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).
Richardson Ranch Pinot Noir, West Sonoma Coast: a single-vineyard bottling from a partner coastal site.
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 unfined and unfiltered, with no additions beyond a little sulfur. He sources from organically farmed vineyards, and the Holtermann ridge site has been farmed organically since 2013. The range now also includes a sparkling Pinot Noir rosé and a sparkling Chardonnay. Tastings by appointment only at the winery's small hospitality space; most wines are sold through the mailing list.
