Wine Touring in the Sierra Foothills: Avanguardia, Nevada City: "Hedonic Wines"

The winding road to Avanguardia –

Bitney Springs Road, 

bridge over Deer Creek, 

Newtown Road, to

Jones Bar Road, look for the sign – takes you to an in-winery tasting room that is charmingly set in the midst of cases of wine, bottling machines and winemaking equipment.   The sign that finally points in the direction of this purpose-built winery near Nevada City could say “varietal-free zone ahead” and that would tip you off that you are in for an other-worldly wine tasting experience.

Rob Chrisman is dedicated to making wines that provide a maximum sensory pleasure to the wine drinker.  He refers to his style of winemaking as “hedonic blending”.  Rob has a healthy disregard for the traditional California approach to winemaking, and is carving out a brave new world with his wines.  His scrumptious wines have fanciful names, and are handcrafted with an avant-garde flair, You are in for a new taste experience! 

Rob’s path to his winemaking philosophy began when he was a computer programmer in Los Angeles.   Like many of us, he began his wine drinking career by trying to get bottles of wine on the cheap, and he refined his palate that way.  In 1977, he visited the Foundation Plant Materials Service group at University of California – Davis.  This independent arm of the university protects, preserves and distributes disease-free plant material, particularly grapes.  From the list of 60 or 80 wine varieties available, Rob selected 29 varieties for his experimental vineyard in Tulare.

After many years as a grape grower of the experimental kind, and an avid home winemaker, Rob moved his family to Nevada County in 1990.  He had a hunch he could grow grapes quite well on his site at 2500-foot elevation.

“I believed that Sierra Foothill wines could be as good as those from any area, and we planted vines in 2000 and 2001 on 3 ½ acres here.”  Now, Avanguardia Wines blends over twenty Italian, Russian, French and University of California-created crosses grown in its estate vineyards.  “Many of the grape varieties have been imported by the University especially for us and are available nowhere else, outside of Europe.”  To his own estate-grown grapes, he adds other Sierra Foothills fruit.  He started to produce cutting-edge blends, and they’ve found a loyal following.

“I call my winery a varietal-free zone because we don’t produce traditional chardonnay, zinfandel and so on.  Although several of my wines could be considered varietals because they contain enough of one varietal to be termed that, instead we chose to give them fanciful names,” he said.

Rob sincerely believes that blending is the way to go to get the best quality, tastiest wines.  “I do non-traditional blending, what I call “hedonic blending”, because I am looking for the maximum sensory pleasure out of the wine.  I want to produce wines that are extremely food friendly.”  His wines are not high alcohol, nor are they fruit-bombs.  Subtle oak and good acidity are key.   He produces 1000 cases of wine each year, and 90% of the grapes in those wines come from his estate vineyards in Nevada County.

 A chat about the names of his wines is informative and entertaining.  Premiato means “prizewinner”.   Sanginet is a 14^th century archaic name for Sangiovese.  Ampio means ample, generous;  Cristallo means crystal.   Selvatico is actually an adjective about an Italian wine characteristic that is used to describe a wild berry or undomesticated flavor.  Due Fiori…two flowers.

Looking for a daytrip to nearby wine county? Head to Avanguardia’s winery at 13028 Jones Bar Road, Nevada City, CA  95959, open Saturday and Sunday 12-5. There’s also a tasting room in Grass Valley at 209 W. Main Street that’s open daily 12-5.  More information?  http://www.avanguardiawines.com/

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Copyright 2011 Barbara Keck

Barbara Keck is now working on iPhone and Droid apps on Wineries of the Sierra Foothills

Harvest time in the Sierra Foothills, time for visits! Suggestion: Solune WineGrowers in Grass Valley

“The reward for a daytrip to Sierra Foothill wineries is intense flavorful wines from passionate winemakers”

Andrea & Jacques Mercier

It’s Harvest Time in the Sierra Foothills, and if you’ve been following my Harvest Report blogs,  you know that the late spring and cool summer are manifesting in a later harvest than usual.  It’s a good time right now to take a trip to some of those wineries you’ve been wanting to visit.  Suggestion: Solune WineGrowers in Grass Valley (Nevada County).

