The vineyard was first planted in 1984 by former Chicagoans, Tom Byrne and Jane Armstrong-Byrne. They established their home in the vineyard in 1992. Their love of wine coupled with a keen interest in food was the basis for developing a vineyard. Jane’s professional food background brought her to wine early in her career. As an avocation she designed and led tours to the wine producing countries of Europe. Both Jane and Tom belonged to several wine organizations which further served to develop their goal to create a world class Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard.
About Armstrong Ranch
THE PROPRIETORS: Both hailing from Illinois, Tom Byrne is a retired Structural Engineer who got his degrees at Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois. After serving in the Army he worked for a Chicago architectural firm before joining Jewel Food Stores in 1964. He later became Vice President of Construction and Store Development for Jewel. Jane Armstrong-Byrne is a Home Economist and Registered Dietitian. She studied at Iowa State University, and served her Administrative Dietetic internship at the Aetna Life Insurance Company in Hartford Connecticut. She was Head of Test Kitchens for the American Dairy Association, and Director of Home Economics for the Wheat Flour Institute. In 1966, she joined Jewel Food Stores as Home Economist. In 1971 she became Vice President of Consumer Affairs for Jewel, one of the first women VPs in corporate America. They were married in 1974.
WINEMAKER: Craig Becker was born in Long Beach, CA and studied winemaking at UC Davis. He began his wine making career as have many at Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville. He moved in 1997 to Spring Mountain Winery as assistant winemaker and became winemaker in 1998. There he made 75 different wines from over 140 different blocks. He began consulting in 1999 and in 2003 he left Spring Mountain to pursue consulting full time. He now consults with many small boutique wineries along with making wine on his own. “My goal as a winemaker is to produce exceptional varietal wines which reflect the uniqueness of the vineyard and the microclimate,” he explains.