The Tinhorn Creek Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Sandra Oldfield to the position of President and CEO of Tinhorn Creek Vineyards effective June 16, 2011. Sandra will retain the
title and responsibilities of Winemaker. As president of Tinhorn Creek, Oldfield will be responsible for overall strategic direction of the winery.
Oldfield brings 20 years of experience and personal passion in the wine industry. She joined Tinhorn Creek as Winemaker in 1995, rising to serve as the Chief Operating Officer in 2008. She has spearheaded several innovative projects in the last few years such as leading Tinhorn to become the first Carbon Neutral winery in Canada, just one of the initiatives under Tinhorn Creek’s sustainability and stewardship program. This year the company achieved an impressive 28% reduction of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions or tonnes of CO2 Equivalents over last year.
Also under Oldfield’s leadership, Tinhorn recently became the first small employer in British Columbia to become COR (Certificate of Recognition) certified in BC’s Food and Beverage Industry.
The certification came after an 18 month long process that was aimed at making all aspects of the business (vineyard, hospitality, winery, production, and offices) safer for all employees. COR certification is granted by the Food Industry Occupational Safety Association (FIOSA) of BC.
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. She gained her early 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 top of the Tinhorn Creek winery vineyards.
