In March 2020, the world changed forever with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mike and Amy Doherty, owners of Grindstone Wines for 14 years, were faced with a dilemma: whether or not to continue construction on their brand-new tasting room.

The Doherty family proceeded and opened their first tasting room in July 2020 and the rest, as they say, is history. Grindstone recently celebrated the third anniversary of its tasting room on July 28.

Located at 12700 County Road. 89 in Esparto, Grindstone Wines is family-owned and operated, open Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mike and Amy are not the only Doherty’s involved with the family business.

Two of Mike and Amy’s daughters work for Grindstone. Molly, the eldest, manages Grindstone’s wine club, which began in 2016. She also serves as the winery’s assistant brand manager, posting pictures to social media of all that Grindstone has to offer.

“We are one of the newest tasting rooms that have opened in western Yolo County,” Molly said. “We grow all the grapes ourselves. The tasting room was a labor of love that turned into Grindstone. We want people to feel at home when they come into the tasting room.”

Mike and Amy’s youngest daughter, Emma, also works at the winery in a hands-on capacity. Emma mostly works in the vineyards, tending to the daily needs of the product. On busy days, she can also be found helping in the tasting room.

Tierney Bates is Grindstone’s brand and tasting room manager. Following the family theme, Bates is Mike and Amy’s niece.

The Doherty’s opened Grindstone in 1997 after Mike studied fruit science in college at Cal Poly.

“In San Luis Obispo, there are a lot of wineries and wine grapes growing down there,” Molly explained. “He came home from college and told his father Mike Sr., ‘I want to plant grapes, I think this would be a perfect area for it.’ In the foothills there is great sunlight exposure, a delta breeze in the evenings and long, hot summer days that really grow some great big, bold reds. He wanted to try it out and just see.”

In 2010, Grindstone introduced its own label. After selling within a small circle of friends and family, the Doherty’s realized in 2018 that it was time to expand, which eventually led to the tasting room.

In the last few years, Grindstone has made new additions to what they offer, according to Molly.

“Since we are such a new tasting room and the property is new to us, there is always something new at the tasting room when people come in,” Molly said. “We recently added an extra patio to the west of the tasting room for weddings or as another spot for private events. We’ve added some extra landscaping to the patio as well as new varietals to our lineup.

“We recently released a sparkling wine at the start of 2023, so that’s been really fun to have for private event celebrations at the tasting room. We started pouring mimosa flights. We’re learning as the tasting room has been open longer and what people love, what we can improve on. We’re always trying to add shade to the patio so everyone is more comfortable and want to stay longer.”

Molly explained that one of her favorite new additions to the tasting room is Grindstone’s “Music in the Park” event which happens monthly, every fourth Friday from 6-9 p.m. There is live music and food trucks at Grindstone from June until October.

The Geoffrey Miller Band performs on Aug. 23, The Knockouts will be there on Sept. 27 and The Californios close out the calendar on Oct. 25.

“It’s really fun, it’s casual, family-friendly. We have a private park area there surrounded by cypress trees so it’s nice and shady in the evening,” Molly explained. “There’s a big grassy area so people can bring their lawn chairs. We sell wine by the bottle for the evening. You get to see the sunset at the tasting room, which is fun, because we aren’t there often that late in the evening to enjoy the sunset so I love that part!”

For more information about Grindstone Wines, visit their website at grindstonewines.com, or find them on Facebook and Instagram.