Michael Collins is a man of passion and dedication. In 1977 he, his brother Tom and friend Ted Markoczy, purchased 30 acres on Limerick Lane complete with squatters, broken down buildings and chicken coops.  Contrast this image with the beautifully tended rows of Zinfandel vines that produce award winning wines today, and one can see the fruition of Michael’s vision to produce great wines.   

Michael has a talent for growing things, Tom was a mechanical genius and dreamed of making wine.  Ted, was a charming Hungarian who could tell a story and sell wine.  At the time that they purchased the vineyard property, Michael was a realtor in Sonoma County and Tom was a firefighter in San Francisco. They combined their skills to make the dream of Limerick Lane Cellars a reality. The brothers cleared weed choked fields, razed decrepit buildings, brought neglected old vines into health and planted new vines.

For the first few years, Limerick Lane Vineyards sold fruit to local wineries including De Loach, Chateau Souverain, Ravenswood, Davis Bynum and Gary Farrell. The stellar quality of the grapes quickly led to wineries lining up to buy Limerick Lane fruit.

In 1986, Michael, Tom and Ted decided to produce their first wine, a Sauvignon Blanc. They rented space to “custom crush” at a winery in Geyserville, and the results were well worth it.  However, they quickly realized that the most credible way to make a wine that was expressive of its terroir was to produce it totally on the estate.  They built a winery on the property and crushed their first vintage in 1993.  Limerick Lane’s estate produced Zinfandel began receiving awards and accolades and quickly became well known as an exemplar of the finest California Zinfandel.

In 1997 Ross Battersby became winemaker.  A beautifully appointed tasting room was completed in June of 2003 to welcome guests and provide an attractive and comfortable place for people to taste our wines.  In 2006 Club Limerick was launched and is growing rapidly.  In that same year Peter Leary became tasting room manager and winery chef and Richard Oberlin was hired as assistant winemaker and director of North Bay sales.  In 2008 Karin Stacey joined the Limerick Lane team to direct sales in the Bay Area.

In addition to our acclaimed Collins Vineyard Zinfandel, Limerick Lane now produces a Syrah, a proprietary blend of Zinfandel and Syrah (1023), a Pinot Noir, a Rose and two small production Old Vine Zinfandels. 

Today, Michael carries on the tradition that he began over thirty years ago producing excellent wines that express the unique terroir of the Collins Vineyard.  Both critics and consumers alike value our wines for their excellence and consistency.  Come by our tasting room to sample our award winning wines.  We look forward to sharing our wines with you.