Not every winemaker has the advantage of bringing the world’s “best practices” to his winemaking.  Jacques Mercier of Solune Winegrowers has done that, thanks to an extensive background as a trained sommelier and an esteemed wine judge.  From tasting and judging wines around the world – Spain, the Douro, Mendoza, Switzerland, France – he’s gathered wisdom from observation and from other wine judges who are winemakers.  The result: award winning wines from his own vineyard and winery.

Jacques and wife Andrea bought their property in Grass Valley in 2001: 15 acres with a house, barn, a 3 acre vineyard in place and another 7 acres that could be planted to vines. “We decided to name our winery Solune, which is a combination of the French words for sun (soleil) ad moon (lune),” explained Jacques.  

At 2600 foot elevations where many of his vines grow, he knows that every little valley has its own microclimate. Initially, Jacques planted 24 varieties and at the end of his first decade, he has 11 reliable varieties.

Jacques’ winemaking style is very hands-on.  He has an East Coast palate, and fine tunes every wine he makes.  “I pay careful attention to the acidity,” he says.  “I think that a lot of California wine is too flabby.  I make careful decisions about when to harvest; I pick my grapes to give my wines a smooth yet rich quality.”

At 1500 cases now, he wants to keep small in order to keep quality high.  Jacques is looking forward to a 50/50 ratio of juice from his own estate vineyards and grapes that he buys in from selected Foothill growers.   “If I don’t like my own wines, I’ll throw it out.  I can’t hype anything.  Solune will produce good wine, smooth wine, great food wine,” he said.

What to taste?  Last season when I was tasting at Solune, I had a wonderful Port.  I don’t see it for sale on their website now, but ask about it.  Try these:

The 2008 Barbera, Sierra Foothills, has intense red berry flavors and aromas, great balance, silky texture, long finish, and this vintage is unoaked, with a hint of smokiness due to the 2008 forest fires.   $25 the bottle.

The 2007 Fleur de Lune, Sierra Foothills, is an off-dry blend that combines Muscat Blanc, Orange Muscat and Gewurztraminer.   I like the touch of sweetness, which Jacques notes is perfectly balanced by a vibrant acidity, providing a refreshing finish.   $20 the bottle.

The 2006 Cinq Etoiles, Sierra Foothills, is a classic five-varietal Bordeaux blend.  The website has a great description: Cabernet Sauvignon leads the flavor profile with black currant and plum,  Petit Verdot adds color and structure, and the Merlot smooths the texture and brings spicy flavors and a hint of tobacco leaf. Cabernet Franc brightens the nose with a whiff of flowers and the Malbec helps to fill the mid-palate with a fruity lushness.   $20 the bottle.

Solune is located at 16303 Jewett Lane (Colfax Hwy), Grass Valley.  Open for  tastings Saturday & Sunday from 12 to  5.    If you want to visit during the week, call 530-271-0990 and perhaps they can arrange a time.


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© 2011 Barbara Keck

Night Harvest at Naggiar (Grass Valley/Nevada County): "season off to a late start"

Tony Tibshirani of Naggiar Vineyards in Nevada County, Sierra Foothills, sent these spectacular night harvest photos taken the week of September 25, and an update:

"This season is off to a late start for high elevation growers in Nevada County.  Naggiar's vineyards are at a 1200 ft elevation in the Sierra Foothills, between Grass Valley & Auburn.  

Our Rhone whites are showing exceptional quality.  We’ve harvested Viognier, Marsanne, & Rousanne.  We've seen very little raisining and the yields are somewhat lower than previous years due to the spring rains. We’ve been harvesting around 24 Brix and a pH of 3.5. 

We've also picked our Syrah and Sangiovese, but this next week,  we’ll be focusing on most of our reds."


About Naggiar Vineyards  (from their website)

"After searching for 3 years for a suitable vineyard site, we found a 160 acre site with ideal wine grape growing conditions in the Sierra Foothills between Auburn and Grass Valley. The 160 acre site sits on a large knoll with gentle hillside slopes providing good breezes and air circulation while at the same time reasonable hillside tractor access conditions.  We purchased the land in 1997.

The Nevada County Irrigation canal runs through the site providing an ample and dependable supply of clean water throughout the growing season.  We built a one acre surface area and 20 ft deep pond to ensure that an adequate reserve of water would be available at all times of the year.

