Description
Located in the heart of the Carneros region, Domaine Carneros stands alone as the only sparkling wine producer using exclusively Carneros grapes. The Carneros Appellation is the first American Viticultural appellation to be defined according to climate rather than along political lines. The appellation is characterized by a long, moderately cool growing season tempered by the maritime breezes and lingering fog off the San Pablo Bay just to the south. These are optimum growing conditions for pinot noir and chardonnay, the two primary grape varieties used in Domaine Carneros wines.

Domaine Carneros farms 195 planted acres of vineyards on three different Carneros vineyard sites. There are 35 different blocks within our three vineyards. Each block is unique either because of the scion/rootstock combination (this is the grape variety grafted onto a pest-resistant rootstock) or because of the terrain of the block (i.e. slope, direction of rows, soil, sun exposure, etc.) Similar to an artist having many colors in a palette, this provides a variety of components from which our winemakers can create their blends each vintage. To add to this, we have thirteen different clonal selections (six chardonnay and seven pinot noir) all of which were selected for their flavor and intensity.

Almost all of the grapes for Domaine Carneros? wines come from our own estate vineyards. This is important for two reasons. First it allows the winery to control and direct the production from the vineyard to the bottle, and secondly it allows for continuity in our product resulting in a consistency in our wines. Our vineyards are farmed with the point of view that quality and not tonnage is the primary goal. All of our clones have small-to-medium sized clusters, allowing greater flavor concentration. We also prune each block, during the spring, to remove weak shoots that would add tonnage but would bring down the quality of the fruit because of lack of maturity.

At Domaine Carneros, we know that to maintain the longevity of our vineyards and to protect the surrounding wildlife, we need to farm responsibly in a way that preserves the soils, eliminates erosion and preserves the local ecology. We have made several changes with these efforts in mind. We have moved to the use of mechanical weed removers to reduce herbicides and use chemicals that are either organic or environmentally safe. We have been able to do this by understanding life cycles of diseases and pests by careful observation in the vineyards. We are also introducing more cover crops, which are planted between the vine rows to stabilize the soils in the wet seasons and provide nutrients and organic matter to our soils. In addition, we work with the Napa Resource Conservation District (NRCD), an organization put together by the growers along Huichica Creek a sensitive water and wildlife area.