Karin Warnelius-Miller of Garden Creek Ranch Vineyards Winery
(Dec. 1, 2023; Sonoma, Calif.)—Karin Warnelius-Miller, proprietor, winegrower and winemaker of Garden Creek Ranch Vineyards Winery in Geyserville, California, is pleased to announce her appointment as a director of District 1 for the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG), effective Dec. 1, 2023.
“As a lifelong member of the winegrowing and winemaking community in Alexander Valley, I am honored and thrilled to join CAWG, which has such an impressive history of representing the interests of winegrape growers throughout the state,” says Warnelius-Miller. “It is imperative to have advocacy on issues that affect winegrowers across California. Coming from a family that has grown and produced wine in Sonoma County for six decades, I am eager to bring my experiences and expertise to the table to protect and communicate the interests of my fellow winegrowers as well as speak about our contributions to California’s agricultural success.”
As a director of District 1, Warnelius-Miller will represent and advocate for Sonoma’s winegrape growers alongside representatives from Napa, Marin, Mendocino and Lake counties. She also plans to be part of the Industry Affairs & Sustainability Committee, which oversees activities of sustainability via the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, research and extension, winegrape statistics, environmental issues, and pest management issues.
Warnelius-Miller was born in Linköping, Sweden, and immigrated to the United States in the 1970s with her family, who established themselves as grape growers in the Alexander Valley in 1976. Karin continues this legacy today alongside her husband, Justin Warnelius-Miller, an eighth-generation Californian, at Garden Creek, a 100-acre vineyard established in 1969 by Justin’s family. Karin has worked in many aspects of the wine industry, including marketing and international sales at Boisset USA and distributor sales at Jackson Family Wines, working under Regal Wine Company. Her heart and soul have always remained in Alexander Valley, where she resides, raising her family and crafting sophisticated, age-worthy wines with her husband at their estate, which has been in their family since 1963.
CAWG is the only statewide organization that is dedicated exclusively to protect and promote the interests of winegrape growers in front of the state legislature. For 50 years, CAWG has served as the primary advocacy group for California’s winegrowing community and addresses the vast array of issues facing winegrape growing, including pest and disease management, water use, marketing, DTC shipping and more.
About Garden Creek Ranch Vineyards Winery
Founded in 1963, Garden Creek Ranch is a winegrowing estate in the eastern hills of the Mayacamas Mountains near the town of Geyserville, in the heart of the Alexander Valley, in Sonoma County, California. Consisting of 100 acres (41 ha), the property rises in elevation from 225 to 625 feet (68 to 190 m) above sea level. The estate has been sustainably tended with regenerative practices for the past 30 years, and the diverse hillside vineyards are matched in beauty by the strength of the grand mountains above. The Warnelius-Miller family has been winegrowing since 1969 at Garden Creek. Justin Warnelius-Miller is the second-generation winegrower at Garden Creek, following in his father’s footsteps. Karin Warnelius-Miller, Justin’s wife, too is a second-generation winegrower and winemaker who spent her youth cultivating her family’s 200 acres of vineyards and winery only a few miles north of Garden Creek. Karin and Justin share a fervent vision of fine articulate winegrowing and believe in the intimate relationship of a farmer’s hand with the vine and the power of family, which all begins with the land. Together, they express the enduring depths of Garden Creek through the production of two wines: Tesserae ($125), an estate Cabernet Sauvignon Assemblage and a Chardonnay, Clonal Selection ($70). Garden Creek is only open by advance appointment and to private members on its mailing list by invitation.
For more information about Garden Creek Ranch Vineyards Winery, please visit gardencreekvineyards.com.
