andres ibarra
THE WINEMAKER
Tierra Y Vino’s story is truly one of labor and love. It begins in El Valle de Guadalupe of Jalisco, Mexico and ends in the Santa Ynez Valley of California, United States.
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The year was 1975 when Andres Ibarra and his family emigrated to the US. The child of a horse rancher and oldest son of ten siblings, Andres began pruning plants and picking grapes in the local vineyards at age 16, sacrificing teenage life to help his family.
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One day Andres was in the fields and labor came to a halt as it began to rain, for that reason he was sent to work inside the winery. While racking wine inside, Andres decided to taste, knowing it was made from grapes he harvested only one month earlier. It was in that moment he fell in love with making wine.
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In 1985 Andres landed his first official winemaker position, from there his opportunities flourished as he was recruited to make wines all across Santa Ynez. In addition, he gained extensive knowledge of the soil, grapes and micro climate of the valley.
caren rideau
HIS PARTNER
Meanwhile that same year, Caren Rideau moved from Phoenix, her hometown, to Los Angeles in search of more opportunity. After completing the interior design program at Arizona State University, she eventually founded her own studio, The Kitchen Design Group, located in Pacific Palisades.
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As her business grew into one of LA’s most unique and impressive residential design firms, Caren furthered her education in arts and culture. While traveling throughout Europe and South America, Caren developed her palette and love of food and wine.
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Caren frequented the Santa Ynez Valley on weekends to visit family and friends, as fate would have it, she met Andres in 2005. The two soon discovered they share more in common than viticulture and the couple’s relationship grew. Andres and Caren decided to chase their dream of starting a label together and four years later tierra y vino began.
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What started with one man’s passion for his family and the earth, combined with a woman’s expertise in design and entrepreneurialism, has blossomed into a collaboration of labor and love.