The estate vineyards consist of 50 acres planted with 12 different varieties of grapes which provide the flexibility and choice of creating the best varietal wines or the best possible blends."

According to owner Mike Naggiar, the winery made 2600 cases 2010, and they plan to get to 5000 cases.  Their first vintage was 2003, with wines released in 2005.

Szabo Vineyards (Nevada City/Nevada County) - Good Sugar in Grape Harvest

Sandor (Alex) Szabo of Szabo Vineyards sends this brief Harvest Report:

We recently harvested our muscat blanc and orange ----yum-- talk about sugar!

On Tuesday September 25 we harvested the Primitivo and then the Syrah today (Wednesday the 26th September).

We'll be working from 5 am to 11 am if anybody wants to visit:  fresh juice to be served!

p.s.  From the time of picking to them getting crushed is no more than 25 minutes ....we like it fresh!


About Szabo Vineyards : (from their website http://www.szaborvineyards.com/)

Szabo Vineyards is a small, family-owned operation; the vineyards, 40-acres, are at 1900 feet and on south and west-facing hillsides off of Bitney Springs Road in Nevada City.   Sitting almost exactly halfway between Grass Valley and Nevada City, the views include the Pacific Coastal Range and the Sutter and Sierra Buttes.

We are proud of our new winery building, which was designed by architect David Wright of Grass Valley and completed in July 2009. This state-of-the-art, passive solar facility is built into the hillside and was engineered to keep the wines at a constant temperature year-round. We crushed our own grapes at the new winery for the first time in September 2009.

We pride ourselves on the hand-crafted quality of our wines, which are made exclusively from sustainably grown grapes from our mountainside estate. Our Zinfandel, Syrah and Petite Syrah wines are intense and fruit-forward without being dominated by oak.

Pilot Peak (Penn Valley/Nevada County) - "Latest Harvest to Date"

Lynn Wilson, winemaker and one of the owners of Pilot Peak Vineyard & Winery (Penn Valley, Nevada County) sends us this note about the Sierra Foothills harvest experience there:

"Until yesterday (September 25), we didn’t have any news to get out – just harvested our first grapes off the estate grown Sauvignon block on the property. Got them off the vines about 10 minutes before the light rain started so we just barely cheated Mother Nature. The fruit was whole cluster pressed and is currently settling in the tall stainless steel tank. The juice will be inoculated tomorrow morning with the fermentation normally taking 10 to 14 days (fermented in the range of 65OF – 68OF). The fruit was harvested at 24 Brix with a pH of 3.3 – the acid/sugar balance developed very nicely in the cool summer we’ve just experienced.


This harvest has been our latest to date and it appears the majority of the fruit will be harvested in October.

Tempranillo or Syrah should be the next in line, but they are at least a week to 10 days off – all dependent on temperature. We’re all keeping our fingers crossed that we don’t get substantial early rain which would have a major impact on the crop yields which are already light this year. Given the cooler weather and longer growing season, the fruit sampled thus far is excellent and should make for a great vintage.


About Pilot Peak Vineyard & Winery (from their website)

"PILOT PEAK Winery is located in Northern California’s Sierra Foothills – An hour north of Sacramento – just a few miles outside Grass Valley and Nevada City in the town of Penn Valley.  We currently produce approx. 2500 cases, using our estate grown Sauvignon Blanc and Mourvédre and other grapes sourced within 20 miles of the winery.  We have worked with the following Sierra Foothill growers: Damiano Vineyards,  S&L Vineyards, Naggiar Vineyards, Leeham Vineyards & Dibble Vineyards. 
We established the winery in early 2004.  The metal shop building was converted from a construction shop to a winery starting on July 6, 2004 and completed on August 29, 2004.  8 short weeks!  --  Luckily -  just in time for the first grapes to arrive (one of the earliest harvests on record).  We made 600 cases of wine that first year - which later sold out in record time (Cabernet Franc sold out in 1 day!  The Viognier lasted about a week!). "

Montoliva (Chicago Park/Nevada County) - Harvest Report and commentary

Mark Henry, owner and winemaker at MontOliva Vineyard & Winery, located in the Chicago Park area of Nevada County,  sends along a very interesting report in Q&A format:

That  June rain that never seemed to end, how did it affect the growing season?

