BIRDHORSE WINES

Birdhorse represents a vision for the future of California winemaking, a vision anchored in a passion for diversification. We strive to showcase regions, varietals, and humans that have long had a presence in this industry, but have yet to been celebrated by many of its constituents. We are driven by intellectual curiosity, transparency, science, and data, but most importantly an ardor for delicious wines and sharing them with the wider drinking public.

The Name. Birdhorse is intended to evoke a sense of adventure and whimsey, rooted in the familiar - the same feeling we hope to express through each of our wines. It is a thing you can conjure in your mind’s eye, a faint outline, but requires an inquisitive and open mind to fill in the details. That is Birdhorse: a desire for understanding, grounded by our own experience and perception, fueled by our imagination.

OUR TEAM

Corinne Rich

Corinne was born and raised in Sonoma County, California, to parents that had zero ties to the wine industry other than being passionate consumers. She went on to earn her B.A. in Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania and, after the world’s briefest stint in pharmaceutical research, she returned to her native northern California and dove head-first into wine production. She spent time working the harvest circuit across a variety of regions, including Sonoma, Willamette Valley, New Zealand, and Australia before returning to school for her M.S. in Viticulture & Enology from UC Davis. There she met Katie Rouse and, well, the rest is history! The two worked a harvest in South Africa, got a wallop of inspiration, and returned home to start Birdhorse. When she’s not elbows-deep in a Birdhorse ferment, Corinne has a day job as the assistant winemaker at Scribe Winery in Sonoma.

Katie Rouse

Katie did her undergrad at Whitman College, where her rampant enthusiasm for all things rock-related earned her a B.A. in Geology. Born of the grapes into a winemaking family in Rockbridge County, Virginia, Katie naturally gravitated back to winemaking while living in Sonoma, California where she was working in the the Napa/Sonoma Carneros for years. Whilst nerding out and earning her M.S. in Viticulture & Enology from UC Davis, she fell head-over-heels for Corinne, and is now thrilled to have found a partner in, well...everything! After working in South Africa, Burgundy, and most recently St. Helena, CA, Katie is the assistant winemaker at Bedrock Wine Co in Sonoma.

Tyler Ernst

Tyler earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School, and a Master of Biotechnology while at the University of Pennsylvania. Most importantly from Penn, though, came a now-decade-long friendship with Corinne (which featured an odd amount of Lady Gaga and flavored vodka — tastes have improved, we promise). He worked for five years in management consulting and private equity then got his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is now crunching all sorts of financial numbers in NYC. His background in wine is limited to enthusiastic consumption, so he tries to stay out of the way while Corinne and Katie do the important stuff.

Contact Us

Corinne, Katie, and Tyler can be reached at (707) 532 - 4631 or birdhorsewines@gmail.com