Carlisle

History

Carlisle was founded by Mike Officer, who left a career in technology to make wine in Sonoma County. The project began modestly, focused almost entirely on old-vine Zinfandel at a time when that grape was not generating the critical attention it receives today. Officer built the label around single-vineyard bottlings, a format that was relatively uncommon in California Zinfandel production and that allowed him to document meaningful differences between sites planted decades apart under different hands. The winery takes its name from the Carlisle Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, which anchors the portfolio and gives the label its identity. Over time, Syrah was added to the lineup, sourced from cooler coastal sites, broadening the range without diluting its focus on old vines and specific places.

Vineyards

Carlisle works with fruit from multiple Sonoma County appellations rather than a single estate. The Carlisle Vineyard itself sits in the Russian River Valley and contains old-vine Zinfandel. Mancini Ranch and Rossi Ranch are also established old-vine Zinfandel sources with significant planting age. Old Hill Ranch in Sonoma Valley is one of the most historically significant mixed-black vineyards in California, planted in the nineteenth century and containing Zinfandel alongside a range of field-blend varieties. Montafi Ranch rounds out the Zinfandel sources. The Soberanes Vineyard, from which the Syrah is sourced, sits in a notably cooler location along the coast, producing fruit with a different structural profile from the warmer Zinfandel sites. The Palisades Vineyard supplies Petite Sirah. Farming details for individual sites vary and are not uniformly documented across the portfolio.

Winemaking

Officer works with whole-cluster and destemmed fruit depending on the vintage and vineyard, and fermentations rely on native yeast. The Zinfandels are made to be complete wines rather than extracted showpieces; alcohol levels are kept in check relative to the California norm for the variety, though these are still full-bodied reds. Oak use is present but not the dominant note in the finished wines. The single-vineyard format is central to the winemaking philosophy: each site is vinified separately to preserve its individual character rather than blended into a house style. The Syrah from Soberanes is a departure in texture and aromatics from the Zinfandel work, showing cooler-climate structure. The Petite Sirah from Palisades is a denser, more tannic wine and sits somewhat apart from the rest of the range in style.