Garden Creek Winery: A Story Etched in Soil and Time

At Garden Creek Winery, the story begins in the soil — nine shades of Alexander Valley earth that shape every vine, every vintage and every bottle.

Justin and Karin Warnelius-Miller make outstanding wines at Garden Creek and their new Warnelius-Miller Pinot Noir label.

Behind Karin Warnelius-Miller a row of soil-filled buckets lines the wall.

Each a different shade of the Alexander Valley earth. White to black rock, brown to orange clay, compressed ash and gravel. They’re more than décor. They’re a visual reminder of what defines this special place.

“This is our spice rack,” said Karin with a proud smile as she pulls a bucket off the wall.“We have nine distinct soil types on our property. That diversity is the foundation of everything we do.”

Karin and her husband, Justin, are Bordeaux varietal people at heart.

But when they planted Pinot Noir in Anderson Valley a decade ago, it wasn’t a departure. It was a continuation of their lifelong conversation with the land.

“We wanted something of our own as a couple,” she said. “We planted the Pinot ten years ago and started making wine there in 2018. It’s about learning from the old-timers; understanding clones, soil and how it all fits together. There’s no 100% right answer. Each clone tells a story.”

Justin and Karin in the vineyard.

Justin’s story begins in 1994, when at just 19, he took over the Garden Creek property.

“He’s lived here nearly his whole life, 46 years,” Karin said. “He’s 6’4”, 195 pounds, and has the biggest, most rugged hands you’ve ever seen. The kind that have earned their knowledge.”

His father bought the property in 1963. Six years later, after prepping the soils and connecting with neighbors and viticulturalists from Napa, he began planting. Today, some of those vines are more than 56 years old. When Justin took over, he spoke with each winery to which they sold fruit.

He asked they return the waste from their crushes: skins, stems and seeds. That waste became compost. Cover crops followed.

“That’s how our farming evolved,” Karin said. “It’s been 30 years of refining balance, learning how to care for this land.”

Garden Creek’s 100-acre vineyard, on southwest-facing slopes, produces grapes for their own wines and for select partners. They make just 1,800 cases annually, all from estate fruit.

“We’ve made wine from the same vineyards for 28 years,” Karin says. “The wine evolves, but the feeling, the texture — that stays the same.”

Their approach blends intuition and precision. Hand punch-downs four times a day. Carbonic maceration with whole clusters sealed in small tanks in the vineyard. The Garden Creek Alexander Valley Chardonnay 2021 that’s 100% barrel fermented, 5% new oak, with a meyer lemon and peach core.

It’s loaded with energy and the essence of a babbling brook after a spring rain. It represents all that is right with Chardonnay in California.