Our History

The origins of Carter Cellars begin in the mid 1980s, when the historic Carter House Victorian was built in Eureka. When this small bed and breakfast became too popular for the crowds traveling the west coast, the Hotel Carter was added, and a restaurant — the highly regarded Restaurant 301 — was needed for the guests. For them, Mark Carter began compiling what has become, since 1998, a Wine Spectator Grand Award winning wine list, sourcing the best wines the world had to offer: first growth Bordeaux, the top Napa Cabernet, and the high quality, little-known gems that helped the list stand out.

The recognition of the restaurant and its wine list allowed Mark to host winemaker dinners with the likes of Dan Duckhorn and Nils Venge. Mark and Nils became fast friends at these dinners, sharing an all-encompassing passion for great wines. Mark wished to start a new age wine label — devoid of a brick and mortar facility, sourcing only the best fruit from the most renowned vineyards in Napa — with one goal: to create the best Napa Cabernet that could be made. Nils Venge, the winemaker responsible for the first perfect score awarded to a domestic wine by Robert M. Parker Jr., seemed the perfect match for this quest.

Our first vintage came in 1998, from the steeply terraced Coliseum Block of the Hossfeld Vineyard, followed in 1999 by a svelte Cabernet from the ancient red volcanic soils of the Fortuna Vineyard. In 2000 we began a long and deeply rewarding relationship with the most iconic vineyard in the western hemisphere: the Beckstoffer portion of the original To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville — and thus began the rise of the Carter Cellars Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet, a wine that continues to receive top scores from critics worldwide.

In 2001 we deviated from large and powerful Cabernet with Merlot fruit from the Truchard Vineyard in Carneros; in 2004 we added Cabernet from the Revilo Vineyard in St. Helena, farmed by Reg Oliver of El Molino. In 2006, Mark and Nils found a permanent home for Carter Cellars, founding Envy Winery on Tubbs Lane in Calistoga — seventeen acres of estate Merlot, Cabernet and Petite Sirah. That same year brought the Hossfeld Red Blend, a predominately Merlot blend modeled on one of Mark’s favorites, Château Pétrus, with a uniquely Californian side. In 2012 we welcomed two exceptional Cabernet vineyards to the portfolio: the Weitz Vineyard on the Oakville Bench and the Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard in St. Helena.

Mark still splits his time between the hotel and restaurant that inspired his love of wine and the vineyards and winery that demand his constant attention — one of the longest commutes around, made happily, knowing it is this dedication that brings satisfaction to those who drink his wine and enjoy his hospitality.

Thank you for your support of Carter Cellars, and for affirming and sharing our obsession with quality.