The Climate of Carneros

Carneros is a unique cool climate appellation. Located 40 miles from San Francisco, Carneros is the first viticultural area encountered traveling north from the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay. The Bay and nearby Pacific Ocean create the fog, wind and moderate temperatures that characterize the region as maritime.

While Carneros has long been considered an ideal location for the cultivation of Burgundian grapes such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, in recent years special sites throughout the region have increasingly produced Merlot, Syrah and a wide range of other varietals. Carneros enjoys a long, moderate growing season that allows the grapes to mature slowly and evenly, giving balanced fruit still rich in color, flavor and acidity.

Topographically Carneros is the crossroads between the low-lying areas of the northern reaches of San Francisco Bay and the rolling hills to the north in both the Napa and the Sonoma Valleys. The elevation in Carneros ranges from sea level in the south to 400 feet in the Mayacamas foothills.

As inland temperatures rise during the day, moist air over the cold Pacific is drawn inland over Carneros, cooling temperatures from mid afternoon into evening. These fresh afternoon winds slow activity in leaves and dry the dew left by morning fog, inhibiting mildew and mold. Fog rolls in throughout the night and this provides a gentle buffer to the next morning's sun, repeating the climatic cycle.