Carlisle Winery & Vineyards

Mike Officer began making wine as a hobby in 1987, fermenting 100 pounds of Zinfandel grapes in a food-grade trash can in his apartment in San Francisco's Marina District. After the Loma Prieta earthquake, he and Kendall decided not to keep living in the Marina and moved to Santa Rosa in Sonoma County in 1991, where Mike continued to commute by bus to his San Francisco job as an investment software developer. He had studied pre-med at Pomona College before switching to computers. Kendall and Mike launched Carlisle Winery & Vineyards commercially in 1998, producing 650 cases in that first vintage. Mike quit his day job in March 2004, with Kendall following soon after, once the winery was making enough money to support them full time. Carlisle operated out of a custom crush facility until 2013, when the Officers bought their own winery facility.

• Mike Officer started making wine as a hobby in 1987 in a food-grade trash can in his San Francisco apartment
• The Officers moved to Santa Rosa in 1991 after the Loma Prieta earthquake; Mike commuted by bus to his San Francisco job as an investment software developer
• Carlisle launched commercially in 1998 with 650 cases; Mike Officer had studied pre-med at Pomona College before switching to computers
• Mike quit his day job in March 2004, with Kendall following soon after; in 2013 Carlisle left custom crush for its own winery facility

Jay Maddox, a friend of Mike Officer's from Pomona College, reached out by fax after finishing a second degree in viticulture and enology, with honors, from U.C. Davis, and joined Carlisle as winemaking partner in February 2001. As of the July 2024 closure announcement, the 2024 vintage was set to be Jay's 24th harvest with Carlisle. The Officers' son helped pick fruit at Carlisle Vineyard over the years and continued enjoying helping in the vineyard as an adult, per the winery's own account. Mike, Kendall and Jay were all in their 60s at the time of the 2024 announcement; Mike, 62, said the three of them wanted to retire before turning 70, citing exhaustion from regulatory compliance in the states where Carlisle shipped wine as part of the decision to close.

• Jay Maddox, Mike's friend from Pomona College, joined as winemaking partner in February 2001 after finishing a second U.C. Davis degree in viticulture and enology, with honors
• The 2024 vintage was Jay Maddox's 24th consecutive harvest with Carlisle
• The Officers' son helped pick fruit at Carlisle Vineyard over the years, per the winery's own account
• Mike Officer, 62, Kendall, and Jay Maddox were all in their 60s at the time of the 2024 closure announcement and wanted to retire before 70

In 1998 the Officers purchased what became Carlisle Vineyard, a 9.5-acre property in the Russian River Valley planted in 1927 by Alcide Pelletti on the eastern bench of the Laguna de Santa Rosa flood plain. It is a field blend consisting predominantly of Zinfandel with Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, Grand Noir de la Calmette, Tempranillo, Peloursin and others; the winery identified 43 different varieties in the vineyard. Beyond the estate, Carlisle sourced its Zinfandels, Mourvèdres and a couple of white wines from old-vine Sonoma County vineyards planted between 1888 and 1954, including historic sites such as Rossi Ranch (added in 2003), Bedrock Vineyard, Limerick Lane Vineyard, Mancini, Old Hill, Pagani, Papa's Block and Papera. Its other varieties, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache and Grüner Veltliner, came from small family growers. Mike Officer's best-known single-vineyard bottlings included Papera, Pagani and Montafi ranches, as well as his own Carlisle Vineyard. For its final 2024 harvest, Carlisle sourced fruit from five vineyards: Mancini, Old Hill, Papa's Block, Papera and Carlisle.

