Founded in 2012 by Jan Holtermann and winemaker Carroll Kemp (co-founder of Red Car), Alma Fria — 'cold soul' — produces small-lot Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Holtermann family's 2.5-acre vineyard above Annapolis and sourced cool-climate sites. Now wholly operated by Kemp.
Alma Fria began as a side project. Carroll Kemp had spent seventeen years building Red Car Wine Company into a benchmark Sonoma Coast brand when entrepreneur Jan Holtermann — third-generation manager of a Norwegian family's Costa Rica wine import business until its 2010 sale — approached him about a boutique cool-climate label. Holtermann had just purchased a 2.5-acre Pinot Noir vineyard north of Annapolis, planted in 2002 to clones 115, 777, "828," and Pommard at 700-800 feet elevation, five miles inland from Sea Ranch. The first vintage was harvested in 2012 under the name Alma Fria — Spanish for "cold soul," a nod to the family's heritage and the climate of the West Sonoma Coast. Kemp later left Red Car to focus on Alma Fria full time.
Holtermann Vineyard Pinot Noir, West Sonoma Coast — The estate single-vineyard flagship; floral, spiced, and vibrant (94 points).
Doña Margarita Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast — A perfumed bottling of dried rose petal, cherry, and spice.
Plural Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast — A multi-vineyard blend in Alma Fria's understated, taut style.
Campbell Ranch Chardonnay, West Sonoma Coast — From a tiny Old-Wente block on fractured marine sandstone; mint, graphite, and coastal salinity.
Plural Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast — The estate's layered, soil-driven white blend.
The wines are made in the manner Kemp had refined over two decades on the coast: early-picked, lightly extracted, fermented with native yeasts and a small percentage of whole clusters, raised in modest new oak, and bottled with minimal intervention. The Holtermann Vineyard Pinot Noir is the estate bottling; the Plural and Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs blend across coastal sites, joined by Pinot from Richardson Ranch and Doña Margarita (Holtermann Block) in Freestone and Chardonnay from carefully selected partner sites. Kemp was among the five founders of West Sonoma Coast Vintners in 2011, and Alma Fria sits squarely in the appellation he helped petition into existence in 2015. Tastings by appointment only at the winery's small hospitality space; production runs only a few thousand cases per year and most wines are sold through the mailing list.
Carroll Kemp traded a Hollywood production career for winemaking more than two decades ago, calling it one of the best decisions he ever made. He co-founded Red Car Wines and spent some seventeen years there, developing a cult following — and a celebrated dry Pinot rosé — before turning his full attention to Alma Fria ('cold soul'), which he launched as winemaker in 2012 with entrepreneur Jan Holtermann. After leaving Red Car in 2018, Kemp became Alma Fria's proprietor, running it largely as a one-man operation of under a thousand cases. A co-founder of West Sonoma Coast Vintners and an advocate for the AVA established in 2022, he farms windswept ridge sites near Annapolis and crafts transparent, place-driven Pinot Noir and Chardonnay — picking early, fermenting with native yeast, and intervening as little as possible. 'The wines aren't natural,' he says, 'they're just good.'
Alma Fria began as the dream of entrepreneur Jan Holtermann, who set out to build a boutique, cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay label on the remote ridgetops near Annapolis, on the far West Sonoma Coast. He and his family settled in the redwood country between Annapolis and Sea Ranch, discovered a special vineyard among the coastal forest, and produced the inaugural Alma Fria — “cold soul” in Spanish — in 2012. To realize the vision, Holtermann brought on acclaimed winemaker Carroll Kemp. As the family later stepped back, Kemp took full operational control, but the winery remains rooted in Holtermann’s founding ambition and namesake estate vineyard.
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Holtermann Vineyard Pinot Noir, West Sonoma Coast — The estate single-vineyard flagship; floral, spiced, and vibrant (94 points).
Doña Margarita Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast — A perfumed bottling of dried rose petal, cherry, and spice.
Plural Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast — A multi-vineyard blend in Alma Fria's understated, taut style.
Campbell Ranch Chardonnay, West Sonoma Coast — From a tiny Old-Wente block on fractured marine sandstone; mint, graphite, and coastal salinity.
Plural Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast — The estate's layered, soil-driven white blend.
Alma Fria began as a side project. Carroll Kemp had spent seventeen years building Red Car Wine Company into a benchmark Sonoma Coast brand when entrepreneur Jan Holtermann — third-generation manager of a Norwegian family's Costa Rica wine import business until its 2010 sale — approached him about a boutique cool-climate label. Holtermann had just purchased a 2.5-acre Pinot Noir vineyard north of Annapolis, planted in 2002 to clones 115, 777, "828," and Pommard at 700-800 feet elevation, five miles inland from Sea Ranch. The first vintage was harvested in 2012 under the name Alma Fria — Spanish for "cold soul," a nod to the family's heritage and the climate of the West Sonoma Coast. Kemp later left Red Car to focus on Alma Fria full time.
The wines are made in the manner Kemp had refined over two decades on the coast: early-picked, lightly extracted, fermented with native yeasts and a small percentage of whole clusters, raised in modest new oak, and bottled with minimal intervention. The Holtermann Vineyard Pinot Noir is the estate bottling; the Plural and Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs blend across coastal sites, joined by Pinot from Richardson Ranch and Doña Margarita (Holtermann Block) in Freestone and Chardonnay from carefully selected partner sites. Kemp was among the five founders of West Sonoma Coast Vintners in 2011, and Alma Fria sits squarely in the appellation he helped petition into existence in 2015. Tastings by appointment only at the winery's small hospitality space; production runs only a few thousand cases per year and most wines are sold through the mailing list.
Carroll Kemp traded a Hollywood production career for winemaking more than two decades ago, calling it one of the best decisions he ever made. He co-founded Red Car Wines and spent some seventeen years there, developing a cult following — and a celebrated dry Pinot rosé — before turning his full attention to Alma Fria ('cold soul'), which he launched as winemaker in 2012 with entrepreneur Jan Holtermann. After leaving Red Car in 2018, Kemp became Alma Fria's proprietor, running it largely as a one-man operation of under a thousand cases. A co-founder of West Sonoma Coast Vintners and an advocate for the AVA established in 2022, he farms windswept ridge sites near Annapolis and crafts transparent, place-driven Pinot Noir and Chardonnay — picking early, fermenting with native yeast, and intervening as little as possible. 'The wines aren't natural,' he says, 'they're just good.'
Alma Fria began as the dream of entrepreneur Jan Holtermann, who set out to build a boutique, cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay label on the remote ridgetops near Annapolis, on the far West Sonoma Coast. He and his family settled in the redwood country between Annapolis and Sea Ranch, discovered a special vineyard among the coastal forest, and produced the inaugural Alma Fria — “cold soul” in Spanish — in 2012. To realize the vision, Holtermann brought on acclaimed winemaker Carroll Kemp. As the family later stepped back, Kemp took full operational control, but the winery remains rooted in Holtermann’s founding ambition and namesake estate vineyard.
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