More than I originally thought it did. Although it was wet and cool, we did not get a late frost this year.  Although we got some snow in mid-May, the air temp never dropped below 34'F in my vineyard. Because I did not get the same frost burn in 2011 that we got in 2010 (frost event in late May), canopy development was pretty normal, and although things did progress slower, my thinking throughout the summer was that we are maybe a couple of weeks behind.

Last year I did sample testing on 20 September. So, I sample tested yesterday.  The numbers throughout the vineyard are most exactly what they were last year.  This is a little disheartening.  I had thought that with dodging the late frost this year, we would be at least a couple of weeks ahead of last year, the cold, wet Spring notwithstanding.

How does this year compare to a normal growing season?

Normal?  I planted my vineyard in 2000.  Except for maybe 2006 and 2007...maybe 2009, I don't think I've had a "normal" year yet.  This year is looking suspiciously like last year.  Maybe this is the "New, Improved" normal!

What does the '11 crop size look like?

This is the area where I am probably still trying to figure things out.  We didn't get a late frost this year, and lots of rain early, so the crop load was heavier than usual.  I almost always do some crop thinning, Sangiovese almost demands it, however, I think after the light crop load of last year (because of the frost), I got a little greedy this year.  Perhaps the fact that I  am almost exactly in the same place as last year, without a frost event, is because I left a bit more on the vine this year than I usually do. 

Did you have to do any crop thinning this year?

I probably haven't thinned enough.  I dropped fruit once in early summer, and again about two weeks ago.  I may go through the vineyard again later this week.  by the time I'm done, I may end of dropping about 50%.

This year seems to have progressed much like last year. Are you expecting similar results?

I actually think it may be something better...assuming the weather holds up.  The saving grace last year is that although we had a couple of rain events in early, then late October, it cleared up/warmed up immediately afterward, so no problem.  We harvested MV&W on October 31st last year.  The brix were at around 22, ripeness was pretty good, not great.  This year bloom and fruit set occurred earlier (because we didn't get the late frost), so assuming the weather holds up, we may harvest on Halloween again, the brix may be around 22 again, however, the physiological ripeness factors should be improved, meaning better colors, more flavor development.

When do you expect to harvest?

I probably need the weather to hold up until the last week of October.  It did it last year. Keeping my fingers crossed

What happens if it starts raining next week?

Well, rain isn't necessarily a bad thing.  It rains a fair amount during the growing season in both France and Italy (or at least it used to). Here in the north Sierra Foothills we don't have the same issues that Napa or Sonoma have.  There, it can rain, then stay cold and foggy for days. That inevitably means rot...especially with Chardonnay.  Here, it may rain for a day or two, but then it clears up, and warms back up.  This is what happened last year, so while Napa was scrambling to pick before too much rot set in, here in the north Sierra Foothills, we were able to sit tight for another couple of weeks.  Now, if it starts raining, and doesn't stop...that's a different matter altogether.  Or if we get a frost event.  If it freezes any time between now, and near the end of October, I'm toast.

About Montoliva Vineyards & Winery

Mark Henry was one of the first to plant the prized clones of Sangiovese introduced to the U.S. by Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo in 2001, and the first to plant the southern Italian mainstay Aglianico in the North Sierra Foothills. Chicago Park, California is on the western slope of the Sierra Foothills at 2200ft elevation, about equidistance from Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. Warm summers, cool evenings and soils of decomposed granite create a very happy home for our 1820 Sangiovese and 80 Aglianico vines. This, combined with the old world tradition of close planting (4ft x 3ft), means that Montoliva Vineyard & Winery is blessed with an annual bounty of high-quality fruit.

Some of the original settlers of Chicago Park were first-generation Italian-Americans from Chicago, Illinois. The orchards and vineyards of Chicago Park bear witness to their quest to start a community in the untamed West that mirrored their homeland. Their spirit lives on at Montoliva Vineyard & Winery. Founded in 2000, Montoliva Vineyard & Winery creates Tuscan-inspired wines of uncommon depth and character

Nevada City Winery (Nevada City/Nevada County) Harvest Report

Mark Foster, winemaker for Nevada City Winery, Nevada County in the Sierra Foothills, sends along this report:


Mark Foster looking
at the grapes


"Nevada City Winery has harvested only whites to this point: Viognier, Sauvignon blanc and Gewurztraminer.  

