Palisades Vineyard sits in a small riparian valley northeast of Calistoga in the northern end of the Napa Valley. It is bisected by an occasionally torrential Horns Creek, and is blessed with the kind of cobbley loam soil and very hot summers that are perfectly suited for growing both Rhone and Bordeaux style wines.

The tradition of grape growing at Palisades Vineyard dates to 1902 when Domenico Barberis, an immigrant from the small village of Murialdo in Genoa, Italy, came to California to find work and make a safe homestead for the family he did not yet have. Gilda Stella (whom Domenico had not met until she came to California at the urging of one of the other Barberis brothers) joined Domenico after he had secured work in the Calistoga mines. He had found the property that became Palisades Vineyard before Gilda arrived; together they planted it to its first vines soon after their wedding. The Barberis's had 6 children all of whom were born at Palisades Vineyard. Domenico and Gilda and then their children farmed Palisades Vineyard for some 90 years.

After almost 20 years of shepherding this remarkable property, we (Anne Carver and Denis Sutro) remain ever grateful for where we live and the rare opportunity to extend well beyond the century mark the distinguished wine making tradition of Palisades Vineyard. 2011 marks the 13th anniversary of Carver Sutro Wines. It has been such an exciting ride... 13 wonderful vintages of luxurious Petite Sirah, each punctuated for us with floods, 110 degree summer days, rare snowstorms, the consistent companionship of coyotes and rattlesnakes and the nonstop ebb and flow of an ever widening community of committed friendships.