In 1974, Steve MacRostie made his first Chardonnay and Pinot Noir using grapes from areas that would today include the Sonoma Coast. Back then, there were only about 40 small wineries in Sonoma County. Now there are hundreds. Where Steve helped lead, both geographically and stylistically, others have followed, making the Sonoma Coast one of the world’s great regions for making Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. With his relaxed charm, philosophical mind, adventurous spirit and encyclopedic knowledge of Sonoma County viticulture and winemaking, Steve is recognized as one of the region’s great pioneers, strongest advocates and most respected winemakers.
A native Californian, Steve was raised in Sacramento. In the process of preparing for medical school, he earned a degree in biology from Washington’s Whitman College in 1968. Following his time at Whitman, Steve served in the U.S. Army, which trained him as a cryptographer and deployed him to Vicenza in the Veneto region of Italy. While in Europe, Steve took advantage of the opportunity to travel to France, Germany and Spain. European wines were an epiphany for him, far surpassing the few American wines he had tasted. He quickly fell in love with wine, and the idea of winemaking. After the army, Steve abandoned the safe path of a career in medicine, and instead enrolled in the enology program at the UC Davis.
When most young winemakers were focusing on working with Bordeaux varieties and establishing careers in Napa Valley, Steve once again took the road less traveled, and in 1974, he became the inaugural winemaker for Sonoma County’s Hacienda Winery. During his 12 years at Hacienda, Steve honed his craft and earned renown as a gifted winemaker capable of making benchmark Chardonnays and age-worthy Pinot Noirs. During this period Steve also worked alongside his peers, including Richard Arrowood and Bob Sessions, to found the Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance, where he served as president. Understanding the importance of regionally focused organizations, he also served as president for the Carneros Wine Alliance.
In 1987, with the support of his wife, Thale, Steve founded MacRostie Winery and Vineyards. At MacRostie, Steve began to pioneer a fresh, elegant style that showed its roots in the cool vineyards of Sonoma County. This style has played a pivotal role in helping to differentiate Sonoma County from other wine regions. Steve also dedicated himself to building relationships with the best growers throughout the region—relationships that have lasted for decades.
In 1997, Steve made another bold decision when he established of his own Wildcat Mountain Vineyard in the Petaluma Gap region on the borderlands between Carneros and the Sonoma Coast. Though Wildcat exists on the extreme edge of cool-climate viticulture, it has proven ideal for growing grapes that produce profound, complex and elegant wines. With Wildcat as one its cornerstones, in recent years, Steve has focused on further enhancing the MacRostie vineyard program. Because of the relationships he’s developed over his 40-year career, and the universal respect he has gained from his peers, Steve is able to source the most sought-after fruit for MacRostie, including grapes from legendary winegrowers like the Duttons, Sangiacomos, Martinellis, Bacigalupis, Kent Ritchie and Bill Price.
Today, Steve remains active, involved and essential to MacRostie’s success, and is in the winery regularly, where he works alongside MacRostie’s acclaimed winemaker, Heidi Bridenhagen. Together, they challenge and inspire each other, and as a result, Steve and Heidi are making the best wines in MacRostie’s history, while also staying at the forefront of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir viticulture and winemaking. Thanks in part to his leadership, the last decade at MacRostie has been particularly impressive, underscoring Steve’s—and MacRostie’s—enduing commitment to excellence and innovation. Throughout this period, the MacRostie portfolio has gone from four single-vineyard wines to more than 20. Steve also fulfilled a lifelong dream when MacRostie opened its Estate House in the Russian River Valley, which includes the Thale’s Estate Vineyard (named after Steve’s wife). In collaboration with Heidi, Steve and the team unveiled MacRostie’s two pinnacle wines, The Loch and The Key, made the winery’s debut sparkling wine, and launched Clockwise, a winery that allows the team the opportunity to explore other grape varieties and styles.
Outside of MacRostie, Steve continues to champion Sonoma County, small wineries and the American wine industry that he has dedicated his life to. Steve is a current director at Wine Institute, where he serves as a regional director for Sonoma County, advocating on behalf of the region he loves. He also serves on the Finance and Administration Committee, where he helps to oversee the organization’s annual 15-million-dollar budget, and works as a liaison to the Technical Advisory Committee, contributing his acumen and experience to industry-wide initiatives such as trade regulations and labeling. Beyond the wine industry, Steve also gives back to his community. He is currently the board president of the non-profit Sonoma Community Center, which brings world-class art and educational programs to Sonoma County, along with an array of important community-centered events.