The Sauvignon blanc numbers were perfect, but the crop was down 40% due to the late Spring frost this year. 

The Gewurztraminer came in at about 50% of estimated crop. It too had beautiful numbers and color. 

We are expecting Sangiovese and Primitivo early next week along with Chardonnay from Clarksburg.  Our local Chardonnay supplier lost most of his crop to frost too. 

It is looking like there are some varieties that may not make it this year.  I am seeing some leaf loss on older vineyards.  It has been quite hot for the last few days and the sugars are climbing and the acids seem to be holding."

About the Nevada City Winery, from their website:

"Nevada City Winery was founded in 1980 in a small garage on the outskirts of town by Allan Haley, a Nevada County native with a European wine education and a dream of bringing winemaking back to the region.  They are extremely proud of their role in revitalizing the wine industry in Nevada County and have been recognized with numerous awards.

Winemaker Mark Foster joined the Winery team in time for the ’92 crush.  As a scientist with numerous advanced degrees, he found himself seduced by the science of wine after a trip to Napa.  He went to U.C. Davis and worked towards yet another Masters degree, this time Enology.  The result was three years at Chalone followed by seven years as a winemaker at Madrona Winery before coming to Nevada City.  “First of all, for the philosophical scientist, wine is the perfect blend of art and science. My goal as a winemaker is to be creative and make great wine. Nevada City is the perfect place to blend experimentation with wonderful viticultural environment. The result? Great wines!”

Naggiar Grapes in Featured Wines at Charity Event in Lake Tahoe

The Wine on the Water event at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe benefitted the Boys & Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe and gave the opportunity to taste wonderful wines and nibble on hallmark foods from some of Lake Tahoe’s best chefs.   It was a sunny day and moderately hot there on the lawn near the Hyatt’s great Lone Eagle Grill restaurant.

Among the wines were some with great fruit sourced from Nevada County in the Sierra Foothills.

The 2009 L’Ingenue from Elyse sources its fruit from Naggiar vineyards near Grass Valley in the Sierra Foothills.  This is an exquisite white Rhone blend of 40% Roussane, 34% Marsanne, 20% Viognier and 6% Grenache Blanc.    “Aromas of honeysuckle, lycee nuts, peaches and a hint of orange zest. Explosive fruit flavors,” notes the winemaker.  14.6 percent alcohol.   $28/bottle.

Another lovely Rhone blend from Elyse is the 2007 C’Est Si Bon, also sourced from Naggiar vineyards.  This red blend is a fruit, berry-flavored wine, with low tannin and, I confess, very much my favorite style in a Rhone blend.  The blend is 46% Grenache, 26% Mourvedre, 18% Syrah, 5% Cinsault, 4% Counoise and 1% Viognier.    I am a pushover for Châteauneuf-du-Pape lookalikes, and the Counoise grape is the grape is a key component of many of these wines.  Legend has it that Counoise was introduced from Spain into France  and it was offered it  Pope Urban V when the papacy was based in Avignon in the mid-14th century.  This yummy  wine from Elyse is 14.4 percent alcohol,  $28/bottle.

The Hyatt Regency at Incline Village is located at 111 Country Club Drive, Incline Village, NV.  All proceeds from this event are donated to the Boys & Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe.

To read a longer report on this event, originally published in The Tahoe Weekly, click here

Sierra Vintners annouces Wineries Pouring at Sept 24 event in Grass Valley

The following 15 wineries will participate in the Sierra Vintners event in Grass Valley on September 24.

