Red Car Wine takes its name from the Pacific Electric Railway, the iconic interurban rail system that once connected Southern California. Founded in 2000, the winery produces Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah from estate and selected vineyard sites on the extreme Sonoma Coast using a low-intervention approach inspired by old Burgundian traditions. Cool-climate coastal sites shape wines of natural acidity and savory depth. One of the West Sonoma Coast's most thoughtful producers.
Estate Pinot Noir, Fort Ross-Seaview: from the Estate Vineyard planted in 2005 high on the far Sonoma Coast; vibrant, savory and built on whole-cluster, native-yeast winemaking.
Heaven & Earth Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast: a single-vineyard bottling of energy and depth from a prized coastal site.
Sonoma Coast Syrah: a cool-climate, coastal Syrah with black pepper, leather and dark plum; a marriage of clones in a Northern Rhône-inspired style.
Estate Chardonnay, Fort Ross-Seaview: taut and transparent, with little new oak and extended lees aging.
Rosé of Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast: the winery's cult-following rosé, bright and bone-dry.
The first Heaven & Earth vintage came in 2007 from the Occidental site, and in 2009 Wine Spectator featured Red Car in a cover story and gave the 2007 Heaven & Earth 97 points. Viticulturist Greg Adams has partnered with the team since 2012 and took over vineyard management in 2017.
The Sebastopol tasting room and lounge on Graton Road is the center of the Red Car visitor experience: a spacious, laid-back space framed by giant redwoods where guests taste through cool-climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah sourced from six ridgetop vineyards in Occidental, Sebastopol, Freestone, and Cazadero. The winery's estate vineyard sits in Fort Ross-Seaview at the extreme western edge of the appellation, where Pacific fog and sandstone soils produce wines of genuine tension. Winemaker Tanner Scheer works with native yeasts, gravity flow, and minimal intervention. The signature is perfumed aromatics, crisp texture, and uplifting acidity. Coastal Reserve tastings run $35 per person; a Wine Lounge Experience with charcuterie is available for larger groups. Walk-ins welcome but reservations recommended.
