Racines Wines

Burgundian winemakers Étienne de Montille and Brian Sieve joined with Champagne’s Rodolphe Peters to form Racines, in California’s Santa Rita Hills.

Their aim was to locate a perfect terroir outside of France: one where they could utilise produce stellar Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, outside the constrictions of their respective French regions.

The cool climate of the Santa Rita Hills provided the perfect terroir for this new venture, given the team’s multi-generational expertise in hand-crafting Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs of remarkable purity and elegance. While Santa Rita’s ocean-driven terroir shines through, these wines benefit hugely from being crafted with the technique and expertise of hundreds of years of Burgundian and Champagne winemaking.

Ultimate care is given to the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, in order to coax out unique qualities. Whole-cluster fermentation is combined with pigéage throughout the Pinot Noir fermentation, to add spice to a burlier, weighted character. Chardonnay grapes are grown several miles from the ocean in ancient marine sea beds, to give the wines they create a real sense of energy, transparency and precision.