Who We Are

Sandra Oldfield

A native of California, winemaker and owner Sandra Oldfield arrived at Tinhorn Creek from Santa Rosa, California in time for the 1995 crush. Since then she has taken the production from 1,000 cases to more than 35,000 cases. Now that the vineyards have reached full production, Sandra can focus her talents on the Oldfield Series, a premium line of wines created from the very best fruit that the mature vineyards have to offer.

Sandra gained her early wine experience at Rodney Strong Vineyards in Sonoma, CA. Before leaving California, Sandra had been studying enology at the University of California at Davis (UC Davis). She put her studies on hold while her time and energy went to getting the winery up and running. She then resumed her winemaking studies (along with studying Canadian history). Her efforts were rewarded in the spring of 2002 with a master’s degree in Enology from UC Davis and Canadian citizenship in October 2002. Sandra, her husband, Kenn Oldfield, and their daughter Melody live in a house perched at the top of the Tinhorn Creek winery vineyards.

 

Andrew Moon - Viticulturist/Vineyard Manager

Andrew Moon moved his wife, Rebecca, and three kids (Joshua, Brodie and Kaylah) from Australia at the end of June 2009 to join the team at Tinhorn Creek. They moved from a town approximately 160km north of Melbourne, Victoria.

In Australia Andrew worked for Ormonhill Vineyards, Colbinabbin Estate and Freeman’s Bridge Vineyards. He has a Trade certificate in Viticulture Brit Bendigo, a Diploma in Viticulture from Melbourne University and completed 3 years of a Bachelor of Science Degree (Geog.) at the University of Newcastle. In Australia Andrew supplied fruit to a number of wineries over the years including, Rosemount, Seppelt, Penfolds, Hanging Rock and Wild Duck Creek, achieving placement in premium and super premium wine labels.

Andrew is a typical Aussie who loves beer, wine and food and appreciates the great outdoors, hence making British Columbia and Tinhorn Creek a very attractive place to work. Andrew says “I hope to add to the great mix of talent already assembled at Tinhorn Creek Winery.”

 

Korol Kuklo

Assistant winemaker Korol Kuklo, joined the winemaking team at Tinhorn Creek Vineyards in 1998, just in time for the vintage that saw Tinhorn Creek’s 1998 Merlot win “Red Wine of the Year” at the Canadian Wine Awards. As with many in the wine industry, Korol’s move into the world of wine resulted from a career change. In her case, it came after a move to British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley following a career as a food service technician working primarily in a hospital and institutional healthcare setting in the Lower Mainland. Korol earned a food service technician diploma from Langara College in Vancouver, BC.

Prior to assuming the assistant winemaker role under the guidance of Tinhorn Creek’s chief winemaker, Sandra Oldfield, Korol headed up the lab at Tinhorn and was responsible for all of the quality control for the winery. Korol has been instrumental in Tinhorn Creek’s move to Stelvin (twist-off) closures on 100% of its wines. “We couldn’t make the move soon enough,” she says. “The consumer loves it and the wine is better for it.”

Korol lives in Osoyoos, BC, with her husband, Joe, and their four Boston terriers – Benny, Joon, Stella, and Mickey.

 

Shaun Everest

After ten and a half years as Tinhorn Creek’s marketing manager, Shaun Everest moved into the role of general manager/chief financial officer in 2008. Originally from Toronto, Ontario, Shaun moved out west to do his master of business administration degree at the University of British Columbia, with a focus on marketing and international business. And, like many eastern  transplants, Shaun never went back. After graduating with his MBA, Shaun held various positions with some large corporations such as Coca-Cola and Scott Paper; but he believes that those big company days were just preparing him for life at Tinhorn Creek. Shaun says, “I can’t imagine doing anything else. We’ve got a fantastic team and, of course, the most important thing is what’s in the bottle.”

 

Julie Copland-Stene - Marketing Manager

With 17 years of experience in sales and marketing in the food and wine industry, Julie Copland-Stene was the ideal candidate to join Tinhorn Creek team as the Alberta Sales & Marketing Manager in 2003. In the four and a half years that she held this position, Julie significantly increased market share and brand awareness through traditional and grassroots marketing efforts. In March 2008 she became marketing manager for the winery. She loves wine marketing, for the challenge of working with a product tied so closely to the land and nature; forces that cannot be controlled.

Born and raised in Calgary, Julie completed a bachelor of commerce with a marketing major at the University of Calgary and a general arts & science diploma from Mount Royal College. Her experience includes six years at Big Rock Brewery, including a position as marketing manager. After joining the winery team, she went on to complete levels 1 and 2 of the International Sommelier Guild program. Today, Julie still lives in Calgary with husband Gary and their three children and shares her time between her Calgary office and the winery. During her off-duty time, she enjoys watching classic movies and the Food Network, trying out new recipes, listening to live music, travelling to European or tropical destinations and of course, drinking wine!

 

Kenn Oldfield

Chairman and owner of Tinhorn Creek Vineyards, Kenn Oldfield has led the Tinhorn team since its inception in 1994. Originally from Muskoka, Ontario, he moved to Alberta after

obtaining a B.A.Sc. in chemical engineering. After 14 years in the oil industry, he turned his attention to a new venture – Tinhorn Creek Vineyards in Oliver, BC. By 1994, Kenn had taken all the course work for a master’s degree in viticulture from the University of California at Davis. Over the next three years, he completed the huge task of planting 150 acres of vineyard land. He also oversaw the building of the winery, the outdoor amphitheatre and the barrel cellar.

In 2008, Kenn stepped back from the general manager’s position to create and spearhead special projects for Tinhorn and to make more time for leisure and for working on his old air-cooled VWs.