“Fate Brought Them Together”: How the owners of Ampelos Cellars became hands-on viticulturists

“You’re worried about how you’re going to feel at the end of your life? What about right now? Live. Right this minute. That’s where the joy is at.” ~ Abigail Thomas

It was as if Angela Thomas were speaking those words directly to Peter and Rebecca Work, the founders of Ampelos Cellars. Having purchased 82 acres in the Santa Rita Hills appellation in 1999, Peter and Rebecca continued their “corporate” lives, leaving their son to oversee the start-up process of the vineyard. But fate would have other plans.

After narrowly evading the Twin Towers tragedy in 2001, Peter and Rebecca decided it was time to start living the life they wanted, “right this minute”. And so, they moved to Santa Ynez, where they learned hands-on how to “nurture the soil and prune the vines".

How Tinhorn Creek stays “Mainstream” through “Twitter-stream"

“We are born at a given moment, in a given place and, like vintage years of wine, we have the qualities of the year and of the season of which we are born.” ~ Carl Jung

Tucked away in the rolling hills of British Columbia, Tinhorn Creek stays “Mainstream” through an established presence on “Twitter-stream”.

Desert Vineyards Provide a Unique Terroir for Tinhorn’s Wines

            One wouldn't expect to see regal grapevines mingling with desert-dwelling sagebrush, but at Tinhorn Creek Vineyards, the two flourish side-by-side like old friends.  Set atop a hillside in the middle of British Columbia’s famed Golden Mile wine-growing district, Tinhorn Creek Vineyard and Winery crafts quality wines from grapes harvested from their 150-acre vineyards.  Planted on two distinct benches, the Diamondback Vineyard and the Tinhorn Creek Vineyard produce grapes of both the red and white varietals, allowing the vineyard’s winemaker, Sandra Oldfield, to harvest only the best fruit for the winery’s esteemed Pinot Gris, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Gewürztraminer vintages.  Each of Tinhorn Creek’s wines boasts the unique terroir of its desert topography.