OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
A Return to Roots
Award-winning Suisun Valley winemaker continues her family ' s legacy
STORY AND PHOTOS BY Steve Martarano
Cliff and Lisa Howard , with children Amy , Jake and Katie , launched Tolenas Winery in Fairfield in 2015 .
The Tolenas Winery label produces
a variety of wines , like a zinfandel and a red blend . But what sets it apart — and what earned the label international acclaim — is its unusual white pinot noir Eclipse that took a gold medal at the 2019 International Women ’ s Wine Competition .
Tolenas Winery , based in Suisun Valley , is one of “ only a handful ” of producers in the U . S . to release a white pinot noir , says Lisa Howard , the award-winning winemaker who operates the winery with her husband , Cliff
Howard , who talked her into entering the competition .
“ Winning was the validation that every new winemaker really craves ,” she says . “ It gave me inspiration to continue trying new things , to always experiment and then also to just have confidence in what we can do in our little winery .” Tolenas also won silver for its sauvignon blanc in the 2019 competition .
Founded in 2015 , Tolenas Winery hosts reservation-only events and has a picnic area and barn . But for Lisa , the land around the winery — located a few miles off Interstate 80 in Fairfield — is much more than a business . It is an area steeped in personal history .
The vineyard view from the farmhouse bedroom at Tolenas Winery is a familiar one to Lisa . She called that room , which overlooks the 5-acre orchard that supported her family ’ s fruit and vegetable stand , her own for the first 18 years of her life . ( Her family no longer lives in the farmhouse .)
“ I remember looking out that window and seeing my dad work on equipment , wishing we had neighbors
28 comstocksmag . com | March 2021