What Is Theopolis Vineyards?

Theopolis combines several wine-business roles. Lee owns the five-acre vineyard she planted along Highway 128, uses its grapes for estate-grown wines and sells bottles under the Theopolis name. The current cellar also includes Pinot Noir and other wines from named California appellations, so “Theopolis” does not mean every bottle comes from the Yorkville parcel.
“Estate grown” identifies fruit from the property; an appellation identifies grape origin. Neither phrase establishes where a bottle was made or whether the vineyard receives visitors.

The vineyard address is in Yorkville, in southeastern Mendocino County near the Sonoma County line. The federally recognized Yorkville Highlands American Viticultural Area straddles Highway 128 between Alexander Valley to the southeast and Anderson Valley to the northwest. It is nested within the broader Mendocino and North Coast AVAs, but it is not inside the Anderson Valley AVA and it is not in Napa Valley.
The Yorkville Highlands association describes a rugged, elevated area with rocky soils and strong temperature shifts. The winery’s pages use “Yorkville Highlands of the Anderson Valley,” while its appellation page locates Yorkville Highlands between Anderson and Alexander valleys. Publication should favor the federal geography.

Theopolis is most closely associated with estate-grown Petite Sirah and its rosé. Its site also lists Symphony, Pinot Noir from several appellations and blends from estate and sourced fruit. Inventory changes; a sold-out bottle is not proof it can be tasted now.
Lee is the founder and public face. The current team page names Ashanti Brown as Wine Club and Customer Experience Manager. Credit ownership, farming, winemaking and hospitality separately.

Lee grew up in Texas and moved to San Francisco in 1987. Her official biography says vineyard-owning mentors at her law firm introduced her to wine, after which she took viticulture classes at the University of California, Davis. She bought former sheep land in 2001, then cleared, tested, permitted, terraced and supplied the site with an agricultural well before planting five acres in 2003.
The business name derives from the Greek name Lee adopted through Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. In wine circles, she uses “Theo-patra, Queen of the Vineyards.”
The first harvest came in 2006. The company says wine another producer made from that fruit received a 94–96-point Robert Parker rating. That is evidence of the early grapes’ reception, but it should not be rewritten as a score for a Theopolis-labeled 2006 bottling. Lee later began bottling her own wines. Her professional identity remains dual: the current team page describes her as a senior partner and trial lawyer at Littler as well as founder and vintner.

As reviewed September 12, 2026, Theopolis publishes an events calendar rather than standing daily tasting-room hours. It lists a Harvest & Bottle Release Party at the Yorkville property on September 12, 2026, with barbecue followed by wine tasting. That event is now a dated access example; it does not establish walk-in access before or after the gathering.
Before driving, contact the winery and confirm the exact event, ticket or invitation; address; start and end times; age policy; cancellation terms; food; weather plan; and whether a nonalcoholic option exists. Ask about step-free arrival, surfaces, restrooms, seating and other access needs because no complete physical-access description was verified. Highway 128 is rural. Download directions, arrange a sober driver, allow daylight and buffer time, and do not count on immediate rideshare availability.
Avoid heavy fragrance, eat first, hydrate and use the dump bucket. Ask which wines use estate fruit, where other grapes grew and who made the current vintage.

Liberated Paths corrects a common itinerary error: Theopolis is often swept into “Napa and Sonoma” lists, but its home is Mendocino County. LP’s public Napa wine-weekend guide recommends Brown Downtown and J. Moss as the compact Napa route, then gives Theopolis a separate Highway 128 day instead of turning it into a rushed third stop.
LP’s staged Black Wine Travel framework adds a three-address test: map where grapes grow, wine is produced and visitors are received. Yorkville establishes the vineyard and event site; production and hospitality details still require confirmation.