RAEN Winery

Two brothers, a history

RAEN was founded in 2013, but the search for the perfect site began long before that. For about 10 years, Carlo and Dante Mondavi traveled around the remote coastal regions of Sonoma, searching for the perfect site before producing their first wine under their own name.

The instinct for Pinot Noir came from home. Their father, Tim, was a pioneer in California Pinot Noir in the early 1970s and always had Burgundy in mind. The two brothers regard their father as their first mentor not only in winemaking but also in agriculture, tracing their roots even further back to their grandfather, Robert.

The family project unfolded in parallel. In 2005, Tim and Marcia Mondavi, together with Robert, established Continuum Estate in Napa and began producing single-estate wines. Eight years later, RAEN headed west to Pinot, a cold region that is the exact opposite of Napa in terms of both geography and style.

Farming practices that go beyond organic standards are a tradition the brothers have inherited and upheld. In 2016, Carlo Mondavi and the RAEN team launched the Monarch Challenge. This initiative aims to promote clean farming practices across Sonoma, Napa, and beyond, focusing on biodiversity rather than certification.

The vineyards

RAEN is developing small coastal lots, which are more valuable than a single large lot. The most talked-about property is Bodega Vineyard, located in the Freestone Occidental area. It is a standalone farm on a hill overlooking Bodega Bay, set between the coastal villages of Freestone and Occidental.

This vineyard is very small, covering approximately 0.7 hectares. Planted at 1-meter intervals, this vineyard is known as the oldest in the Sonoma Coast region to cultivate the Pinot Noir variety at that density; due to the narrow spacing and sloping terrain, all work is done by hand.

Located further north, RAEN is based on Fort Ross-Seaview, a high coastal appellation, and includes the Home Field and Sea Field plots for Pinot Noir, as well as the Charles Ranch plot for Chardonnay.

What connects these vineyards is not soil type, but their orientation toward the sea. Across these hills, the brothers encounter a variety of soils, elevations, and microclimates, and to showcase these differences, the wines are bottled separately by vineyard.

Where the fog does the work

True Sonoma Coast is a cool region for growing grapes. Mornings in Bodega are often shrouded in fog rolling in from the Pacific; this delays ripening and allows the fruit to retain its acidity for a long time, even though the harvest has long since ended in the warmer regions of California.

The steep and rugged terrain is another defining feature of this region. The slopes ensure good drainage and keep vine vigour in check, while the proximity to the water helps keep temperatures in check. As a result, the wines have a relatively low alcohol content (typically around 13%) and possess a minerality infused with marine notes, a characteristic found only in vineyards this close to the sea.

Conditions vary from vineyard to vineyard depending on elevation. Conditions vary from vineyard to vineyard depending on elevation. Even with the same winemaking process in the cellar, the wine made from Fort Ross-Seaview grapes has a different flavor profile than that made from Freestone Occidental grapes.

Two grape varieties

RAEN is primarily a winery specializing in Pinot Noir, though it also carries Chardonnay. 

• Pinot Noir: The cornerstone of this domaine and the reason the brothers set out to explore the coastal region in the first place
• Chardonnay: A wine made from Fort Ross-Seaview and Sonoma Coast grapes

The winemaking

The winemaking process for RAEN is intentionally based on the principle of minimal intervention. During fermentation, whole grape clusters are used, and only the yeast naturally present on the grapes is utilized; the team believes this method captures the unique microbial communities of each vineyard intact in every glass of wine. Bodega wines are fermented with 100% whole clusters.

After fermentation is complete, the wine is pressed and transferred to neutral French oak barrels that no longer contribute flavor, ensuring that the wine's aromas remain unmasked. The aging period ranges from 10 to 18 months depending on the vintage, and bottling takes place when the wine is deemed ready, rather than according to a fixed calendar schedule.

Some wines are bottled without fining. Winemaker Melanie McIntyre collaborates with Carlo and Dante throughout this entire process.

What RAEN bottles

Royal St. Robert Cuvée is a wine named after the brothers' grandfather, Robert, and is primarily made from Bodega grapes. This wine, labeled Sonoma Coast, is light and fresh, with a profile based more on acidity than body.

Home Field, produced at Fort Ross-Seaview, is a wine from a single vineyard located at high altitude and is bottled under the vineyard's name.

In addition, RAEN bottles Bodega as a separate Freestone Occidental Pinot Noir, and also bottles Sea Field Pinot, produced from Fort Ross-Seaview, Charles Ranch Chardonnay from Fort Ross-Seaview and Lady Marjorie Cuvée Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast, as well as the Monarch Challenge rosé. Overall, production volumes are low, and the lineup varies slightly from year to year.