Russian River Valley’s Carlisle Vineyards and Winery to close shop as owners toast retirement plans

When Mike and Kendall Officer broke the news this week to their club members that they planned to close their acclaimed Carlisle Vineyards and Winery, many assumed the small, family-owned winery in the Russian River Valley had fallen victim to the wine industry’s topsy-turvy economy.

But Mike Officer, who’s considered among the most esteemed producers of complex, old-vine wines in California, said the couple is “elated.”

“We want to enjoy our golden years — travel, see the fall leaves in Vermont, spend time with family and enjoy our grandchildren, be active and exercise — and cross things off the bucket list we haven’t been able to do,” said Officer, 62, who’s been making wine for nearly four decades. “When you’re in your 40s, 20 years seems like a long time. But once you’re in your 60s, you realize you may only have 20 years left. We really want to enjoy them.”

While the couple entertained numerous offers from people who wanted to buy the brand, Officer said they decided not to sell.

“Carlisle has done well, so we’re in a unique position. From a financial standpoint, it doesn’t matter if we sell the brand or shutter it,” said Officer. “We decided to shutter it.”

The announcement was first reported Tuesday in the Wine Spectator.

While Officer said the couple are committed through this year’s harvest, he anticipates it will take a few years before Carlisle releases the 2024 vintage and sells through its existing inventory.

“That puts us into our late 60s,” said Officer. “We don’t want to be doing this in our 70s, so we’re starting the wind-down process now.”

Daily grind

Before launching commercially in 1998, Carlisle Winery was passion project for Officer, who began making wine in his San Francisco kitchen in 1987.

After increasing his case count and moving production to Sonoma County in 1991, Officer endured a daily, 4 ½ hour bus commute between the city and Santa Rosa for 15 years.

“After we launched the winery, we realized we needed our day-job salaries in San Francisco as seed capital to get things going,” said Officer, who used to work as an investment software developer. “In 2004, when I didn’t think I could commute another day in my life, my wife told me the winery was finally making enough money, and we could quit our day jobs. So we did.”

To grow winery revenue, the Officers realized they needed to increase case production to sell more wine. That’s when Jay Maddox, Officer’s friend from Pomona College, happened to reach out “by fax.”

“Jay had just graduated from U.C. Davis, and had heard we’d started a winery,” said Officer. “I asked him if he’d like to make some wine with us, and fortunately he said ‘yes.’ Jay has stuck with us every since, and this will be our 24th harvest.”

For the love of old vines

Old-vine vineyards have been a career-long crush for Officer, who sourced Zinfandel from Grist Vineyard’s 50 year-old vines in Dry Creek for his very first kitchen wine.

In 1996, on a weekend bike ride through the Russian River Valley, Officer spotted a forlorn, weathered vineyard tangled with blackberries and poison oak.

“I’ve just always loved old vines and have felt a strange, strong attachment to them. So it was a real shame to see the vineyard in such a mess,” said Officer. “That’s when I had this light bulb moment. I asked the owner if I could renovate the vineyard for free. He thought I was crazy. But he agreed.”

Planted in 1910, the vineyard was surely old-vine Zinfandel, the owner told him. But once the leaves began to push in the spring, Officer had a hunch they weren’t.

After pouring over numerous ampelography (grapevine identification) books and confirming with Foundation Plant Services at UC Davis, Officer made numerous discoveries.

“I realized I had a real interest in ampelography,” he said, laughing. “I also discovered the vines were most Mourvèdre, with some Petite Sirah, Syrah, a few other things, and only five Zinfandel vines. I poured my heart and soul into renovating that vineyard.”

In 1998, Officer purchased what is now Carlisle Vineyards, a 9.7-acre property in the Russian River Valley. Planted in 1927, the vineyard is a field blend of 43 varieties — mostly Zinfandel, with Tempranillo, Alicante Bouchet, Mission and a few others.

“Before I knew what this vineyard was, I used to pull off the road just so I could look at it,” said Officer. “I remember staring out and feeling like the vines were calling out to me in some way. I feel incredibly honored to have been a steward of this place.”

Over the last 35+ years, Officer has made Sonoma County’s old-vine vineyards the rallying cry of his career. With fruit sourced from vineyards planted between 1888 and 1954, Officer has produced a litany of award-winning Zinfandels, Mourvedre, Syrah and other varietals that have captivated wine drinkers with their complexity.

In 2011, after witnessing Santa Rosa’s 106 year-old Barbieri Ranch vineyard ripped out to plant Pinot Noir, Officer established the Historic Vineyard Society.

A nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of California’s old vineyards, it’s an organization Officer plans to be involved with for as long as they’ll have him, he said.

Looking forward

As to what will happen to the historic Carlisle Vineyard after Officer stops making wine, that is still to be determined.

“We haven’t offered it for sale yet, but I imagine we will,” Officer said. “And when we do, I’m going to make sure whoever buys it is sworn to keep the vines in the ground.”

In recent years, Carlisle has produced about 8,000 cases of wine per year. This year, he expects to make 2,700 cases as he follows through with existing grape contracts.

“For now, we’re really looking forward to moving on to the next stage of life,” Officer said. “We’ve thoroughly enjoyed what we’ve done in the wine industry. The best part has been the wonderful people we’ve met, so that will be missed.”

As for how Carlisle Winery has managed to thrive when other wine brands have not, Officer said it’s hard to say.

“Our goal has always been to make the best wine possible, price it fairly and provide the best customer service we can,” he said. “Those are all pretty simple, basic things. Whether they’re the secret to our success, I just don’t know.”

You can reach Staff Writer Sarah Doyle at 707-521-5478 or sarah.doyle@pressdemocrat.com. Follow Sarah on Instagram at @whiskymuse.