After nearly thirty years of successfully managing Domaine de Montille, his family estate in Burgundy that goes back to the 1730s, Étienne de Montille wanted to explore new horizons in making Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in a different environment. In July 2016, Étienne and Brian Sieve, an American winemaker who settled with his family in Burgundy and has been the Chef de Cave at Domaine de Montille for a decade, decided to embark on a three-week tour of the US Pacific Coast in search of cool climate terroir with exceptional potential.

At the end of the trip, they both agreed on electing Sta. Rita Hills as the wine region that offers the best potential for their project. Étienne gained a better understanding of the region and that reinforced his conviction that Sta. Rita Hills enjoys one of the coolest and most ideal climates to make subtle, elegant, fresh Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. He also realized that the region could make great sparkling wine and went to meet his old friend Rondolphe Peters in Champagne. Soon after, Rondolphe visited the area and decided to join the project to handle a range of sparkling wines from the best Chardonnay sites in Sta. Rita Hills. 

Racines Wines was born.