Centennial Mountain Vineyard
Exploring the full potential of Italy’s finest grape varieties in California
Introducing new grape varieties to North America is no easy task. In addition to the years of preparation required to plant a world-class vineyard featuring Italian grape varieties in California, since neither Nerello Mascalese nor Carricante have ever been grown in North America, our team oversaw the exacting process of importing plant material from Mount Etna through UC Davis Plant Services.
In 2013, after several years of preparing the vineyard site on a predominantly south-facing ridgeline, our team established the rootstocks at Centennial Mountain Vineyard with a focus on the drought-tolerant 110R rootstock, and in 2015 and 2016 the vines were grafted. Designed as a mosaic of 42 small blocks, Centennial Mountain Vineyard includes 26.4 acres of vines planted to Nebbiolo, Carricante and Nerello Mascalese, as well as smaller amounts of Zinfandel, Carignan, Primitivo and Barbera.
While the vineyard’s Nebbiolo and Barbera vines are trellised using vertical shoot positioning (VSP), all of the other varietals are trained using the traditional Alberello method—a time-honored approach that goes back to the roots of viticulture. Unlike VSP, where vines are trained along wires or trellises, the Alberello method shapes the plants into what resembles small trees, with the canopy protecting the grapes from too much direct sunlight. It also boosts air circulation between the grapevines, reducing the risk of diseases.
Today, shaped by its marine-influenced, high-altitude climate, Centennial Mountain Vineyard is the source for some of the most acclaimed Italian-varietal wines made anywhere outside of Italy. Crafted exclusively from estate-grown grapes, the wines from Centennial Mountain offer a world of firsts for wine enthusiasts in search of their next great wine discovery.



Soil Composition
Metamorphic Franciscan shale, schist, and quartz; Thin, rocky topsoil 6″ to 18″ in depth.

Top Soil

1 Foot

2 Feet

3 Feet

Deep Soil
Varieties

Carricante
While few Americans have heard of Carricante, we firmly believe it is one the world’s greatest white wine grapes. At its best, Carricante produces ageworthy white wines that exhibit intoxicating aromatics and complex rich fruit buttressed by outstanding acidity and intense minerality. Carricante is often diffcult to judge when young as the complex aromatics require some time in the bottle in order to fully develop. Also, in order to experience Carricante’s unique charms, it is important that it not be blended with other white grapes. For this reason, there are only a handful of accurate Carricante bottlings in the world today.
Until our introduction of the grape to California, Carricante has been grown exclusively on the upper reaches of the massive Etna Volcano on the island of Sicily. It reaches its zenith on the eastern slope of the volcano, near the town of Milo, at elevations exceeding 2400 feet. Generations of Sicilians realized the exceptional quality of Carricante from this region and granted it a special designation of “Etna Bianco Superiore” which is analogous to Burgundy’s “Grand Cru” designation. While it is often found inter-planted with less capable white grapes such as Cataratto and Minella, Italian law requires a minimum of 80% Carricante in order to be designated “Etna Bianco Superiore”.

Nebbiolo
Nebbiolo is widely recognized as one of the world’s greatest red wine grapes. At its best, Nebbiolo is utterly intoxicating with an ethereal palate, mind boggling complexity and tremendous thrust. For these reasons, we are extremely passionate about the wines of Barolo, Barbaresco and the Alto Piemonte but there are many puzzling, unanswered questions surrounding this extraordinary grape.
While most of the world’s greatest grape varieties such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon have found very successful homes in the New World, Nebbiolo has not achieved the same level of success outside of its ancestral vineyards. While some may speculate that this is due to a requirement for a specific soil type only found in a region such as Barolo, this is clearly not the case as within Italy Nebbiolo has made acclaimed wines from many very different soils for decades or even centuries.
So if Nebbiolo can succeed on diverse soils, what could it possibly need that the New World can’t provide? The answer is – Nebbiolo has very specific climatic requirements that do exist outside of Italy but they are quite rare. The most important of these requirements is a hard to find combination of cool days and warm nights. The vast majority of the vineyard locations in the New World have conditions that are the exact opposite, warm days and cold nights.
With this insight and a great deal of climatic data, we began to search California for an area that could mimic the climate of Nebbiolo’s greatest regions. Our search led us to a remote, high altitude ridgetop close enough to the ocean but sheltered from its coolest influences. While the altitude helps moderate any daily high temperatures, the top of California’s coastal mountain range also experiences comfortably warm nights in the summer. The result was nearly a perfect match to Nebbiolo’s most acclaimed locations.

Nerello Mascalese
Our fascination with Nerello Mascalese developed hand-in-hand with our fascination with Carricante. After tasting some of the stunning wines made from Nerello vineyards on the north side of Mt. Etna, we were surprised that the wider wine world wasn’t more familiar with the grape! The best examples remind us of everything that we love about great Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo- bright red fruit, complex aromatics and a savory, earthy finish. Much like with Carricante, we felt that Nerello Mascalese was a perfect fit for the growing conditions, altitude and unique geology of our Centennial Mountain Vineyard.
Climate
Uncommon grapes thrive in a parallel set of growing conditions.
The focus on Centennial Mountain is to show that with the right combination of climate, elevation and soil, Italian varietals like Nebbiolo, Carricante and Nerello Mascalese can produce extraordinary wines in California. One of the keys to this idea is the understanding that these Italian grapes excel in areas that have less of a diurnal temperature swing—like Centennial Mountain. In California, where French varietals dominate, the conventional wisdom has long been that grapes need major diurnal temperature swings to excel.
Featuring thin, rocky soils and located approximately 15 miles from the Pacific and at an elevation of 2,000 feet on a ridgetop in a remote mountainous region of Sonoma County, Centennial Mountain Vineyard benefits from a unique microclimate. Shaped by a rare combination of marine influence and high-altitude, it is a climate that is remarkably similar to Mount Etna and Barolo.
Centennial Mountain vs. Randazzo vs. Barolo
Viticulture
The farming at Centennial Mountain is guided by Javier Tapia Meza, who has spent a quarter-century championing the benefits of organic farming, Vineyard Manager Jorge Arias, who lives on the property, and a dedicated vineyard team, many of whom helped to plant the original vines. Referred to as our “black belts,” these experienced team members are the only employees allowed to prune the vines at Centennial Mountain Vineyard.
Reflecting our commitment to the environment, and to ensure the long-term health of the vineyard, Centennial Mountain has been farmed 100% organically since day one. In addition to preserving the vitality of the site, organic farming maximizes the terroir-inspired expressiveness of the geologically diverse vineyard, yielding wines that beautifully embody the charm and character of the site. Additionally, other than the site’s 26-acre vineyard, the remaining 1,000 acres of the Centennial Mountain property have been preserved in its natural state. As a result, the vines are surrounded by redwood forests, chaparral, and wild mountain meadows—all of which contribute to the fascinating character of our wines.
As the vines at the site have continued to mature, the team has adopted dry farming, a traditional method that offers multiple benefits. This technique allows grapes to reach physiological ripeness at lower sugar levels, as ripening and sugar development occur in parallel. In contrast, traditional irrigation can lead to a decoupling of these processes, where sugar levels rise while flavor development slows. Dry farming also promotes deeper root structures, resulting in healthier vines better equipped to withstand weather variations.
Today, shaped by its marine-influenced, high-altitude climate, Centennial Mountain Vineyard produces some of the most acclaimed Italian varietal wines outside Italy.