• Carlisle Vineyard (9.5 acres, Russian River Valley) was planted in 1927 by Alcide Pelletti and contains 43 identified grape varieties
• Rossi Ranch was added to Carlisle's vineyard sources in 2003; other historic sites included Bedrock Vineyard and Limerick Lane Vineyard
• Zinfandel, Mourvèdre and some white grapes came from old-vine Sonoma County sites planted between 1888 and 1954; Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache and Grüner Veltliner came from small family growers
• The final 2024 harvest was sourced from five vineyards: Mancini, Old Hill, Papa's Block, Papera and Carlisle

Carlisle described itself as a small, family-owned Sonoma County winery specializing in old-vine, vineyard-designated Zinfandels and red Rhône/Spanish varieties (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Petite Sirah), alongside three white wines, two of them blends from historic old-vine vineyards plus Sonoma County's first Grüner Veltliner. In its 2023 vintage, the winery's own site described as "Carlisle's last complete vintage and also our most exceptional set of wines ever," the Zinfandel lineup included bottlings from Belloni Vineyard, Saitone Vineyard, Pagani Ranch, Carlisle Vineyard, Mancini Ranch and Piner-Olivet Ranches, plus Sonoma Valley and Dry Creek Valley Zinfandels. The red Rhône lineup included Sonoma County Syrah, Papa's Block Syrah, Two Acres Red Wine and Palisades Vineyard Petite Sirah. White wines included The Derivative, Steiner Vineyard Grüner Veltliner and Compagni Portis, a blend of old-vine Gewürztraminer, Trousseau Gris, Riesling and other grapes. Carlisle sold about 85% of its inventory directly to its mailing list customers.

• Portfolio centered on old-vine, vineyard-designated Zinfandel alongside Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Petite Sirah
• 2023 was the producer's own site's designated "last complete vintage," spanning Zinfandel bottlings from Belloni, Saitone, Pagani, Carlisle, Mancini and Piner-Olivet Ranches
• White wines included The Derivative, Steiner Vineyard Grüner Veltliner and the Compagni Portis blend (Gewürztraminer, Trousseau Gris, Riesling and other grapes)
• About 85% of Carlisle's inventory sold directly to its mailing list customers

In mid-July 2024, Mike and Kendall Officer informed wine club members that Carlisle would close after the 2024 vintage, its 27th harvest; Wine Spectator first reported the news. Multiple parties had offered to buy Carlisle, but the Officers chose to close rather than sell, wary of a new owner running the brand into the ground. The wind-down was expected to take two to four years to sell through remaining inventory; Carlisle's winemaking facility in Windsor was put on the market, though the Officers did not sell the Carlisle brand and expected to eventually sell Carlisle Vineyard too, without urgency. Production, typically around 8,000 cases a year, fell to about 2,700 cases in the final 2024 harvest. Carlisle's critical record, 21 Zinfandels scoring 95 points or higher from Wine Spectator, a mark no other Zinfandel producer has matched, along with five 95-plus Syrahs, anchors its reputation. Mike Officer was also a founding member of the Historic Vineyard Society in 2011, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving California's old vineyards, formed after he witnessed Santa Rosa's 106-year-old Barbieri Ranch vineyard ripped out to plant Pinot Noir.

• Closure after the 2024 vintage (27th harvest) announced to wine club members in mid-July 2024; first reported by Wine Spectator
• The Officers turned down buyers and chose to close the winery on their own terms; wind-down expected to take two to four years
• Production fell from a typical 8,000 cases to about 2,700 cases in the final 2024 harvest
• 21 Carlisle Zinfandels scored 95+ from Wine Spectator, a record for the varietal, plus five 95-plus Syrahs
• Mike Officer was a founding member of the Historic Vineyard Society (2011), formed after the loss of Santa Rosa's 106-year-old Barbieri Ranch vineyard

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.carlislewinery.net/, https://www.carlislewinery.net/carlisle, https://www.carlislewinery.net/our-story, https://www.carlislewinery.net/2023, https://www.carlislewinery.net/vineyards-overview, https://www.carlislewinery.net/announcements, https://www.carlislewinery.net/events, https://www.carlislewinery.net/contact-us, https://www.carlislewinery.net/papera, https://www.carlislewinery.net/mancini, https://www.carlislewinery.net/wines. Secondary sources: https://www.winespectator.com/articles/carlisle-winery-will-close, https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/carlisle-zinfandel-mike-officer-19577890.php, https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/lifestyle/russian-river-valleys-carlisle-vineyards-and-winery/. Last verified 2026-09-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.