Mark Lyon, an experienced winegrower in Alexander Valley, has over three decades of experience in making wines from his vineyards. Mark received a B.S. of Fermentation Science from the University of California at Davis in 1978 and was hired the very next year by Sebastiani Vineyards to assist with production. In 1985, he was placed in charge of harvest and, subsequently, the winemaking team. During this time Mark focused on producing the finest wines for Sebastiani using vineyards throughout Sonoma County, including his own.

Mark’s successes were notable during his time at Sebastiani Vineyards. The inaugural 1999 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, from Eco Terreno Vineyards, was the first Sebastiani wine to be in “Top 100 Wines of the Year” and on the cover of Wine Spectator Magazine. Mark was named “Winemaker of the Year” by Restaurant Wine Magazine in 2004 and was awarded the “Distinguished Alumni Award” from U.C. Davis in 2005. Mark crowned his tenure in 2015 at Sebastiani with scores of 95 to 98+ from Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate for his 2013 Sebastiani Cabernet Sauvignon-based Cherryblock, Gravel Bed Alexander Valley, Gravel Bed Sonoma County, and Old Vine releases, three of which were made with some fruit, or entirely from Lyon’s Eco Terreno Vineyards. He retired from the head winemaking position at Sebastiani in 2016 to focus on Eco Terreno’s vineyards and wines.