Co-Owner and Winemaker of Tolenas Winery

Lisa Howard is a second-generation farmer and self-taught winemaker who, alongside her husband, Cliff Howard, founded Tolenas Winery in 2015. An agricultural engineer with a commitment to sustainable farming, Lisa has come into her own under the Tolenas Winery label.

Dedicated to her hometown, Lisa is also an advocate for the Suisun Valley’s burgeoning community of small, local businesses in the region.

After graduating from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo with a degree in engineering and a focus on agriculture, Lisa moved to Arizona, where she began a career as a Water Resource Specialist. She also worked as a project engineer and consulted with farmers on irrigation initiatives.

While living in Arizona, Lisa met and married Cliff. After years away from California, Lisa felt the Suisun Valley calling to her to return. When the opportunity arose to purchase a 55-acre property in Suisun Valley, Lisa and Cliff jumped at the opportunity to fulfill their calling as winemakers.

Lending her expertise and serving her community, Lisa sits on the Technical Advisory Committee for the Solano County Ground Water Sustainability Agency Department, and the Board of Directors for the Suisun Valley Vintners and Growers. Lisa is also an appointed member of the Board of Supervisors for the Solano County Agricultural Advisory Group.

Head of Winemaking at The Prisoner Wine Company

Winemaking wasn’t on Chrissy’s radar at first.  After growing up in the suburban sprawl of Burbank, California, Chrissy headed to the decidedly more outdoorsy California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.  She started as a PE major but quickly changed her field of study to Ecology and Systematic Biology. 

At her first job, she analyzed soil and wastewater samples at a chemistry lab, which just happened to share quarters with a wine lab.

She ended up taking a job as a wine chemist at Meridian Vineyards in Paso Robles, then returned to Cal Poly to earn a Master of Science in Agriculture.

In 2005, she became assistant winemaker at Scheid Vineyards. Two years later, she jumped at the chance to become assistant winemaker at Wild Horse. 

After spending just one year in this role, she was promoted to winemaker — a post she held for five years before taking the reins as Director of Winemaking and General Manager in 2013.

Chrissy is now Head of Luxury and Icon Winemaking at Constellation Brands.