Founded in 1979 as La Crema Viñera — 'the best of the vine' — it helped establish Russian River Valley as a cool-climate Pinot powerhouse. Acquired by the Jackson family in 1993, the brand now hosts visitors at Saralee's Vineyard, a restored 1900 hop barn on Slusser Road.
La Crema was founded in 1979 as La Crema Viñera — "the best of the vine" — by a group of wine lovers who believed Russian River Valley had the potential to produce world-class cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay long before that was the conventional wisdom. Founding winemaker Rod Berglund used Burgundian techniques — whole-cluster pressing, open-top fermentation, native yeast — that still anchor the house style. Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke acquired the winery in 1993 and brought in a roster of top winemakers including Dan Goldfield and Jeff Stewart, building the program into one of America's best-known Pinot houses.
Saralee's Vineyard Chardonnay, Russian River Valley — Barrel-fermented estate Chardonnay with white peach, baked apple, and a long, toasty finish.
Saralee's Vineyard Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley — Red cherry, raspberry, and cola with spice; the estate's signature site.
Nine Barrel Chardonnay, Russian River Valley — The pinnacle bottling, blended from the top nine barrels of three prized vineyards.
Nine Barrel Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley — The flagship Pinot, same top-nine-barrel selection.
Saralee's Vineyard Blanc de Blancs — An estate-grown traditional-method sparkling rounding out the Saralee's collection.
In 2013 La Crema purchased the storied Saralee's Vineyard — planted in 1988 by Richard Kunde and his wife Saralee McClelland Kunde — and spent three years restoring the property's 1900 hop-drying barn into a multi-level tasting room. The estate reopened in 2016 as La Crema Estate at Saralee's Vineyard, with regenerative farming experiments, seated tastings overlooking the vines, and a picnic-friendly outdoor patio. Head winemaker Craig McAllister has led the program since 2016 (with the winery since 2009), joined by winemakers Lisa Valtenbergs and Eric Johannsen. La Crema was named Wine Enthusiast's American Winery of the Year in 2024.
A New Zealand native, Craig McAllister spent his first twenty years in Christchurch and six more in London before a love of cooking, travel, and the outdoors drew him to wine. He earned a B.S. in viticulture and enology from Lincoln University in New Zealand and made wine across New Zealand, Australia, Chile, and Cyprus before joining La Crema as harvest enologist in 2007, coming on full-time in 2009. A steward of the winery's Monterey program and its Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, he was promoted to head winemaker in 2017. He continues La Crema's four-decade focus on cool-climate, coastal Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, using boutique, time-intensive techniques to craft balanced, elegant wines from the estate at Saralee's Vineyard in Windsor.
The estate takes its name from Saralee McClelland Kunde, the dairy rancher’s daughter who became one of Sonoma’s most beloved grape growers and tireless champions — a 2000 San Francisco Chronicle cover story called her the county’s answer to Robert Mondavi. In 1989 she and her husband, Richard, planted the Russian River Valley vineyard that still bears her name, supplying coveted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to dozens of wineries. A founding force behind the Russian River Valley Winegrowers, Saralee lived by her own motto — to skid into life sideways, “chocolate in one hand, wine in the other.” Her legacy endures in every bottle from the vineyard.
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Saralee's Vineyard Chardonnay, Russian River Valley — Barrel-fermented estate Chardonnay with white peach, baked apple, and a long, toasty finish.
Saralee's Vineyard Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley — Red cherry, raspberry, and cola with spice; the estate's signature site.
Nine Barrel Chardonnay, Russian River Valley — The pinnacle bottling, blended from the top nine barrels of three prized vineyards.
Nine Barrel Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley — The flagship Pinot, same top-nine-barrel selection.
Saralee's Vineyard Blanc de Blancs — An estate-grown traditional-method sparkling rounding out the Saralee's collection.
La Crema was founded in 1979 as La Crema Viñera — "the best of the vine" — by a group of wine lovers who believed Russian River Valley had the potential to produce world-class cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay long before that was the conventional wisdom. Founding winemaker Rod Berglund used Burgundian techniques — whole-cluster pressing, open-top fermentation, native yeast — that still anchor the house style. Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke acquired the winery in 1993 and brought in a roster of top winemakers including Dan Goldfield and Jeff Stewart, building the program into one of America's best-known Pinot houses.
In 2013 La Crema purchased the storied Saralee's Vineyard — planted in 1988 by Richard Kunde and his wife Saralee McClelland Kunde — and spent three years restoring the property's 1900 hop-drying barn into a multi-level tasting room. The estate reopened in 2016 as La Crema Estate at Saralee's Vineyard, with regenerative farming experiments, seated tastings overlooking the vines, and a picnic-friendly outdoor patio. Head winemaker Craig McAllister has led the program since 2016 (with the winery since 2009), joined by winemakers Lisa Valtenbergs and Eric Johannsen. La Crema was named Wine Enthusiast's American Winery of the Year in 2024.
A New Zealand native, Craig McAllister spent his first twenty years in Christchurch and six more in London before a love of cooking, travel, and the outdoors drew him to wine. He earned a B.S. in viticulture and enology from Lincoln University in New Zealand and made wine across New Zealand, Australia, Chile, and Cyprus before joining La Crema as harvest enologist in 2007, coming on full-time in 2009. A steward of the winery's Monterey program and its Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, he was promoted to head winemaker in 2017. He continues La Crema's four-decade focus on cool-climate, coastal Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, using boutique, time-intensive techniques to craft balanced, elegant wines from the estate at Saralee's Vineyard in Windsor.
The estate takes its name from Saralee McClelland Kunde, the dairy rancher’s daughter who became one of Sonoma’s most beloved grape growers and tireless champions — a 2000 San Francisco Chronicle cover story called her the county’s answer to Robert Mondavi. In 1989 she and her husband, Richard, planted the Russian River Valley vineyard that still bears her name, supplying coveted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to dozens of wineries. A founding force behind the Russian River Valley Winegrowers, Saralee lived by her own motto — to skid into life sideways, “chocolate in one hand, wine in the other.” Her legacy endures in every bottle from the vineyard.
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