Full Name
Linda McWilliams
Job Title
Co-Owner, Winemaker
Company
San Pasqual Winery
Speaker Bio
McWilliams, Linda
Winemaker and Co-owner
San Pasqual Winery
La Mesa, CA
Linda@SanPasqualWinery.com
July 2025
Linda McWilliams is the co-owner and winemaker of San Pasqual Winery in La Mesa. She returned to school to focus on winemaking after she and her husband Mike bought the small urban winery in 2009. Her formal education in winemaking included completing the Winemaker Certificate Program from the University of California, Davis. Prior to her winemaker career, Linda served as a Speech/Language Pathologist with the public school system.
San Pasqual wines have won numerous awards, gold and double gold medals in The San Francisco Chronicle, Toast of the Coast and the Orange County Fair wine competition, where she also serves as a judge. San Pasqual Winery offers a full range of wines including whites, rosé, reds, late harvest port style wines and sherry in addition to a fun line of passionfruit wines. San Pasqual has produced wine from grapes sourced from vineyards in San Diego County and throughout the State. Since the Pandemic, the focus has been on San Diego County grapes. For many of the small, local vineyards she helps with vineyard management and the San Pasqual team is on site for pre harvest and harvest activities.
Linda is very active in the winery community. She is Past President of the San Diego County Vintners Association and has served as Director and Alternate Director on the Board of Directors for the Wine Institute, representing five Southern California Counties, for the past five years. Recently Linda accepted a Board Position with SIP San Diego, an association of urban wineries, cideries and meaderys.
To help build a trained workforce for local vineyards and wineries, Linda was on the steering committee for the development of the Viticulture and Enology Technician Apprenticeship Program. This program continues to be the only one of its kind in the state. She serves as Program Director.
Winemaker and Co-owner
San Pasqual Winery
La Mesa, CA
Linda@SanPasqualWinery.com
July 2025
Linda McWilliams is the co-owner and winemaker of San Pasqual Winery in La Mesa. She returned to school to focus on winemaking after she and her husband Mike bought the small urban winery in 2009. Her formal education in winemaking included completing the Winemaker Certificate Program from the University of California, Davis. Prior to her winemaker career, Linda served as a Speech/Language Pathologist with the public school system.
San Pasqual wines have won numerous awards, gold and double gold medals in The San Francisco Chronicle, Toast of the Coast and the Orange County Fair wine competition, where she also serves as a judge. San Pasqual Winery offers a full range of wines including whites, rosé, reds, late harvest port style wines and sherry in addition to a fun line of passionfruit wines. San Pasqual has produced wine from grapes sourced from vineyards in San Diego County and throughout the State. Since the Pandemic, the focus has been on San Diego County grapes. For many of the small, local vineyards she helps with vineyard management and the San Pasqual team is on site for pre harvest and harvest activities.
Linda is very active in the winery community. She is Past President of the San Diego County Vintners Association and has served as Director and Alternate Director on the Board of Directors for the Wine Institute, representing five Southern California Counties, for the past five years. Recently Linda accepted a Board Position with SIP San Diego, an association of urban wineries, cideries and meaderys.
To help build a trained workforce for local vineyards and wineries, Linda was on the steering committee for the development of the Viticulture and Enology Technician Apprenticeship Program. This program continues to be the only one of its kind in the state. She serves as Program Director.
Speaking At
