Photographs by Shelly Strazis

He’s a well-known figure in the world of green winemaking, but Tim Thornhill—owner and chief operating officer of the Mendocino Wine Company—didn’t plan on being in the wine business. It was surely the furthest thing from his mind when he dropped out of school after ninth grade and went to work on ranches near his hometown of Houston, Texas. “My parents don’t believe in inherited wealth, and school wasn’t working out for me,” the 58-year-old explains in his characteristic, matter-of-fact way.
When he was old enough to buy a truck, he started a landscaping company and discovered his green thumb. The business’s success led him to Florida in his 20s and to Disney theme parks and resorts. He spent the next decade in New York, designing private botanic gardens. He’d see his parents, two siblings, and seven nieces and nephews maybe once or twice a year, “when someone died or got married.” Then about 15 years ago, his priorities shifted.

“I’d been building fantasies for other people for a long time,” he says. “I started asking what my fantasy would look like. I wrote a list of what I’d regret if I was in an old folks’ home—not spending more time with my family was at the top.”

Although Thornhill has created a property that’s in harmony with nature, his approach is decidedly businesslike. “I like to put it this way: In God I trust. Everybody else has to bring data,” he says. “We measure everything at the winery: Water quality, water movement, electricity use, you name it. I want to know all the facts before I make a move.” Today, an on-site solar unit produces about 15% of the vineyard’s power; the rest comes from wind power purchased from the grid. They slash water use by re-using it. After washing the wine tanks, for example, the same water will rinse the floors. About 100 head of sheep that Thornhill calls his “green mowers” do their part. And two draft horses also pull their own weight instead of a tractor to deliver biodynamic sprays and to cultivate the soil for the property’s vegetable garden.

“I know how to assemble a team of people who know way more than I do. Then i serve and inspire those people.”

Some people who show up at the winery latch on to the fact that it’s organic. “But that’s just part of a much larger book,” Thornhill says. “Being organic means I’ve removed petroleum-based products. Being biodynamic means I take a holistic approach. But neither tells me to recycle water or feed my employees or reduce my electrical consumption.The foundation, really, is family—thinking about future generations.”