Carter Cellars' winemaking begins with the simple idea of matching the best grapes from world-renowned vineyard sources with purist and non-interventionist winemaking.

Under our grower's watchful eyes and experienced hands, the cultivation of our grapes is an arduous dance which includes limiting vine yields, beneficial trellising techniques, integrating disease management in the vineyard and harvesting completely by hand at the peak moment of ripeness. All of this ensures that the grapes we use are optimal for creating our limited production, high quality wines.

Our practices in the winery in Calistoga are just as exacting. Under the exacting practices of Russell Bevan and the team, the small lots of grapes that are brought into the winery are hand sorted to remove any that are not up to our exacting standards, and further culled either by hand or the watchful eye of an optical sorter. Then the grapes are pressed gently to extract the pure juice from the perfectly ripe grapes while leaving behind any bitter oils and harsh tannins contained in the seeds or skins. After fermentation the wines are stored in a combination of Darnajou, Taransaud, Francois Freres, Vicard and many other new French barrels for eighteen to twenty months.

The winemaking consists of as little intervention as possible, limiting the addition of sulfur and minimal racking. The wines are allowed to mature and fully integrate with the sweet rounded tannins from the new French Oak, creating a product that is true to its varietal character and sense of place.