166 distiller
hen I think of Wine Country spirits, I think Charbay and the
Karakasevic family. Certainly, they are distilling leaders, launching
in 1983 around the same time as fellow NorCal/Bay Area pioneers
St. George Spirits and Germain-Robin.
In a region that led "craft" distilling before there was craft dis-
tilling in America, Charbay is both winery and distillery, now separated out
in two locations: their original Spring Mountain Napa winery, where Charbay
founders Miles and Susan Karakasevic produce wines, port and dessert wine, and
their Ukiah distillery, where son Marko Karakasevic distills vodka, whiskey, rum,
brandy and other special releases, from pastis to pachanga (a sunflower spirit).
Running the distillery with his wife, Jenni, Marko is the 13th generation in a
long line of family distillers that traces back to Eastern Europe. Milorad (Miles)
comes from over 250 years of family winemaking and distilling in the former
Yugoslavia. He came to North America at the young age of 21. In 2010, he
Marko Karakasevic
CHARBAY
W
by Virginia
Miller
