A Family Heritage

Tom Sinton brings to Starfield three generations of family wine growing experience combined with an intense desire to create estate wines that express the unique terroir of a vineyard and region.

During Prohibition, his grandfather partnered with Louis M. Martini to produce sacramental wines in the Central Valley. That kindled the family's lifelong interest in vineyards and winemaking.

Tom began his career in 1972 by planting his family’s Shell Creek Vineyard in the Paso Robles area, and managed the 200-acre property while earning a master’s degree in enology from UC Davis. He left in 1984 to found ProBusiness, a human resources outsourcing firm. When he sold the business in 2003, Tom vowed that the next phase of his life would be a return to his original devotion.

While searching for the ideal location to plant vineyards, Tom began producing wine sourced from Napa and Sonoma fruit. After an exhaustive process to identify the perfect location to plant a vineyard in Northern California, he chose a 31-acre hillside parcel in the Sierra Foothills just east of Placerville. 2016 marks the first vintage of wine produced from the estate vineyards.