Sinor-LaVallee
San Luis Obispo County
Located on the coastal extremity of the San Luis Obispo Valley, the family-owned Sinor-LaVallee winery offers expressive, marine-influenced wines through holistic and meticulous viticulture.
Established by the husband and wife team of Mike Sinor and Cheri LaVallee, Sinor-LaVallee Estate Wines is a tiny family winery that specializes in producing small-lot wines from the couple’s Bassi Vineyard near Avila Beach, in the heart of the San Luis Obispo Valley. The wines are classically Central Coast in their expression and style, offering a nice reflection of the coastal terroir that’s so pronounced at the Bassi Vineyard property.
Born in Visalia, Mike has been intricately tied to the Edna Valley winegrowing region since 1991, when he started working for Corbett Canyon Vineyards (one of the first wineries in the Valley) while attending college at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. The job began as a way to earn money during school, but it quickly led to a passion for wine and became his first stepping stone into the industry. Cheri attended Cal Poly as well and met Mike in 1993. Three short years later, the couple married in the heart of Burgundy, France, soon after they started their own wine label together - Sinor-LaVallee. What began as a very tiny passion project would slowly grow into a reputable boutique winery brand over the years to come.
While nurturing Sinor-LaVallee on the side, Mike went on to work at Byron Vineyard and Winery (Santa Maria Valley) where he quickly advanced to an assistant winemaker position under the famed Central Coast vintner, Ken Brown. He also gained experience in the Head Winemaker role at Domaine Alfred Winery in San Luis Obispo, which is now the current site of Chamisal Vineyard. At Domaine Alfred, Mike was in charge of vineyard operations and helped instill biodynamic farming practices while crafting fine wines that brought much critical acclaim to the winery.
In 2006, Mike left Domain Alfred to focus on growing his Sinor-LaVallee brand with wife Cheri. They initially focused on sourcing fruit from premium local vineyards, but in 2013 acquired the Bassi Vineyard property near Avila Beach (only 1.2 miles from the ocean!) and the operation became nearly all estate-grown wines. The vineyard is roughly 30 acres in size and planted to Pinot Noir, Syrah, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Albarino. Bassi Vineyard’s coastal terroir and Mike and Cheri’s combination of organic and biodynamic vineyard practices ensures not only that expressive, distinctive fruit is achieved each vintage, but also that the land and surrounding environment is kept healthy and in balance for generations to come.
Please enjoy this limited-release estate wine from Sinor-LaVallee, a passionate wine producer with an unquestionably bright future ahead. Cheers!
