Larson Family Winery
A family-owned winery on Sonoma Creek in Sonoma County's Los Carneros region.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Larson Family Winery is a family-owned winery located on Sonoma Creek in the Los Carneros American Viticultural Area of Sonoma County, California. Its property lies in the Schellville area of Sonoma Valley, a part of the county known for cool-climate conditions and wine production. The winery is associated with a multigenerational family property whose earlier uses included ranching and the Sonoma Rodeo. The site also has a local equestrian history. The family property is identified with the early riding career of Buster Millerick, a notable horse trainer who worked with the famous racehorse Seabiscuit. This connection reflects the land's pre-winery identity and helps distinguish Larson Family Winery from wineries established solely as modern production facilities. Larson Family Winery produces wines from Sonoma County and has received recognition in regional and statewide wine competitions. Documented examples include a 2008 Late Harvest Carneros Gewürztraminer, which received a gold medal at the 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The winery's 2009 Pinot Noir Rosé was reported to have earned a 90-point score and a silver medal at the California State Fair. These awards indicate a portfolio that has included both late-harvest white wine and rosé in addition to its broader wine range. Public reference material provides limited information about the winery's founding date, ownership structure, executive leadership, production scale, distribution footprint, and current operating status. It is therefore best characterized as a regional Sonoma winery with a family-property identity rather than as a documented multinational or publicly traded wine company. Its brand positioning rests primarily on place, family continuity, Sonoma heritage, and competition-recognized wines.
History
Larson Family Winery occupies a property on Sonoma Creek in the Los Carneros AVA of Sonoma County, California. The site is in the Schellville area of Sonoma Valley, a landscape shaped by agriculture, ranching, horse culture, and, more recently, viticulture. The winery's identity is closely tied to the continuity of the family property rather than to a publicly documented corporate founding story. Before it became the setting for a winery, the land was used as a ranch. It later served as the site of the Sonoma Rodeo, linking the property to the region's equestrian and western heritage. The grounds also have an association with Buster Millerick, a respected horse trainer who worked with Seabiscuit; the property is described as the place where Millerick learned to ride. These details provide historical context for the land and help explain why the winery presents itself through a family and heritage narrative. The available reference material does not identify a specific founding year, founding individual, or formal ownership entity. It does, however, state that the land has remained in the family for generations. The winery therefore appears to have developed from a long-held family agricultural property, with winemaking becoming its principal public identity. Its location in Los Carneros places it within a recognized Sonoma wine region known for conditions favorable to grapes such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, although the available material does not provide a complete vineyard or varietal inventory. Larson Family Winery has produced wines that received recognition in major California wine competitions. A 2008 Late Harvest Carneros Gewürztraminer won gold at the 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The winery's 2009 Pinot Noir Rosé was reported to have earned a 90-point score and a silver medal at the California State Fair. These results document the winery's participation in the competitive California wine market and show that its range has included both dessert-style or late-harvest wine and rosé. Beyond these awards, public reference material offers little verified detail about production volumes, tasting-room operations, distribution arrangements, vineyard ownership, staffing, current releases, or later brand developments. No reliable information in the supplied sources establishes a parent company, public listing, executive team, acquisition history, scandal record, or major strategic transaction. The winery is consequently best documented as a regional, family-associated Sonoma producer whose significance comes from its location, property history, and award-recognized wines.
- 2011
Gold medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
[1]The 2008 Late Harvest Carneros Gewürztraminer won a gold medal at the 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
- 2009
Pinot Noir Rosé vintage
[1]The winery produced a 2009 Pinot Noir Rosé that was subsequently reported to receive a 90-point score and a silver medal at the California State Fair.
- 2008
Late Harvest Carneros Gewürztraminer vintage
[1]Larson Family Winery produced its 2008 Late Harvest Carneros Gewürztraminer, later recognized in competition.
Property used as a ranch
[1]The land that later became associated with Larson Family Winery was initially operated as a ranch.
Site becomes associated with the Sonoma Rodeo
[1]Before its winery era, the property served as the site of the Sonoma Rodeo, adding an equestrian and western heritage dimension to the location.
Family property develops into a winery
[1]The multigenerational family property became the home of Larson Family Winery in the Schellville area of Sonoma Valley.
Products and positioning
A family-owned Sonoma winery emphasizing a multigenerational property, local ranch and rodeo heritage, and award-recognized wines from the Los Carneros area.
Late-harvest white wine
Late Harvest Carneros Gewürztraminer
A late-harvest Gewürztraminer from the Carneros area. The documented 2008 vintage received a gold medal at the 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, making it one of the winery's specifically identified and publicly recognized wines.
Rosé wine
Pinot Noir Rosé
A rosé made from Pinot Noir. The documented 2009 vintage was reported to have received a 90-point score and a silver medal at the California State Fair, providing evidence of the winery's production of competition-recognized rosé.
Wine
Wine portfolio
Larson Family Winery's broader offering is wine produced in the Sonoma County context. The supplied sources do not provide a complete current list of varietals, labels, vintages, or formats, so the portfolio cannot be described more precisely without additional authoritative material.
Recent events
- 2011
Late Harvest Carneros Gewürztraminer wins gold at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition[1]
Other
Larson Family Winery's 2008 Late Harvest Carneros Gewürztraminer received a gold medal at the 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
Pinot Noir Rosé receives California State Fair recognition[1]
Other
The winery's 2009 Pinot Noir Rosé was reported as receiving a 90-point score and a silver medal at the California State Fair.
Sources2 sources
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