Iron Horse Vineyards
Audrey and Barry Sterling bought a failing vineyard down a Sebastopol dirt road in February 1976, two weeks after seeing it in a rainstorm. The first sparkling vintage came in 1980 and the Blanc de Blancs went to the Reagan-Gorbachev summits.1
Why go
Barry Sterling had argued corporate law in Los Angeles and worked with the Defense Department on the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings before a trip to France for his thirtieth birthday turned him toward wine.1 The 110 acres they bought came with a Victorian that Joy Sterling says sat on a foundation of 19th century beer cans.1 Rodney Strong put the original Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in, and he rediscovered the old railroad stop that gave the property its name.4
The first estate Chardonnay came in 1978, the Pinot Noir in 1979 and the sparkling in 1980, and the Sterlings led the push that made Green Valley its own AVA in 1983.1 Barry died at home on the property on 26 July 2020, aged 90.1 Joy Sterling runs the company, her brother Laurence runs the vineyards, and David Munksgard is in his thirtieth harvest here.14
You taste outdoors, at a bar in a redwood barn, standing around wine barrels with the vineyards below you.3
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Blanc de Blancs, which is all Chardonnay. It is the wine that went to the summits.1
- Order: the Ocean Reserve if you want the dry end. Mobley puts it at the bracing, austere end of the range.3
- Order: the 50th Anniversary Magnum Experience while it runs, $95 a head or $65 for club members, four sparkling wines and a charcuterie box in the Gazebo Lounge, weekends only through 8 November.4
- Avoid: ordering across the range blind. Mobley measured the spread and the Russian Cuvee carries 13 grams a liter of residual sugar against the Ocean Reserve at the other end.2
What locals & experts say
- Esther Mobley, San Francisco Chronicle (7 December 2017):
It's hard to imagine a more pleasant place to taste wine than Iron Horse Vineyards, situated at the end of a winding, one-lane dirt road in Green Valley.
And the advice that follows:you'd be wise to focus on the bubbles while you're visiting, because it's what Iron Horse does best.
2 - Mobley again, in the Chronicle's 2025 Sonoma guide:
The stars of the lineup here are the Champagne-method sparkling wines, and they range from slightly sweeter styles (like the Russian Cuvee, which is still dry enough to be classified as brut) to more bracing, austere styles like the Ocean Reserve.
3
Good to know
- Appointments only, on the hour, 10am to 4pm daily, booked through Tock. Book two weeks out for a weekend.4
- Tasting with a View is $35 a head and free for club members, and two fees are waived if you buy six bottles.4
- Everyone must be 21. Children are allowed on the property but must be supervised, and pets are not: registered service animals only, paperwork required.4
- Picnic tables are $50 with a two-bottle minimum and a two-hour limit, and you bring your own food. Club members get one table free.4
Verdict
should-visit — Esther Mobley has covered this winery three times across eight years and her advice never changes: drink the bubbles, because that is what Iron Horse does best. She has nothing to say for the still Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which is a narrow recommendation for a 300-acre estate. She also measured the sugar, which moves a long way, from the Russian Cuvee at 13 grams a liter to the bracing Ocean Reserve, so order deliberately. Thirty-five dollars, on the hour, everyone 21 and over, and book two weeks out for a weekend.