Oakfield Vineyards (OV) is not a traditional winery at all but instead the focus of an independent research group made up of scientists and engineers dedicated to the investigations of the equipment, methodologies and processes that lead to the creation of fine wine.  Our small private winery located in the hills of Sherman Oaks, California (adjacent to Bel-Air and Beverly Hills) serves as our base for a wide range of viticultural investigations and research.

The winery was established in 1999 when proprietor Harry Tarnoff planted pedigreed Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon grapevines that he obtained from California's premier wine country.  OV's land and lab allows its team to research new possibilities in the realm of winemaking, leading to new products that enhance vintner and viticultural skills.  For example, OV recently developed an agressive pruning technique that rescues grapvines infected with the Xylella bacterium (Pierce's Disease) by the blue-green sharpshooter (close relative to the glassy-winged sharpshooter), a pest known to devastate entire vineyards.

OV creates wine from its own grapes grown on the estate as well as from grapes from other locales, including Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, San Luis Obispo County (Zinfandel) and Santa Barbara County (Pinot Noir).  The wine that OV produces as part of its R&D investigations inherently varies greatly in yield, quality, maturity date, texture and body.  One of the purposes for this website is for it to serve as a tool of information interchange regarding varietal selections and their vintages which are produced.

OV produces a small about of non-commercial wine.  It occasionally makes some its finer results available for evaluation which leads to our tasting notes which in turn aids our R&D efforts.  If you would like to know more, please continue on to the other sections of our website or contact us for more information.

OV is a subsidiary of DataPlex, Inc., a high technology R&D firm that develops innovative products.