Bill Easton was born and raised in Sacramento in the heart of California's Central Valley, steeped in a culture where wine was an integral part of daily life. His father was a wine enthusiast, and good wine found its way to the table with every meal. Bill found a taste for wine at a young age and began to develop a discerning palate. He attended the University of California at Berkeley and received degrees in Political Theory and English Literature. He entered the wine business in 1975 in sales and production. In 1978, he opened Solano Cellars, a pioneering wine shop in Berkeley, California, which featured California's finest artisan producers and Europe's finest wineries. The store expanded to include a wine bistro/bar, and Bill traveled annually to Europe to make wine selections.

Concurrently in 1985, Bill set out to redefine winemaking in the Sierra Foothills by establishing Domaine de la Terre Rouge in Amador County. By focusing on the production of a limited amount of high-quality wine from Rhône varietals, old-vine Zinfandel and other rarities, Bill felt the area could be raised to world-class status. This is one of the most historic wine regions in California, which underwent a revitalization in the 1970s. Bill has brought his 33 years of experience in the wine business to bear on the region. He was initially attracted to this area because of its soil composition (decomposed granite) and its warm days and cool nights. He has been able to craft wines with great fruit, power and complexity, as well as an uncanny elegance. These wines are evocative and a reflection of this great place: the Sierra Nevada. Bill says, "Winemaking here not only gives one a connection to nature’s annual cycles and California’s historical past, but also intuitive insight into feelings about the primordial connection between wine and people. Wine mysteriously connects, binds and relates to all those things that make us human, social and vibrant."