About
Alex Macgregor
Thirty years ago, Alex MacGregor began his fruitful wine career in the burgeoning Toronto restaurant scene. He started as a busboy, but it wasn’t long before he became a certified sommelier and wine buyer, working on some of the most adventurous lists in town. It was fun for a while, but as the flashy trappings of the dining world lost their luster, he felt the pull of something more elemental: the ancient alchemy of turning grapes into liquid poetry.
This led him to Australia and New Zealand, and eventually to California to earn an education in the art and science of winemaking. After his enology studies at CSU Fresno and hands-on viticulture training at SRJC, he spent a decade in Sonoma's Dry Creek and Russian River valleys, transforming from cellar rat to winemaker at Everett Ridge with guidance from Bob Cabral of Williams Selyem fame.
Following his north star
Then Alex saw the light to the north. He moved with his family to Mendocino County to become the inaugural winemaker at Saracina Vineyards, working with consultant David Ramey and owner John Fetzer. David helped recalibrate what Alex’s understanding of how a great wine should be made, tutoring him on native yeast and native malolactic fermentations, proper élevage, batonnage, unfiltered bottlings, and of course, the joy of a great bottle. John gave Alex the latitude to search the furthest reaches of the county for amazing vineyards. This search inspired him to make a little wine on his own.
Thus began Trinafour Cellars in 2005 with 50 cases of organically grown Petite Sirah. Trinafour refers to a lovely little village in Pitlochry, Scotland, where Alex’s great-grandfather John MacGregor kept game and tried to belie his family history by generally keeping out of trouble.
Alex grew Trinafour slowly and carefully, adding old vine Carignane, then a field blend, Rosso Misto from Casa Verde, and two whites, Sémillon from Lolonis and French Colombard, also from old vines at Casa Verde. Alex shepherds his creations from vine to wine. Vines are head pruned, dry farmed and cultivated traditionally, with minuscule yields. Wines are then made with meticulous attention to detail and winegrown with love.
