preparation, the winery officially opened its doors in October 2013. That same year, Bruce began producing wines from the estate grapes, while Michael Shaps continued crafting wines for The Winery at Kindred Pointe using fruit from leased vineyards in the Monticello region until 2018. Since then, Bruce has served as winemaker, with Amy guiding the wine’s style and taste in her role as the official Wine Stylist.
As the business continued to grow, construction began in 2016 on a pavilion designed to enhance guest experiences and host events. Two years later, Amy and Bruce expanded their offerings by launching Life’s Hard Cider, with Bruce producing a variety of hard ciders on-site. In 2020, the Pavilion was converted into the public tasting room, while the stables would later become KP Spirits Distillery in 2025.
Today, The Winery at Kindred Pointe is a welcoming destination for both the community and visitors, operating as a boutique winery that produces approximately one thousand cases of high-quality wine from its six acres of vineyards. The estate cultivates Seyval Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Albariño, Dazzle, Chambourcin, Dornfelder, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot. Amy and Bruce apply a careful, low-intervention, barrel-aged approach to winemaking, and their dedication has been recognized with numerous wine competition medals, as well as several awards for their ciders.