About Iron Horse Vineyards
Barry Sterling, a Los Angeles corporate lawyer, and his wife Audrey moved their family to Paris in 1967, kept a 10,000-bottle cellar on Avenue Foch, summered near Julia Child in the south of France, and spent seven years hunting for a French chateau to buy before returning to California. On a February day in 1976, driving down Ross Station Road in the pouring rain, they crested a knoll and saw 300 acres of rolling Green Valley hills that, in family lore, looked like Camelot; they owned it within two weeks. The property, named for an 1890s railroad stop that once crossed the land, already held 110 acres of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir planted around 1970 by Rodney Strong, who had rediscovered the site when nearly everyone else thought Green Valley too cold and frost-prone. A UC Davis expert told the Sterlings to "go east and grow Cabernet"; instead they built a reservoir for frost protection and trusted what France had taught them about cool climates.
The winery opened in 1979 on Barry's 50th birthday, and the sparkling program began almost by accident, encouraged by family friend Daniel Carasso of Dannon yogurt fame after he tasted their rosé. In 1985 Iron Horse sparkling was served at the Reagan-Gorbachev Geneva summit, beginning a run at the White House across seven consecutive presidential administrations. Today the second generation runs the estate, CEO Joy Sterling and operations director Laurence Sterling, with three generations living on the property, roughly 30,000 cases a year (more than half sparkling), an eight-year Green Valley Creek restoration that helped bring back endangered Coho salmon, and giving wines supporting causes from the Redwood Empire Food Bank to disabled veterans. The outdoor tasting bar at the end of the winding road, with its sweeping views over Sonoma County, remains one of wine country's great working-winery experiences; 2026 marks the estate's 50th anniversary, matriarch Audrey's 95th birthday, and, fittingly, the lunar Year of the Horse.
The Sterling family's Green Valley estate, born from a Paris-honed dream in 1976, whose sparkling wines have poured at the White House since the Reagan-Gorbachev summit.
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Camelot in the rain,the Sterlings first saw the property in a February 1976 downpour, crested the knoll to a view like Camelot, and bought it within two weeks.
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Rodney Strong's rediscovery,the original 110 acres of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were planted around 1970 by Rodney Strong, who saw Burgundian promise where experts saw only frost.
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Bubbles of diplomacy,Iron Horse sparkling poured at the 1985 Reagan-Gorbachev Geneva summit and has served seven consecutive presidential administrations since.
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Sparkling by accident,the program began when Daniel Carasso, of Dannon yogurt fame, tasted the family's rosé and urged them toward bubbles.
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Salmon in the creek,an eight-year restoration of Green Valley Creek helped return endangered Coho salmon to the estate.
"The Sterling family's Green Valley estate, born from a Paris-honed dream in 1976, whose sparkling wines have poured at the White House since the Reagan-Gorbachev summit."
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Featured Wines
Current Releases
Wines change with each vintage
For an accurate list of current-release wines and library bottlings from Iron Horse Vineyards, please check the winery's official website or contact the tasting room directly. Green Valley producers typically rotate vintages and offerings seasonally.
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Estate Sparkling Tasting
A guided tasting of Iron Horse's Presidential-caliber sparkling wines on the outdoor estate with Green Valley views, méthode champenoise Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from organically farmed vines.
$45
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Wedding Cuvée Experience
A focused tasting of Iron Horse's Wedding Cuvée program across multiple vintages, understanding how barrel fermentation and extended lees aging develop California sparkling wine complexity.
$75
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