Our Vineyards

Great wine starts with quality, well-tended grapes. As each Tin Barn Vineyards wine is sourced from a single Sonoma County vineyard, we spend considerable energy selecting prime Sonoma County sites. Careful tending, often amid unique climate and terrain, yields outstanding winegrapes. The result: fabulous wines.

We have forged long term relationships with our growers to ensure the consistency and quality of our grape supplies. All our sources provide relatively small quantities of grapes such that our production from any one vineyard is often a few hundred cases annually.

Hi Vista Vineyard

For over three decades, Dan Hountalas and his wife Mary have divided their time between city and country, working to oversee both the historic Cliff House Restaurant in San Francisco and the beautiful Sonoma Carneros acreage known as Hi Vista Vineyard. Hi Vista rests at the eastern base of the lower Sonoma Mountains, on an alluvial plain just south of Highway 116, as it jogs over the small coastal range toward Petaluma. This location provides for a cool growing season, producing grapes with lovely fresh citrus and melon aromas.

Griffin's Lair Vineyard

Griffin’s Lair, family owned and sustainably farmed, embodies the qualities that make the Petaluma Gap AVA an ideal region for growing Pinot Noir. Resting on a slope above the Petaluma River, nestled between the San Pablo Bay and Pacific Ocean, Griffin's Lair enjoys cool, foggy mornings followed by warm breezy afternoons, producing well-integrated, fruit forward wines. Originally planted in the 1990s by Joan and Jim Griffin; today, the vineyard is under the care of the Flynn family, who bring generations of wine growing and ranching experience to this iconic Sonoma vineyard.

Ricci Vineyard

The Ricci family has been farming their Carneros land since the early 1900's. Back in the 1970's, Dale Ricci began transforming his family pastures and orchards into vineyards. Today, Ricci Vineyards spans 200 bucolic acres in a southwest sloping valley off of Ramal Road, not far from Tin Barn Vineyards cellar. Here, our esteemed Pinot Noir develops amidst the clinging morning fog, Sonoma County sunshine, and gentle afternoon breezes that blow off the neighboring San Pablo bay. It's no wonder that more Pinot Noir is grown in the Carneros appellation than any varietal anywhere in the world.

Gilsson Vineyard

Since our inaguaral vintage in 2000, we have sourced our award winning, bestselling Russian River Zinfandel from Gilsson Vineyard (formerly Jensen Lane Vineyard). Located east of the town of Windsor, just west of Chalk Hill in Sonoma County, the Zinfandel vines were planted in 1950 to a flat, well-drained, gravelly-loam plot. The vines are head trained and cane pruned. With the vines raised up the stakes, the fruiting area is elevated off the ground, allowing for better air circulation and more even ripening of the berries.

Los Chamizal Vineyard

Los Chamizal Vineyard is a 42-acre plot of sustainably planted Zinfandel amid southern Mayacamas mountain terroir. Located above the Sonoma Plaza, off Gehricke road, the vineyard is tended by renowned winegrower Peter Haywood. The vineyard reflects varied microclimates--from sandy clay loams at lower elevations to fractured basalt at upper elevations. Tin Barn takes fruit from multiple blocks of this scenic location.

Coryelle Fields Vineyard

We source our Syrah from this remote plot of vines nestled in the coastal hills in the Fort Ross Seaview AVA, north of the hamlet of Jenner. In 1999, Carolyn Coryelle, a wine industry veteran, cleared the site and planted six acres 1000 feet above the Pacific. We harvest our Syrah from her hillside block, where the grapes are in the direct path of strong coastal breezes that pick up in late morning, blowing away the heavy Pacific fog. Coryelle Fields is ideal for growing cool climate Syrah, yielding wines with a true Northern Rhone character with distinctive earthy and savory qualities. The vineyard, off of Tin Barn Road, is also the source and inspiration of our name.

 

Pickberry Vineyards

Cris and Lorna Strotz's Pickberry Vineyards is nestled in the northeast slope of Sonoma Mountain, above the quaint town of Glen Ellen. Planted in the 1980s on volcanic soil that can change dramatically from one location to another, the vines are subject to balmy days and cool nights. The result is late ripening fruit which benefits from a long growing season with the development of intense flavors and rich, deep colors. Our award winning vineyard designate Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon hail from this special site. From those rare and exceptional vintages, we create our limited and highly sought after Tin Barn Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and Tin Barn Reserve Merlot.