Jeff Brinkman

Jeff Brinkman brings a rare blend of scientific acumen and intuitive craftsmanship to winemaking. With a background in biochemistry and hands-on experience from the cellar floor (he began as a “cellar rat” in 1996), he has honed a disciplined, terroir-forward approach to Pinot Noir.

At the heart of his philosophy: the vineyard does the heavy lifting. “Wines are made in the vineyard,” he says—labouring under the sun and fog of the Santa Cruz Mountains, where shallow soils and fractured substrates let the vines dig deep, struggle, and express place.

Jeff’s winemaking facility is as unique as his approach. He led the design and execution of a subterranean winery built into the hillside—a series of three tunnels carved with precision. From the “bin cave,” the fruit is cooled, gravity-fed to the crush pad, then moved into custom one-ton vats, and finally into François Frères barrels—all orchestrated in an environment he helped tailor.

This cave-based winery, with its temperature stability and gravity-driven flow, reflects Jeff’s deep conviction that the less interference, the better the expression of site. His hands-off philosophy—minimal filtration or fining, native yeast fermentations, whole-cluster options—lets each vintage speak of its origin.

While Jeff has produced acclaimed Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays in his previous work, with Tarwater Creek he channels that same vision into a smaller, focused estate. Here, his aim is simple: treat every vine like it matters, respect the land, and let place, patience and purpose shine through the glass.