Welcome to Mt. Vernon Winery

Our People

Jim and Lynda Taylor, Founders


Jim Taylor

Jim Taylor was born in Oklahoma City, Ok. He was raised on a wheat and dairy farm. Starting at the age of 8 he was driving tractor and worked side by side with his father. Anyone who has met Jim knows that he has a true enthusiasm for farming which is why he is such a natural for owning such a wonderful winery. Jim’s vision has always been on a grand scale. Just check out the awesome wine cave, the barrel storage room that holds more than 500 barrels, the crush pad, the fully automated bottling line and wine laboratory. With this in mind – note that he is particularly gifted with a great pallet for wine and is known for developing the highest standards for our Mt Vernon Winery wines. And to top it all off, he is rather an engineer of sorts, he also has his own fully automated bio diesel plant! Talk about going “green”!!

Just imagine, Lynda Taylor his wife decided she loved the look and feel of a vineyard and asked Jim to plant some vines on the property. Ryan their son and the winemaker was a junior in high school back in 1996 and became interested in viticulture and was very excited about planting the vineyard with his dad. Never in their wildest dreams did the three of them realize that they were creating the largest and most award winning Winery in Placer County.

 

Lynda Taylor

When you come to visit Mt Vernon Winery you will most surely run in to Lynda Taylor. She is the true cornerstone of the winery. Lynda loves to share her knowledge of the winery, from all the wonderful wines they make to the lush beautiful gardens and landscaping that are her true passion. When Lynda is not running the tasting room, she is planning gorgeous wedding events, wine cave dinners and spring and summer concerts to enjoy on the lush vineyard grounds. Not to mention that she is the wife of Jim Taylor and the mother of winemaker Ryan Taylor.

 

Ryan Taylor, Winemaker

Although Ryan’s first love was basketball, his close second nowadays is winemaking. After playing a season at Chico State, then playing his sophmore year at Cuesta College in San Louis Obispo (where they were ranked 7th in the state) he came back home to help his folks start up his family run winery in Auburn California. He started making wine at 18 years old. Now (2011) fourteen years later, he has produced numerous gold medals for Mt. Vernon Winery, including a double gold, best of region, and best of show.

On a recent trip to work a harvest in Melbourne Australia he helped make the final touches on a Shiraz that won best in the world. The Syrah De-monde contest located in France had over 6,000 entries. Ryan now resides on a 25 acre vineyard which he manages outside the town of Auburn. He splits his time up between making wine at Mt. Vernon Winery, consulting for other local wineries, and of course the vineyard.

 

Lynda Taylor with                                             

Janet Anderson, Tasting Room Manager

Janet has been the face of the Tasting Room from the beginning and has become so popular our customers ask for her by name!  She works closely with the staff to coordinate the schedule and that is no easy task.  Janet also works with the winery to select and train our very talented Tasting Room Staff.  She is a big part of our winery family.