Sierra Madre Vineyard and Winery

Central Coast AVA

A serious one-to-watch on the Central Coast

Nestled in one of the most intimate winegrowing regions in California, the Sierra Madre Vineyard is located just fifteen miles from the west coast in the Santa Maria River Valley. Although this historic site has been the source for premium Santa Maria wine grapes for over three decades, today the vineyard is also known for its boutique wine brand that began in 2003 when the property was acquired by Doug and Jan Circle.

Doug Circle comes from a family history of agriculture, and found his niche growing and selling premium strawberries throughout California, Arizona, and Mexico. Over the span of his career, Doug has owned more than 25 strawberry farms and even established the $300 million frozen and fresh strawberry operation called Sunrise Growers/Frozsun Foods.

The Sierra Madre Vineyard location was of particular interest to him, not only because it included a 60-acre strawberry operation, but it also introduced the opportunity to become a serious wine grape grower. Doug couldn’t resist the challenge to work with world-class wine grapes, and following his entrepreneurial spirit, founded the Sierra Madre Vineyard and Winery with the help of vineyard manager Rodolfo Callado and veteran winemaker Steve Rasmussen. Together, they are an expert team and have quickly established the tiny winery as a serious one-to-watch on the Central Coast.

Each and every wine selected for our six different Wine Clubs meets our strict guidelines for quality and rating criteria. Each wine is handcrafted by an authentic, small-production boutique winery with a compelling story to tell like the one above. Since our first Gold Wine Club shipment in 1992, we have added five more impressive Wine Clubs to choose from—each a showcase for highly-rated, sought-after wines you can enjoy as a Gold Medal, wine of the month club member.