THE MCKINNEY FAMILY
VINEYARDS STORY
It all began with a championship game
and a deal brokered between a son and his father…
So many winemakers arrive at the world of wine by surprising paths, called out of usually more sensible life directions to the pursuit of the right place and the perfect wine. Matt McKinney’s path to making wine began on the back of a Ford F150 on a closed-down freeway in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In January 2010, the professional volleyball team he starred on won the Puerto Rican Superior League Championship. The local police shut down the freeway, so McKinney and his teammates could take a victory lap in the bed of a pickup truck with seemingly the entire volleyball-crazed city parading behind, horns honking.
Hours before, his team had trailed 2-0 in the best-out-of-three championship match. There was more than volleyball hopes at stake for McKinney. His family owned a ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley, and before the season began, he made a deal with his dad Harry and mom Lee Ann, who moved their family from Woodland Hills to Santa Ynez in 1992.
“We had 10 acres and we weren’t doing anything with it,” McKinney explains. “I had been asking my dad for years if we could plant a vineyard on our property, but he had always shrugged it off. I made a deal with him that year, that if we won the championship, I could plant the vineyard.”
Perhaps with the aid of the wine gods, the team rallied to win the final 3 sets and the match. The frenzied celebration, and McKinney Family Vineyards, was begun. That spring, back in bucolic and much quieter Santa Ynez, the family planted a quarter acre of Syrah and a quarter acre of Viognier…
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McKinney Family Vineyards Today
The passion, work ethic, and perseverance of a professional athlete combined with the love and dedication of family and friends has grown that half acre vineyard into a thriving boutique winery. The McKinney property is now blanketed in vines and bustling with biodiversity. What started as a single barrel of wine made in the family’s old horse barn has become over 15 varietals produced every year in a dedicated winery in Buelton.
But the core values remain unchanged. Since its inception, McKinney Family Vineyards has been about fine wine, friends, and family. Using only holistic biodynamic and organic practices in both the vineyards and winemaking, the result is wines that rival the best in California (dare we say the world). It’s no wonder McKinney Family Vineyards has retained a dedicated and enthusiastic community. For McKinney Family Vineyards,
It has always been my vision to maintain low production and superior quality. As we get closer to reaching our target case production of 4,000 cases, we look forward to also capping the size of our wine production and our wine club. This will allow us to remain a boutique winery while keeping our property open exclusively to our members.
The Family Crest
“McKinney Family Vineyards is the product of a vision in which our family story would be told through the beauty of vines and fine wine. I wanted to create a family crest for our wine label which symbolized our family’s journey to wine country, and my gratitude to my parents for making that decision.
The Taurus represents a father’s dream of moving his family to the country. The scale, a Libra mother’s love and devotion to her husband and son. The Leo, a son’s pride for his family and passion to tell their story to the world through wine. The grapes represent the vineyard that brings us all together, and the navigation star is a symbol of our journey to the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley.”
-Matt McKinney
MFV is on the map!
It’s a dream come true to be recognized and added to the map of the prestigious Los Olivos District A.V.A. (American Viticulture Area).
Santa Barbara County has distinguished itself as a region for making world class wines. Santa Barbara County was recently named Wine Region of the Year for 2021 by ‘Wine Enthusiast Magazine’. The area provides conditions at times more favorable than Napa and Sonoma counties for acidity and terroir driven wines. (“Terroir” – a term coined by the French as having distinct earthy characteristics from soil and climate.
The Los Olivos District is the most recently approved sub-AVA in the Santa Ynez Valley. With broad alluvial soil compositions on most sites, this region has a consistency rarely found where geology, topography, and a unique soil and climate, all work in harmony.
Approved in 2016, it is the 6th (and newest) A.V.A. by the Federal Government as having a distinct micro-climate which sets it apart from neighboring Ballard Canyon to the west and Happy Canyon to the east.
Los Olivos District A.V.A.
Santa Barbara County has distinguished itself as a region for making world class wines. Santa Barbara County was recently named Wine Region of the Year for 2021 by ‘Wine Enthusiast Magazine’. The area provides conditions at times more favorable than Napa and Sonoma counties for acidity and terroir driven wines. (“Terroir” – a term coined by the French as having distinct earthy characteristics from soil and climate.
The Los Olivos District is the most recently approved sub-AVA in the Santa Ynez Valley. With broad alluvial soil compositions on most sites, this region has a consistency rarely found where geology, topography, and a unique soil and climate, all work in harmony.
Approved in 2016, it is the 6th (and newest) A.V.A. by the Federal Government as having a distinct micro-climate which sets it apart from neighboring Ballard Canyon to the west and Happy Canyon to the east.