Hollywood actor Squire Fridell and his wife Suzy run GlenLyon as a mom-and-pop winery on a hillside between the Sonoma and Mayacamas ranges. Production stays under 1,000 cases of small-lot Syrah, plus a sparkling 'Lexy's Toast' and a port-style dessert wine. Tours are Scottish-themed and hosted by Squire himself.
GlenLyon sits on a hillside between the Sonoma and Mayacamas ranges at the northern tip of Sonoma Valley — a tiny family estate planted almost entirely to Syrah after the original 1987 Cabernet Sauvignon was grafted over in 2002. Squire Fridell, the former Hollywood commercial actor whose face will be familiar to anyone who watched American television in the 1980s, farms the property himself with his wife Suzy and daughter Lexy. Production runs around 1,000 cases of small-lot vineyard-designated Syrah, plus the Lexy's Toast sparkling and a port-style dessert wine. The wines are nearly all allocated to the GlenLyon “Clan” membership, with no public tasting room. Visits are by appointment with Squire himself — personality-driven, Scottish-themed, and entirely private.
Estate Syrah, Sonoma Valley — The flagship and the only varietal planted on the estate; deep, structured Glen Ellen hillside Syrah.
Pater et Filia, Sonoma Valley — An 85% Syrah / 15% Viognier co-ferment in homage to Côte-Rôtie; full-bodied with elegant plum and red-raspberry notes.
Suzy's Toast Viognier — A fragrant, fruit-forward white sourced from a tiny Glen Ellen vineyard; one of Sonoma Valley's early Viognier bottlings.
GlenLyon is a tiny family estate (about 1,000–1,400 cases) tucked in the hills of Glen Ellen, owned by Squire and Suzy Fridell. Syrah is the sole estate varietal, the heart of a Rhône-focused lineup that also includes Roussanne, a Syrah-Grenache rosé, Grenache and Port.
Squire Fridell — the longtime Toyota TV spokesman and former Ronald McDonald — and his wife Suzy McDermaid Fridell, a professional dancer and teacher, established GlenLyon in 1986 and planted their first vines (Cabernet Sauvignon, in 1987) using one of the first quadrilateral-cordoned, vertically trellised systems in Sonoma Valley. The Cabernet was regrafted to Syrah in 2002, and today the estate's 4,631 hand-planted vines are essentially all Syrah — the only varietal on the property. Daughter Lexy returned to the winery full-time in 2018 after the 2017 Nuns Fire nearly destroyed the vineyards; she now manages the wine club and marketing, and makes the Lexy's Toast sparkling wines. The portfolio includes five vineyard-designated Syrahs, the Squire's Toast Cabernet-Syrah blend (Cab sourced externally), the Suzy's Toast Rhône-style white blend (Roussanne and Viognier sourced from premier Northern California vineyards), Lexy's Toast Sparkling, and a port-style dessert wine. Squire does most of the farming, winemaking, and tour-hosting himself. Wines are nearly all allocated to the GlenLyon “Clan” — reservations arranged directly with Squire.
Born in Oakland in 1943, Squire Fridell built one of the most prolific careers in American television commercial history — over 3,400 commercials as principal on-camera talent, plus roughly twice that number of voice-overs. From 1978 to 2012 he was the spokesman for Toyota in American TV ads; from 1985 to 1991 he was the official Ronald McDonald clown for McDonald's. He also held a master's degree in acting and directing from the University of the Pacific, taught and directed at the college and high school level for over 30 years, authored the definitive textbook on commercial acting (now in its fourth edition), and wrote four published plays. Squire and Suzy moved to Glen Ellen in the mid-1980s and established GlenLyon Vineyards in 1986; he taught himself winemaking by following local mentors after a few years of selling fruit to nearby wineries. “Same Greek God,” he likes to say of his transition from actor to winemaker. He serves as GlenLyon's winemaker, vineyard manager, CEO, CFO, and COO — effectively everyone in the company except daughter Lexy, who runs wine club, marketing, and the Lexy's Toast sparkling program. The wines are lush, fruit-forward, and full of personality — made, in his words, “the way Suzy and I like it.”
Suzy Fridell co-owns and operates GlenLyon Vineyards & Winery in Glen Ellen, the Sonoma Valley estate she and her husband Squire — the longtime Toyota and Ronald McDonald commercial actor — founded after planting their first Cabernet in 1987. A professional dancer and dance teacher for many years, Suzy has been the winery’s steady partner through three decades of estate farming, and was named a Sonoma County Volunteer of the Year in Education alongside Squire. Their daughter Lexy joined full-time in 2018, after the Nuns fire nearly destroyed the vineyard and winery.
