Tin Barn Vineyards
Get the Dirt from Michael Lancaster
“Refreshingly free from pretense and spectacle, we offer award-winning, handcrafted, single-vineyard wines of uncommon balance and elegance.”
What was your first vintage year? 2000
How many cases do you make per vintage? 1500-2200
Do you have a Tasting Room? If Yes/Hours?
Yes. 12-5 Friday-Monday, by appointment Tuesday-Thursday
What wine made you want to become a winemaker/start your own winery?
Getting to taste multiple vintages of Tignanello in the early 80’s.
What varietals do you work with? Which varietal/wine is your favorite to make?
Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel, and Pinot Noir. We really enjoy making Zinfandel and Pinot Noir… both are quite challenging.
What vineyards do you source from? Why?
All our wines are single vineyard sourced from specific sub appellations of Sonoma County, which provide unique climates and terrains to yield outstanding grapes. We source from Hi Vista, Ricci Vineyard (Pinot Noir), Gilsson (Zinfandel), Los Chamizal (Zinfandel), Coryelle Fields (Syrah) and Pickberry Vineyards (Cab & Merlot).
What type of oak treatment do you use?
We us a modest 20-35% new American on our Zinfandel, French on all our other wines.
What do you love about your winemaking region?
Sonoma County is a large are with many AVA’s spread out amongst a wide number of different climates and soils. This gives us quite a playground to source from.
What’s the story behind your winery name / label?
Tin Barn Vineyards is the fruit of five friends' passion for the grape. Initially launched in 2000. Our first wines were Zinfandel and Syrah. The Syrah was sourced from the Sonoma Coast, close to Tin Barn Road, so we took the name from there.
What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about the wine business before you started your own winery?
How hard it is to build a brand and sell. Making wine is fairly easy.
Most importantly, what's so great about being small? What can you do as a small winemaker, that wouldn't be possible for larger wineries?
I love that I get to be very involved in all aspects of the business and especially very hands on in terms of the winemaking.
How do you view the future in the wine industry for small-lot winemakers?
Good, I think consumers look for new, small and interesting wines. For every winery that makes it big and gets bought other new small producers start up and fill the void.
If you could choose another wine region to work in what would it be? Why?
Southern Rhone (to work with Grenache and Syrah). Beaujolais to work with Gamay, In the USA, Washington State to make Grenache/Syrah blends and Riesling.