About
Sherman Thacher grew up on a citrus orchard in Ventura County, California where his family has well-established agricultural roots. His great, great uncle started the first commercial avocado grove in the 1880’s and his great grandfather was an orange and olive rancher in the same time period before turning to education. Sherman’s maternal great, great grandparents started farming in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties in the late 1800’s. Their ranches are still farmed today and have combined with other pioneer families to form diversified agricultural businesses including the largest avocado and lemon grower in the United States.
After graduating form UC Davis, Sherman began his professional career as a brewer and became an award winning brew master for the Los Gatos Brewing Co., a position he held for 16 years in Los Gatos, California. Since 1993 Sherman has been making wine professionally in Santa Cruz Mountains and in Paso Robles. He has worked under the loose tutelage of distinguished winemakers at wineries such as David Bruce, Mariani and Savannah-Chanelle. In 2004 Sherman Thacher purchased 52 acres of the historic Kentucky Ranch located in the Adelaida District on the Westside of Paso Robles. 2004 also marked Sherman’s first vintage for Thacher Winery. Currently the annual production is holding steady at 3,000 cases and the wines can primarily be found at the winery and tasting room that were built onsite in 2008. In 2015 Sherman Thacher acquired an additional 23 acre ranch in the Willow Creek AVA where 16 acres of vineyard were planted in the Spring of 2017.
Since 2006 Sherman has lived on the ranch on which the winery, tasting room and vineyard reside with his wife Michelle and their three children. Before owning and operating the Thacher label and farming the estate vineyards, Sherman used to enjoy golfing and fly-fishing in the High Sierras.
