An Interview with Lisa Howard of Tolenas Winery, Suisun Valley, CA

Tell us little bit about you and your family’s story

Our family’s roots in Suisun Valley began in the early 1980s when my parents, Steve and Linda Tenbrink, started farming fruits and vegetables. They ran a roadside fruit stand, building a reputation for quality produce and a genuine connection with the community. Farming was their passion, but the business began to evolve when my dad’s best friend, Ron Lanza, and the Lanza family encouraged him to try his hand at growing wine grapes.

What started with just four acres of Pinot Noir soon grew into something much bigger. Over time, the vineyard expanded to include Tempranillo, Petite Sirah, Primitivo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Albariño, and Tannat. Today, we make wine from those grapes under both the Tenbrink label and under my husband Cliff’s and my personal label, Tolenas.

For Cliff and me, coming back to join the family business felt like a natural step. We wanted to honor what my parents started while also creating our own path in the wine world. Together, we’re proud to continue farming the land, making wines that reflect Suisun Valley, and sharing our family’s story with every bottle.


What initially draws you to working with Pinot Noir specifically from Suisun Valley, and how does this region’s terroir influence the grape’s character compared to other Pinot regions?

Pinot Noir was the very first grape my family planted in Suisun Valley, so it holds a special place in our story. What drew us to it initially was the challenge and the beauty of working with a grape that demands so much attention in both the vineyard and the cellar. Pinot is known as a delicate variety, but here in Suisun Valley, it takes on a personality that’s uniquely bold while still retaining elegance.

 Our region’s terroir — and especially the unique block where our Pinot Noir grows in the southernmost part of Suisun Valley — plays a defining role. Just east of Napa, Suisun Valley benefits from cooling breezes that funnel in from the San Francisco Bay, preserving freshness and acidity. The valley floor soils, a mix of clay and gravel, contribute structure and depth. Together, these elements create a Pinot Noir with ripe red fruit flavors and a velvety texture, yet with more richness and backbone than you typically find in cooler coastal regions. 
 
For me, that balance of approachability and power is what makes Suisun Valley Pinot Noir so exciting. It’s both a nod to my family’s beginnings in grape growing and a showcase of what this valley does best: wines with character, authenticity, and a sense of place.
 
What unique flavor profiles or structural nuances do you find in Suisun Valley Pinot Noir, and what would you tell a home winemaker to look out for when they’re working with it?

Suisun Valley Pinot Noir often surprises people. While Pinot is traditionally known for being delicate, our valley gives it a little more muscle. You’ll still find the classic red fruits—ripe cherry, raspberry, and strawberry—but they come across with a brighter ripeness. Structurally, there’s more weight on the palate than in cooler coastal regions. The wines tend to show a velvety texture, soft tannins, and just enough acidity to keep everything lifted. Subtle spice and earthy undertones often weave through as well, adding depth without overpowering the fruit.

One unique aspect of our site is that even when sugar levels are higher, the acid carries beautifully with the ripe fruit. It’s almost the best of both worlds—intensity and richness without sacrificing freshness.
For home winemakers, I’d say: lean into what Suisun Valley naturally gives you. You usually don’t need to adjust acid, but do keep a close eye on your fermentations. Pinot can be a bit dramatic in the cellar—its thinner skins can break down quickly, which means fermentations may run faster. That calls for careful nutrient management and close temperature control. If you want to take things a step further, a few days of cold soak before fermentation can help pull out more color and complexity, though that’s a more advanced technique. And finally, go light on the oak—you don’t want to mask the beautiful fruit character that makes Suisun Valley Pinot so distinctive.

Are there particular winemaking techniques or styles you recommend to really bring out the best in Suisun Valley Pinot Noir, especially for those who might be trying it for the first time?

Not to give away all my secrets, but one of the unique things about our site is that Pinot Noir here can gracefully handle a little more richness. While many regions pick for a 14% Pinot, we find that shooting for around 15% is often more appropriate — the fruit’s natural weight and balance support it beautifully.
 
For those working with our grapes, I recommend destemming the fruit. If you want to up your game, try bleeding off a little juice right after destemming — this increases the skin-to-juice ratio in your fermenter and can really boost color and intensity. After that, let your vessel “hang out and marinate” for two days in a cold environment with no oxygen exposure. Use a tight lid and, if possible, a little dry ice to keep the must protected. After a couple of days, give it a good mix and check your Brix. From there, you can either extend the cold soak for more extraction or adjust with water to bring the must to around 25 Brix and use that as the kickoff to fermentation.