• Avanguardia Wines (www.AvanguardiaWines.com)
• Bent Metal Winery (www.BentMetalWinery.com)
• Coufos Cellars (www.CoufosCellars.com)
• Double Oak Vineyards & Winery (www.DoubleOakWinery.com)
• Indian Springs Vineyards (www.IndianSpringsWines.com)
• Lucchesi Vineyards & Winery (www.LucchesiVineyards.com)
• Montoliva Vineyard & Winery (www.Montoliva.com)
• Naggiar Vineyards (www.NaggiarVineyards.com)
• Nevada City Winery (www.NCWinery.com)
• Pilot Peak Vineyard & Winery (www.PilotPeak.com)
• Sierra Knolls Vineyards & Winery (www.SierraKnollsWinery.com)
• Sierra Starr Vineyard (www.SierraStarrWine.com)
• Smith Vineyard (www.SmithVineyard.com)
• Solune Winegrowers (www.SoluneWinery.com)
• Szabo Vineyards (www.SzaboVineyards.com)

For more information on the event, go to the earlier blogpost by clicking here

 

About Sierra Vintners

Sierra Vintners is a partnership of wineries located in Nevada County, California, collaborating to promote the emerging wine region located midway between Sacramento and Reno in the Sierra Foothills.

Sierra Vintners features fifteen wineries and additional tasting rooms, offering a diverse wine experience with handcrafted and award winning wines, rural vineyards and wineries, and downtown tasting rooms in the historic towns of Grass Valley and Nevada City, CA. For more information, visit http://www.sierravintners.com./

Sierra Vintners Rides Again...this time to Grass Valley

A Taste of the Gold –Premier Tasting Event in Grass Valley

Presented by Sierra Vintners & Grass Valley Downtown Association

Sierra Vintners and the Grass Valley Downtown Association will be presenting A taste of the Gold, a premier wine tasting event on Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley, CA.     

This fabulously fun and tasty event, featuring some of the Northern Sierra Foothill’s finest restaurants and wineries, takes place on the Saturday afternoon of the Draft Horse Classic. Find your favorite wine, and with glass in hand, nibble your way through more restaurants than you could possibly visit in a long weekend.  With your first taste and your first sip, you’ll soon recognize why “A Taste of the Gold” has become such a popular event.

Early Bird tickets are $30 in advance, by going online to www.sierravintners.com.  Tickets can also be purchased for $40 on the day of the event at the Gazebo, just as you enter Gate 5 at the Fairgrounds.  Wine club members can contact their winery directly for special pricing.  For more event information or tickets by phone, call 530-272-8315. (You must be 21 years of age or older to attend this event.) 

Entertainment will be provided by Bob Mora & The Third Degree Band.  The event is sponsored by Interstate Benefits and Casualty Insurance Services (www.ibcinsuranceservices.com).   A Taste of the Gold takes place at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, adjacent to the Pavilion, near Gate 5, and is held in conjunction with the Draft Horse Classic! For Draft Horse Classic performance tickets, visit the Nevada County Fairgrounds website at www.NevadaCountyFair.com.

For more information about Sierra Vintners and their wineries, visit www.sierravintners.com, email Sierra Vintners at info@sierravintners.com or call 530-205-3016.

About Sierra Vintners

Sierra Vintners is a partnership of wineries located in Nevada County, California, collaborating to promote the emerging wine region located midway between Sacramento and Reno in the Sierra Foothills.

Sierra Vintners features fifteen wineries and additional tasting rooms, offering a diverse wine experience with handcrafted and award winning wines, rural vineyards and wineries, and downtown tasting rooms in the historic towns of Grass Valley and Nevada City, CA. For more information, visit www.sierravintners.com.



Sierra Vintners Pull it All Together at Nevada City Tasting Event

As a big booster of wines from the Sierra and its Foothills. I was delighted to go to the recent Sierra Vintners event held in Nevada City. Almost twenty wineries from Nevada and Placer County participated. Tasting tables were set up in a number of retail shops, hotels and restaurants – all within a short walk of one another. Brilliant. I suggest you get on the mailing list for an alert for future events: go to www.sierravintners.com




Marilyn Szabo pours Primitivo


First stop was the tasting of Szabo wines. The 2008 Syrah is produced from estate grown grapes from their 40-acre vineyard at 2100 feet elevation that sits almost exactly halfway between Grass Valley and Nevada City, with views that include the Pacific Coastal Range and the Sutter and Sierra Buttes. The wine has taste and aroma of raspberry, vanilla and black tea. The tannins to my taste were relatively high, which is not unusual for Syrah. There’s a bit of smokiness or teriyaki on the back palate too. $23/bottle, 14.6 percent alcohol.