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Estate Syrah, Sonoma Valley — The flagship and the only varietal planted on the estate; deep, structured Glen Ellen hillside Syrah.
Pater et Filia, Sonoma Valley — An 85% Syrah / 15% Viognier co-ferment in homage to Côte-Rôtie; full-bodied with elegant plum and red-raspberry notes.
Suzy's Toast Viognier — A fragrant, fruit-forward white sourced from a tiny Glen Ellen vineyard; one of Sonoma Valley's early Viognier bottlings.
GlenLyon is a tiny family estate (about 1,000–1,400 cases) tucked in the hills of Glen Ellen, owned by Squire and Suzy Fridell. Syrah is the sole estate varietal, the heart of a Rhône-focused lineup that also includes Roussanne, a Syrah-Grenache rosé, Grenache and Port.
GlenLyon sits on a hillside between the Sonoma and Mayacamas ranges at the northern tip of Sonoma Valley — a tiny family estate planted almost entirely to Syrah after the original 1987 Cabernet Sauvignon was grafted over in 2002. Squire Fridell, the former Hollywood commercial actor whose face will be familiar to anyone who watched American television in the 1980s, farms the property himself with his wife Suzy and daughter Lexy. Production runs around 1,000 cases of small-lot vineyard-designated Syrah, plus the Lexy's Toast sparkling and a port-style dessert wine. The wines are nearly all allocated to the GlenLyon “Clan” membership, with no public tasting room. Visits are by appointment with Squire himself — personality-driven, Scottish-themed, and entirely private.
Squire Fridell — the longtime Toyota TV spokesman and former Ronald McDonald — and his wife Suzy McDermaid Fridell, a professional dancer and teacher, established GlenLyon in 1986 and planted their first vines (Cabernet Sauvignon, in 1987) using one of the first quadrilateral-cordoned, vertically trellised systems in Sonoma Valley. The Cabernet was regrafted to Syrah in 2002, and today the estate's 4,631 hand-planted vines are essentially all Syrah — the only varietal on the property. Daughter Lexy returned to the winery full-time in 2018 after the 2017 Nuns Fire nearly destroyed the vineyards; she now manages the wine club and marketing, and makes the Lexy's Toast sparkling wines. The portfolio includes five vineyard-designated Syrahs, the Squire's Toast Cabernet-Syrah blend (Cab sourced externally), the Suzy's Toast Rhône-style white blend (Roussanne and Viognier sourced from premier Northern California vineyards), Lexy's Toast Sparkling, and a port-style dessert wine. Squire does most of the farming, winemaking, and tour-hosting himself. Wines are nearly all allocated to the GlenLyon “Clan” — reservations arranged directly with Squire.
Born in Oakland in 1943, Squire Fridell built one of the most prolific careers in American television commercial history — over 3,400 commercials as principal on-camera talent, plus roughly twice that number of voice-overs. From 1978 to 2012 he was the spokesman for Toyota in American TV ads; from 1985 to 1991 he was the official Ronald McDonald clown for McDonald's. He also held a master's degree in acting and directing from the University of the Pacific, taught and directed at the college and high school level for over 30 years, authored the definitive textbook on commercial acting (now in its fourth edition), and wrote four published plays. Squire and Suzy moved to Glen Ellen in the mid-1980s and established GlenLyon Vineyards in 1986; he taught himself winemaking by following local mentors after a few years of selling fruit to nearby wineries. “Same Greek God,” he likes to say of his transition from actor to winemaker. He serves as GlenLyon's winemaker, vineyard manager, CEO, CFO, and COO — effectively everyone in the company except daughter Lexy, who runs wine club, marketing, and the Lexy's Toast sparkling program. The wines are lush, fruit-forward, and full of personality — made, in his words, “the way Suzy and I like it.”
Suzy Fridell co-owns and operates GlenLyon Vineyards & Winery in Glen Ellen, the Sonoma Valley estate she and her husband Squire — the longtime Toyota and Ronald McDonald commercial actor — founded after planting their first Cabernet in 1987. A professional dancer and dance teacher for many years, Suzy has been the winery’s steady partner through three decades of estate farming, and was named a Sonoma County Volunteer of the Year in Education alongside Squire. Their daughter Lexy joined full-time in 2018, after the Nuns fire nearly destroyed the vineyard and winery.
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