THE BUCKLIN FAMILY

The Bucklin's were all born and raised in San Francisco, but spent virtually every weekend and summer on their Grandmother's ranch in Sonoma. In 1976, their mother Anne, a professional landscape gardener, moved to Sonoma when she married Otto Teller. Otto and Anne lived together on Oak Hill Farm where they raised organic flowers and vegetables. In 1981, the Tellers purchased the venerable Old Hill Ranch Vineyard which is adjacent to the farm. Meanwhile, the four Bucklin siblings set off on separate paths across the country pursuing various careers, spouses, and hobgoblins, only to return to the family farm in Sonoma.

Will Bucklin's first birthday gift was a bottle of 1961 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Lucky for him his godparents were enophiles that gave him a bottle of wine each year until his 21st birthday - and what a birthday it was! Will went on to study Enology at Davis.  Upon his graduation in 1985, he traveled to France for an internship at Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Will also worked in Australia at Thomas Hardy and Sons, and then in Mendocino at Navarro winery where he was infected with the Pinot Noir bug. In 1992, he moved to Oregon to become winemaker for King Estate Winery. In 2000, at the insistence of his brother Ted, who was managing both family businesses ~ Oak Hill Farm and Old Hill Ranch ~ he moved back to California to live on Old Hill Ranch, manage the vineyard, and help found the family winery. Will does intend to drink the 1961 Lafite someday.

Kate Bucklin and her boyfriend David Leer founded Larbuck construction in New York City in 1980. In 1992, after 12 years remolding a significant portion of the east side of Manhattan, Kate and David moved back to California where Kate pursued a PhD in Population Genetics. Her decision to research Coho salmon and oysters was strongly supported by the foodies in the family. Kate was awarded her PhD from U.C. Davis in 2002. She is now the Fisheries Geneticist for Trout Unlimited and serves on the board of Directors for the Teller Wild Life Refuge in Montana. After 21 years of courtship, David and Kate were married in 2001. David continues to do major construction projects around the farm but spends most of his time directing local theater in the Sonoma Valley.

Arden Bucklin graduated from U.C. Davis in 1980 with a BA in French. After working at Zoetrope Studios in San Francisco, Arden moved to New York to be with her husband, Dr. Karl Sporer, during his internship at Belleview Hospital. They moved to Karl's home town, New Orleans, and began to raise their family of three boys. In 1992, they moved back to San Francisco, where Karl works at SF General and Arden initiated a garden project at her sons' elementary school. Since 2004, Arden has been directing the San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance, a regional support network for over 80 school gardens and green schoolyards in the San Francisco Unified School district. In addition, Arden serves on the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum. In 2010, Arden co-authored a book published by Timber Press — How to Grow a School Garden; a Complete Guide for Teachers and Parents.

Ted Bucklin left the bright lights of San Francisco in 1978 to live in El Rito, a remote town in Northern New Mexico. Ted was comfortably raising his two children while starting a new career in social work after having just received a masters from the University of New Mexico.  In 1994, he got a call from our mother asking him to take over management of Oak Hill Farm and Old Hill Ranch.  Two weeks later, Ted was in California managing 90 acres of farm with over 200 varieties of fruits and vegetables, 24 acres of grapes, 13 employees, the farm retail store and the flower wholesale market. Ted would be the first to admit the learning curve was steep and he was stretched to the limit. In 1999, he phoned his brother Will in Oregon suggesting that he take over the vineyard management and start a winery "because we just aren't busy enough around here."  In 2000, Ted's son Oliver moved out to the farm where he is working and studying at college.