Terra de Promissio “Land of Promise" is a family owned and operated vineyard dedicated to growing Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir grapes for multiple premium wineries including: Castello di amorosa, Domaine Della, dutcher crossing, Gary FArrEll, LAND OF PROMISE, macrostie, Metzker Family, SENSES, THE CALLING and Williams Selyem

russia to the the Caspian to Lebanon….

It was 1998 when Charles and Diana met when they were both working on a project on the Caspian Sea. Diana had paid $20 for a kilo of caviar and she offered to split it with Charles. As they both lived on the beach, Charles suggested a picnic. During the picnic, Diana asked, “What are you going to do with your life?” Charles said, “One day, I want to get a vineyard.” Diana replied: “Why one day? You are pretty old now?” Charles was 31 at the time.

And as they say, the rest is history……After a year of dating, Charles proposed to Diana in 1999 at the Temple of Bacchus in Baalbek, Lebanon.  She said Yes! And afterwards, Charles and Diana celebrated at the famed Chateau Kefraya in the Bekaa Valley. 

….and then to sonoma

Upon returning to the United States, Charles and Diana began their search for their land. They had looked at over 100 sites in Napa and Sonoma when they came across a beautiful 53-acre ranch, overlooking the town of Petaluma.  The ranch was on two rolling hills, had the right soil profile and fresh water from a well.  Most importantly, the hills faced southwest, which would get both the sun exposure and the wind and fog of the Petaluma Gap.  All these characteristics are ideal for cool climate style Pinot Noir grapes.

When Diana saw the ranch, she told Charles:

"This is it! This is the land we have been praying about!"

"we chose the name Terra de Promissio, latin for the Land of Promise. because as farmers, the land is about the "promise". The promise that every new season brings the possibility AND the hope of a bountiful harvest."

"and as we were both born, have lived and worked overseas, It is the promise of AMERICA, one nation under god AND the American Dream. We very much appreciate what this country represents. America is truly the land of promise and we are grateful for the freedom,liberty and opportunities that these united states offers to all of us." 

Charles and Diana oversaw the planting 33,000 vines in 2002. During that summer, they bought a used trailer to live in and then brought Diana’s Dad and sister Alina from Russia to help manage the vineyard.  We welcomed Diana’s Family to the USA with an American Flag. And from that day on, the American Flag has proudly flown every day here at the vineyard. Terra de Promissio had its first harvest in 2005 and sold to 3 wineries.  In 2007, after renting a house in Petaluma, they converted a barn into a home and moved to the vineyard full time. In 2012 and 2013, they planted an additional 18,000 vines to bring the total planted acreage of Terra de Promissio to 50 acres. 

OUR FAMILY

Grace, Christian, Charles and Diana

CHARLES KARREN

Although born in London, England, Charles is a 8th generation Texan and grew up in Houston. He studied at the University of California, Berkeley and graduated in 1990. Having worked in Washington DC every summer during college, Charles leveraged that knowledge and then embarked on a career that took him around the world. Before he ended up in Kazakhstan, where he met Diana, he had lived in Dubai, London, Manila, Philippines, San’a, Yemen and Moscow, Russia. All in all, Charles has traveled to over 75 countries on 6 continents.

In 1999, Charles proposed to Diana at the Temple of Bacchus, (God of Wine) in Lebanon. After they came back from Beirut, they found the ranch that would become Terra de Promissio. The vineyard has been and is still one of the leading suppliers of pinot noir grapes to multiple premium wineries.

With the 2013 harvest, Diana started to make her own wine from Terra de Promissio. The wine would become Land of Promise and it was first sold in 2015 with 100 cases of the 2013 vintage. The 13s, followed by the 14s and 15s all quickly sold out.

In addition to his role at Terra de Promissio, Charles sat on the Sonoma County Wine Grape Commission as an elected Board Member from 2008-14. Since 2014, he has sat on the Sonoma County Wine Grape Foundation. Additionally, he advises FIVS (International Federation of Wines and Spirits) a global policy organization based in Paris, France.

Diana KARREN

Diana was born in the Soviet Union. She was a Young Pioneer in the Communist System. But in the 1980s as the Soviet Union began to collapse, she put herself thru college and at the same time, worked for western companies that were investing in the now Former Soviet Union. Her hard work and great grades paid off and she was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, where she graduated with a Masters of Business Administration in 2003.

During a two year period (2001-2003) Diana single-handily designed, gained government approvals and oversaw the planting of Terra de Promissio, while being pregnant and giving birth to Christian and doing it as a full time MBA Ivy-League student. In 2005, Diana oversaw the first harvest to Siduri, Flowers and Lynmar. In the ensuring years, as the grape production ramped up, Diana added multiple wineries including Kistler, Kosta-Browne and Willams Selyem. In 2011, Kosta Browne received the Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year for the 2009 Sonoma Coast, which was primarily using grapes from Terra de Promissio.

Since day one, every row and block is custom farmed per each of the winemakers specific instructions. Because of this attention to detail by Diana, Terra de Promissio is now the most vineyard designated pinot noir in Sonoma County with over 10 wineries using the TdP name on their label. Beginning with the 2013 harvest, Diana began overseeing the winemaking process for Land of Promise. She now makes 4 Land of Promise Pinots and one Rosé. For more info, please click here or the link below.

In addition to managing the vineyard and the winery, Diana spends her Sunday mornings at Calvary Chapel Petaluma where she volunteers watching the babies and toddlers during the busy first service, so their parents can enjoy and listen to the sermons.