Yeast choice is where you can really shape the style. RC212 brings structure and spice, while Alchemy IV gives lots of intense fruit. Personally, I love running two separate ferments with different yeasts and blending them later for complexity. Whatever you choose, make sure you know the nutrient needs for that strain and support it well — Pinot can be dramatic in the cellar, and nutrient management plus temperature control are key. I tend to ferment at the upper end of the yeast’s range to get maximum color and flavor extraction.
As fermentation winds down, keep a close eye on oxygen. Below 2 Brix, the wine is more vulnerable — so use dry ice, a sealed lid, or other protections. Taste daily; Pinot’s thinner skins can break down quickly, so depending on tannin and flavor development, you may want to press right at dryness or extend skin contact up to a week if everything tastes great.

After pressing, move the wine into carboys or another vessel to finish malolactic fermentation. Once malo is complete, rack off the gross lees and let the wine rest. Pinot Noir is often an “early to bottle” wine — though it can go through an awkward “ugly duckling” phase around the holidays, it usually reemerges beautifully by spring. For us, bottling within 18 months after fermentation preserves its freshness while still allowing enough time for the wine to come together.
 
What common misconceptions or challenges do you think people have when making Pinot Noir from this region, and how would you advise them to overcome these?

One of the biggest misconceptions is assuming that Pinot Noir from Suisun Valley will behave like Pinot from cooler coastal regions. Because our valley is warmer, people expect the fruit to lose acidity as sugars rise — but at our site, the opposite is true. Even at higher Brix, the grapes naturally carry their acid, so winemakers often add more than they really need to. My advice: trust the vineyard. Taste the grapes, check your numbers, and resist the urge to “fix” something that’s already in balance.
 
Another common assumption is that you’ll struggle with color, since Pinot is often known for being pale. Not here! There is no lack of color in Tenbrink Pinot Noir. You absolutely don’t need to waste money on “color-enhancing” products for these grapes — I promise. The skins give plenty of depth naturally if you manage fermentation well.

A real challenge, though, is Pinot’s temperament in the cellar. The thinner skins break down quickly, which can lead to faster fermentations. That means nutrient management and temperature control are critical — check daily, and keep things steady. Toward the end of fermentation, remember Pinot is also highly oxygen-sensitive. Protect your must with lids, dry ice, or other methods, or you risk losing freshness.
Finally, stylistically, some assume Pinot from a warmer site can’t be elegant. But Suisun Valley proves otherwise — the wines carry both power and finesse if you let them. Avoid over-oaking or over-extracting in an effort to make Pinot “bigger.” The richness and color are already there; your job is to highlight the balance between ripe fruit, acid, and velvety texture that makes this region so unique.

Could you share a personal anecdote or a memorable vintage that stands out to you when you think about Suisun Valley Pinot Noir? Something that might inspire others to appreciate its uniqueness?

One vintage that always comes to mind is 2021. It was one of those years where everything about the site seemed to click. The Pinot came in with beautiful ripeness, but what amazed me was how much natural acidity it still carried – not too high, not too low, just right. I remember standing at the crush pad with Cliff, tasting the berries as we loaded them into the destemmer, and being struck by how the fruit seemed to capture both sides of Suisun Valley’s personality — the richness of our warm days and the brightness from those Bay breezes at night.

That year, the fermentation took off fast — Pinot can be dramatic like that — and we had to keep a careful eye on temperature. But the payoff was incredible: deep color, layers of red fruit and spice, and a velvety structure that made the wine feel both bold and refined. When we finally bottled it, I remember thinking: this is exactly what Suisun Valley Pinot is meant to be.

It’s moments like that vintage that inspire me. Pinot Noir here doesn’t fit neatly into the mold of coastal Pinot, nor should it. It has its own voice — one that’s confident, generous, and still full of elegance. Every time I taste it, I’m reminded why my family planted those first four acres and why we continue to believe in this grape and this valley.  The Tenbrink Pinot Noir is like the Cabernet of Pinot Noir! It is an honor to share our fruit with you and we look forward to hearing YOUR stories!  Please tag us on social media under @tenbrinkfarmsandvineyard and @Tolenas Winery or even my personal account (I’d love to hear from you) @yuppiefarmgirl

Ready to experience Suisun Valley Pinot Noir for yourself? 🍇 You can purchase Tenbrink-grown Lanza-packed Pinot Noir grapes directly through Musto Wine Grape Company (MWG)—your trusted source for premium winemaking grapes and juices. Whether you’re a home winemaker or a small winery, MWG makes it easy to bring the flavors of Suisun Valley into your cellar. Contact MWG today to reserve your fruit!