In the verdant folds of Sonoma County, where the Alexander Valley drapes its quilted vineyards across the landscape, the Carano family has placed their storied California wine estate on the market, seeking a buyer with a palate for luxury and heritage—and $7.975 million to spare.
It was here that the late Don Carano, alongside his wife Rhonda, rooted their dreams in the soil in 1981. Over the years, their vision unfurled into the Ferrari-Carano Vineyard & Winery, whose vines have since woven a tapestry of distinguished California wines.
Spanning across this viticultural Eden, more than 24 acres are dressed in the lush, green vines of Chardonnay, meticulously tended by a local vineyard management company, with the fruits of their labors destined for a neighboring winery via established contracts. While tragedy has brushed the estate—a 2020 wildfire consumed an 8-acre hillside Cabernet vineyard—the land holds the promise of rebirth and has zoning blessings for new residential endeavors and the resurrection of the vineyard lost to the flames.
A sibling to this parcel, an adjacent 15-acre sister-site cradles a two-bedroom cottage in its embrace, poised as the perfect guest house amidst a scenic backdrop. The estate is not just a citadel of viticulture but also boasts bounties of other fruit trees and a sweeping olive grove, extending an invitation to indulge in a life draped in the agrarian luxury.
Beyond the realms of winemaking, Don Carano’s legacy is firmly planted in the casino gaming industry—an empire he began nurturing in 1973 with the opening of the Eldorado Resort Casino in Reno. With the acumen of empire-builders, he and his kin nurtured Eldorado Resorts from its humble regional origins to claim the throne as the preeminent gaming leviathan in the United States, culminating in the historic merger with “old Caesars” in 2020 at a grand value of $17.3 billion.
With the sun setting on Don Carano’s days in 2017, his prolific shadow continues to stretch across “new Caesars”—with the family still ensconced as the titan’s largest private shareholders. Echoes of the Carano vision resonate within the executive corridors, as Glenn Carano helms operations in the East region, and Gary Carano graces the high seat as Caesars’ executive chairman.
In keeping with their devotion to legacy and enrichment, 2022 saw the launch of the Don Carano Legacy Scholarship—a beacon for employees within the gaming conglomerate seeking to fuel their educational aspirations, backed by an endowment that can extend as much as $5,000.
Now, as the Carano family pares back its immersion in the vinous arts, selling most of its stakes to Folino Estate in 2019, Rhonda Carano finds solace away from the vine-wrapped embrace of their Sonoma estate. However, its lure remains potent. Near the cosmopolitan allure of Healdsburg—with its smorgasbord of fine dining and proximity to Wine Country’s bleeding heart—the estate beckons, embraced by an array of luxury resorts burgeoning under construction, all promising a vintage blend of opulence and bucolic charm to anyone who answers its call.
