Welcome to Barinaga Ranch 

At Barinaga Ranch we are continuing the ancient shepherding traditions of my Basque family and ancestors in Euskadi, the Basque region of Spain. Our sheep graze year-round on 75 acres of hilly, organically managed pastures on our 800-acre ranch, located on the east shore of Tomales Bay, just an hour north of San Francisco, in Marin County, California. Coming from a family of shepherds, I feel a deep connection with my sheep, and their happiness and welfare comes first in everything we do on the ranch. The ewes have their lambs in March just as the pastures are turning lush and green. In 2016, after 9 years of operating a sheep dairy and making cheese, I retired from cheesemaking, and we shut down the dairy and transitioned our flock to breeds known for their high-quality fiber. 

We have established a diverse fiber flock with purebred registered white and recessive-colored Romney sheep as well as black and white Corriedales, and Corriedale/Cormo crosses. The recessive-colored Romneys are born black, and their adult fleeces range in color from deep  charcoal grey to light pearly grey. In 2022 we added some rare Moorit Romneys to our flock. Their colors are brown-based rather than black, adding a new color to our natural-wool palette. 

Our Corriedales produce fine, long-stapled fleeces in black, charcoal grey and white, and we have been breeding Cormo rams to our Corriedale ewes for even finer fleeces in their offspring.

In 2022 we also began growing dye plants and hand-dyeing some of our yarn in small lots with the natural dyes.

We have beautiful fleeces, yarn and other wool products for sale, as well as delicious lamb and high-quality fiber-breeding stock.

Our ranch is a beautiful spot, and we have been fortunate to have its beauty captured by many talented photographers over the years. Thanks to Paige Green, Paolo Vescia, Marla Dell, Kristin Martin, Robin Carpenter, David Collier, Karen Pavone, Sally Gale, and Melinda Bower, whose photos grace this site.