He’s a man who needs no introductions around these parts: Mike Sinor, founding winemaker at Ancient Peaks and a 30-year veteran of the Central Coast winemaking community.
We are now excited to share that Mike has been named “2023 San Luis Obispo County Wine Industry Person of the Year,” an honor bestowed by his peers.
Mike has been with Ancient Peaks since our very first vintage, and he continues to steer the vision, style and quality of our wines alongside Winemaker Stewart Cameron. He is an industry leader and a mentor to many, and this award is a culmination of his accomplishments. We caught up with Mike to see how he’s feeling after earning this big award:
What does this honor mean to you?
It means the world to me. Being voted Wine Industry Person of the Year is better than wine scores because it is coming from my peers.
You’ve been making wine on the Central Coast for 30 years now—thinking back, could you have ever imagined that you’d still be here living the dream?
Honestly yes. I fell in love early and hard with the SLO County wine business. I’ve traveled to many of the world’s great wine regions, they’re all amazing, but I can still say that nothing beats SLO County!
You’ve been with Ancient Peaks since the beginning, what surprises you most about where the winery is today?
I am pleasantly surprised with the consistency of Margarita Vineyard. When we got together to start the company, we had a good hunch that it was a world-class vineyard. Now, as we approach our 18th vintage, there’s a track record that proves it. Margarita Vineyard has few peers in delivering consistent high quality from vintage to vintage, wine to wine. Through droughts, frosts and pandemics, Ancient Peaks continues to over-deliver.