Frankly, I thought that the Szabo Primitivo was one of the best Foothill wines I’ve tasted in a long time. Primitivo and Zinfandel are closely related; in fact the two varieties have identical isozyme fingerprints. This 2008 Primitivo is redolent of plum, chili and allspice. $19/ bottle, 14.3 percent alcohol. Winery owners Marilyn and Sandor Szabo have done a great job; their first vintage was just in 2006. http://www.szabovineyards.com/

There’s some thought that Primitivo is a Croatian grape relative, but there’s not enough room in this column to go into that. However, this leads me to talk a bit about the intriguing wines of Rob and Marilyn Chrisman, owners of Avanguardia, on Jones Bar Road in Nevada City. Avanguardia specializes in hand-crafted artisan blends. Over 20 Italian, Russian, and French grapes and University of California varietal crosses are estate grown, many of which rootstocks were imported especially for them. They poured their Cristallo, a white wine blend where the dominant grape is the Georgian Rkatsiteli, a grape of high quality that is widely planted in eastern Europe but wines made from Rkatsiteli are seldom exported. At Avanguardia, it’s combined ( at about 70-90%) with Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Melon de Bourgogne. Melon is the sole variety in the Loire wine known as Muscadet, sometimes referred to as the quintessential “oyster wine”. This is a delicious wine, dry, crisp, taut, and relatively full-bodied; and the fruit flavors are of apples and pears. $14/bottle. 12.5 percent alcohol. http://www.avanguardiawines.com/

If you want an interesting discussion about the history of wine along with some lovely wines to taste, then you will want to go visit Sierra Knolls Vineyards just south of Grass Valley near Lake of the Pines. and chat with John Chase, one of the owners. John is an interesting guy, also keen on alternative energy topics, and Sierra Knolls was one of the first 100% solar powered wineries in the Foothills. They are guided in their winemaking by Mike Foster from Nevada City Winery, and feature handcrafted small lot wines. Their 2006 Sangiovese is a terrific Italian varietal, with a nice spiciness. At $16 a bottle, 13.5 percent alcohol, you might want to stock up. http://www.sierraknollswinery.com/



Bent Metal's Scott Brown
pours his great Viognier



David Winn of Coufos Cellars
pours Buffo Blanc, Rhone blend

Other notable wines I tasted:

• Naggiar Vineyards 2009 Mistero, a blend of 60% zinfandel, 30% sangiovese, 10% syrah, nicely fruit-forward. $22/bottle, 14.5 percent alcohol. http://www.naggiarvineyards.com/

• Coufos Cellars Buffo Blanc 2008, a white Rhone varietal blend of 40% Marsanne, 40% Roussanne and 20% Viognier. Tropical fruits, spice at the end. $17/bottle, 14.5 percent alcohol. http://www.coufoscellars.com/

• Bent Metal Winery’s 2009 Viognier, fruit forward with a great mouthfeel and smooth finish. $21/bottle, 15.2 percent alcohol. http://www.bentmetalwinery.com/

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© 2011 Barbara Keck

For more information on dining and the wide range of activities around Lake Tahoe, see the online version of The Tahoe Weekly. This article appeared in my column "Wine Adventures" in August 2011.

Book in Process: "Mountain High Wine: The Sierra and Its Foothills".

Barbera: Food-Friendly Wine from the Sierra Foothills



Dick Cooper, "The Godfather of Barbera", who hosted
the Festival at his vineyard in Amador, shares a glass
of wine with Barbara Keck


 I’m fond of Barbera, and it’s not simply because it’s one wine varietal that I can pronounce easily. The Tahoe Weekly newspaper editor Katherine Hill and I went to the first-ever Barbera Festival in June in Plymouth, CA, on the grounds of Cooper Vineyards. Along with the fun music and food tents, the event was truly festive: more than 80 California wineries and a few Italian ones poured for an enthusiastic crowd of 1500.


Barbera originated in the Piemonte region of northern Italy. It was first imported into California in 1884 and the Italian Swiss Colony Winery used Barbera for several of its table wines. After prohibition, a wine labeled as Barbera was produced by Louis Martini in 1954. Today about 7000 acres are planted in California and Barbera is produced by nearly 200 California wineries.

