Caviar-loving diners might recognize the name Tsar Nicoulai. You can find caviar from the California farm at Ju-Ni’s omakase counter in San Francisco, on the tasting menu at Brutø in Denver, and at New York’s Sip & Guzzle, piled onto crispy chicken skins accompanied by ranch dip. Soon, Tsar Nicoulai’s briny pearls will grace even more restaurant menus and home celebrations. Diners may still associate caviar with Russia, but, in fact, 80% of the caviar in the country now comes from California. Starting this fall, most of that caviar will come from this single producer.
Sacramento doesn’t have a reputation as a fine dining destination, but it’s been producing this luxury ingredient for 40 years. “The long-term goal is that Sacramento gets the Napa recognition,” says Ali Bolourchi, president of Tsar Nicoulai. “What Napa is to wine, Sacramento is going to be that for caviar.”
In October, Tsar Nicoulai acquired Sterling Caviar when the latter allegedly fell $23 million into debt, officially making Tsar Nicoulai the oldest and biggest sturgeon farm in the country. Tsar Nicoulai estimates three-quarters of all domestic caviar will come from their production facility after this acquisition. The company goes from managing one farm of 40 acres to five properties at nearly 250 total acres. Bolourchi estimates Tsar Nicoulai harvested 8.5 metric tons of caviar last year, and by combining operations with Sterling, the goal is to produce a whopping 25 to 30 metric tons of caviar each year within the next decade.
Tsar Nicoulai goes from managing one farm of 40 acres (pictured) to five properties totaling nearly 250 total acres.Photograph courtesy Tsar Nicoulai/John Valenton
They plan to keep separate labels for Tsar Nicoulai and Sterling for fans of the respective farms. But the pooling of their operations means they’ll be producing more caviar—diners across the country won’t just be getting their caviar from a single producer, they’ll be getting much more of it. “We want to help change the narrative that you have to look elsewhere for delicious, inspired caviar,” says Bolourchi. The company will clearly label their tins and jars so caviar fans realize just how much of what they’re eating comes from California.
Californian farmers started seeking sustainable alternatives to Russian wild caviar decades ago because they saw an overfishing crisis coming. Sterling Caviar was founded in 1983, when they were the first to raise California white sturgeon, an indigenous fish of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, in tanks, and Tsar Nicoulai followed close behind in 1984.
Sure enough, the US Fish and Wildlife Service officially banned wild beluga caviar from the Caspian Sea in 2005, when the species was overfished to the brink of extinction. Since then, the California caviar industry has continued to grow, and both farms have changed owners; the local Bolourchi family took over Tsar Nicoulai in 2014, and New York real estate developer Eugene Fernandez bought Sterling Caviar in 2020. Today, they face an influx of cheaper options from China, many of which are produced with dubious farming practices.
A sturgeon cleaning station at Tsar Nicoulai.Photograph courtesy Tsar Nicoulai
