Carneros

In 1981, a young German couple arrived in an alien wine culture.  Markus Moller-Racke's father, director of the German wine and spirits firm, A. Racke, sent Markus to head up Racke's recent acquisition, historic Buena Vista Winery, in the Carneros wine region of Northern California.  Markus and his wife,  Anne Moller-Racke, a talented viticulturist, were anxious about their new adventure. 

Markus Moller-Racke

In Germany, the Moller-Rackes were used to steeply terraced vineyards, subject to a northern climate best suited to white varieties like Riesling and Muller-Thurgau.  They would encounter something different in Carneros; vineyards running along gently rolling hills, adjacent to a large body of water that tempered the climate for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 

The Moller-Rackes met the challenge head on, injecting new energy into Buena Vista's vineyards and wines. By 2000, though, things had changed in Germany and the elder Moller-Rache decided his son should come home to run the family business.  The Moller-Rackes went their separate ways: Markus back to Germany, while Anne stayed in Carneros, running the very successful Donum Estate.

In the twenty years that the Moller-Rackes were in Carneros, the wine community came together to form the Carneros Wine Alliance, attract new wineries and grape growers and establish Carneros as one of California's premier wine regions. 

Carneros By the Numbers

Los Carneros means "the rams" in Spanish, an appropriate name since the land was once part of a Spanish land Grant, used as grazing pasture for large flocks of sheep.  In the late 1800s, Agoston Haraszthy, the Hungarian entrepreneur who brought premium grape varieties to California, planted the first vineyard in Carneros, overlooking San Pablo Bay.  The area's first winery opened in 1880 at the Stanly Ranch.  Today, the historic property is owned by Auberge Resorts.

San Pablo Bay, at the northern end of the San Francisco Bay, provides morning fog and cool breezes for the Carneros vineyards along the southern parts of Napa and Sonoma counties.  Los Carneros, granted an AVA in 1983 (amended in 2006), is one of many California AVAs located in more than one county. 

The bulk of the rural Carneros appellation is in Sonoma County, from the historic town of Sonoma in the north to a southern point near the famous Sears-Point Raceway.  There is a sameness to the land, from one county to the other. 

In wine terms, Carneros is defined by climate and not political lines.  At one time, the climate across Carneros was cooler than it is today.  Still, because it is close to the northern reaches of San Francisco Bay, Carneros can be cool, foggy and wet, the right growing environment for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 

Once, California Pinot Noirs were few and far between.  Except for the occasional Pinots from Joseph Swan and Hanzell, the PN Revolution didn't get started until Russian River devotees came along in the late 1980s.  

Since then, interest has grown. Today, noteworthy Pinot Noir is being made in Carneros, and the Russian River Valley, Santa Barbara, Anderson Valley and Santa Lucia Highlands. Except for Anderson Valley, Pinots from the other areas tend to be more concentrated, with deeper black cherry flavors.  

In the early 1980s, new wineries making Burgundian-style wines came on line in Carneros,  including Saintsbury, Bouchaine, Acacia, Gloria Ferrer and Richardson.  Syrah and Merlot were added to the grape inventory, along with a growing list of other varieties, but it was Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that showed promise for still and sparkling wine.

During the same decade, the Carneros wine map added another new dimension, with the arrival of a handful of sparkling wine producers.   On the Napa side, Domaine Carneros, owned by Champagne Taittinger, opened its doors in 1987.  In Sonoma, Spain's Freixenet, a CAVA maker in Catalonia, began making sparkling wine under the Gloria Ferrer label.  Codorniu, another major CAVA maker, had Codorniu Napa, but converted to still wines, rebranding as Artesa.  

Today, there are more than 35 Carneros wineries making still and sparkling wines. On the Napa side, Carneros Creek lays claim to the oldest Carneros winery, operating since 1972. Mont St. John, a reliable maker of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, opened its doors in 1979. 

Although the effects of climate change will continue to alter the growing environment, for now Carneros Pinot Noir remains a lighter wine with more delicate berry flavors, supported by brisk acidity.  Carneros Chardonnay tastes of sweet-tart apples, spice and the zesty acidity characteristic of Carneros.

Sheep that once grazed on the rolling hills of Carneros are gone, replaced by a growing number of vineyards, supplying grapes for the distinctive wines of Los Carneros. 

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