CARTOGRAPH Winery

 

Cartograph Winery

Cartograph: Our Journey In Wine

Great wine takes you places. It takes you back to the region where the grapes were grown. It takes you to the time and place where you first tasted that wine. It conjures memories of sharing wine with friends and family.

Cartograph is itself a destination, a road map and a journey. That journey is represented in the imagery that adorns the Cartograph label. Look closely and you'll see where we've been, where our paths have crossed and the circumstances of several careers and experiences that defined who we are, how we think, how a passion for great wine was instilled within us and, finally, how Cartograph was created.

When you enjoy a Cartograph wine, our journeys come together. Where were you when you had your first taste of Cartograph wines?  Where were you when a glass of wine truly captured your attention? Where is your favorite wine from?  Share your stories with us and join our growing community of wine lovers at Cartograph.  

 

August 10, 2010 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

Cartograph Winery Launches With Story Mapped Inside and Outside the Bottle

-New Sonoma-Based Winery That Began as NPR Podcast Culminates in Release of First Pinot Noir-

HEALDSBURG, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A newly released set of Sonoma County Pinot Noirs from Cartograph Winery tells a unique story that began with a series of online National Public Radio-sponsored podcasts and morphed into the world's first collaborative winemaking project facilitated by social media, culminating in this introduction of Cartograph Wines. While most wineries are struggling to figure out how to make social media work for them, Cartograph worked from the other end - turning social media success into a real-world winery.

"We hope that down the road we can inspire others to 'cartograph' their own wine memories and lives in wine and remember the time they found Cartograph wines."

Cartograph co-owner Alan Baker made the journey from vineyard laborer and winery cellar hand to his current role of producer of Sonoma County's newest batch of wines. A long-time public radio producer, from Minnesota, Baker moved to California in 2005 to chronicle his love of wine with "Ratcasts from the Cellar Rat," a series of NPR-sponsored podcasts that captured the lives of Sonoma County winemakers and growers. (The original podcasts can be heard at http://www.cellarrat.org.) In 2006, using a web-based winemaking community developed by urban winery Crushpad, Baker invited listeners to join him in a collaborative winemaking project. Followers of his blog and podcasts could join in the winemaking process by purchasing a case of futures. This innovative model led to 65% of the wine being sold prior to bottling.

While working at Crushpad, Baker met partner Serena Lourie, who shared Baker's devotion to making Pinot Noir and his interest in technology and social media. They settled in Healdsburg in Sonoma County and founded Cartograph, creating a logo that captured a visual representation of key places in their history and their movement toward Sonoma County.

Cartograph specializes in cool climate Pinot Noir and focuses on vineyard locations that have unique characteristics. From the wind-swept Petaluma Gap to the rugged mountaintop farming of the Mendocino Ridge AVA, Cartograph wines all start with outstanding fruit from truly unique vineyards. "For us, place is what matters most -- both where the grapes are from and where wines are enjoyed," explains Baker. "We hope that down the road we can inspire others to 'cartograph' their own wine memories and lives in wine and remember the time they found Cartograph wines."

The newly released wines include: 2008 Sonoma Coast "Split Rock Vineyard" Pinot Noir ($38.00); 2008 Sonoma Coast "Two Pisces Vineyard" Pinot Noir ($38.00); and 2009 Russian River Valley "Floodgate Vineyard" Gewürztraminer ($22.00).

More information on Cartograph Wines, their online store and their Cartograph blog can be found at http://www.cartographwines.com.

 

 Winery Location Address:

1451 Grove St

Healdsburg, CA 95448

Region: California - North Coast

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