The wineries of the Sierra Foothills are producing great Barbera, and it is a food-friendly wine that you will enjoy. It is characterized by structured acidity, smooth tannins, dark pigments, bright fruit flavor (spice and chocolate too), and it ages nicely – if only you don’t drink all of this scrumptious wine right away!

To my palate, here are some of the best and most interesting Barberas and Barbera-blends sampled at the festival:

Andis Wines

Andis Wines (Plymouth, Amador County, CA) poured its 2009 Andis Barbera. I found it rich and deep, aroma of plum predominating and taste of raspberry, black cherry, and cranberry with a lingering finishing of black cherry and a bit of spiciness. Grapes were sourced from the upper reaches of a hillside vineyard in Amador County’s Shenandoah Valley region. 15.5 percent alcohol. $24 the bottle. http://www.andiswines.com/

Pilot Peak at Barbera Festival

The 2008 Barbera from Pilot Peak Winery (Penn Valley, Nevada County, CA) is a medium-bodied wine with a smoothness in the mouth. It has the classic Barbera crisp fruit flavor of cherry and raspberry. Nice and balanced, it has a lingering finish. Fruit for this wine came from Placer County’s Duarte Vineyards. 13.7 percent alcohol. $25 the bottle. http://www.pilotpeak.com/

Avio Vineyards (Sutter Creek, Amador County, CA) offered its yummy 2008 Barbera for tasting. Aroma of black fruit such as blueberry and blackberry, maybe a hint of mint. On the palate, a delightful juiciness. Stefano and Lisa Watson, owners, say that this wine is “our favorite anytime, any meal, going to the neighbors after a long workday wine It’s rich without being aggressive, our Barbera is simply delicious with your favorite comfort (or take out) foods."  14.7 percent alcohol. $28 the bottle. http://www.aviowine.com/

The 2008 Estate Barbera from Lava Cap (Placerville, El Dorado County) is a classic, and, I confess, the Barbera that I tasted last summer that made me a Barbera convert. Winemaker Tom Jones offers these notes: “Lava Cap Barbera Reserve has a complex aroma of dark red cherry fruit, spicy with foresty herbs and a dash of licorice. The velvety taste of strawberry and plum are complimented by the white pepper finish.”. Grapes are sourced from their steep, west facing vineyard and to augment the depth and complexity of flavors, Tom added 8% Petite Sirah, 10% Sangiovese and 6% Zinfandel Reserve. 14.7 percent alcohol. $20 the bottle. They also offered samples of the 2009 Barbera, a very-berry yummy wine that is being bottled soon. http://www.lavacap.com/

Other tasty Barberas we tried:

• Boitano Family Wines (Mokelumne Hill, Calaveras County) - a wonderful 2006 Barbera that won a “Best of Show” at the 2008 Amador County Fair.

• Borjon Winery (Plymouth, Amador County) - a 2007 Barbera with 5% Zin blended in

• Easton Wines (Plymouth, Amador County) – a delightful Barbera with grapes sourced from the Cooper Ranch

• Latcham Vineyards & Granite Spring Winery (Somerset, El Dorado County) the 2008 Special Reserve Barbera

I look forward to the next festival!  Many thanks to Cooper Vineyards for hosting!
 
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

© 2011 Barbara Keck

For more information on dining and the wide range of activities around Lake Tahoe, see the online version of The Tahoe Weekly. This article appeared in my column "Wine Adventures" in July 2011.

Book in Process: "Mountain High Wine: The Sierra and Its Foothills".

VineTalk TV Show: Why not Sierra Foothill Wines?



Ray Isle on the set in NYC
 Dec 2010 Vine Talk tapings

 Pasted below is a press release on the success that Paso Robles Wine Country's marketing efforts have garnered.  The latest is scoring an episode of Vine Talk, a new TV show on PBS.  I actually know the producer of the show and was in the invitation-only audience of the first two tapings, back in early December 2010.  I've been talking to him about featuring Sierra Foothill wines, but no joy so far.  Why?  Because this Sierra Foothill wine region which is so beloved of me is just too darn disorganized for a unified push to make the national-recognition thing happen.

Amador, El Dorado, Calaveras, Placer, Fair Play, Nevada County... all the winery associations there do great jobs for their counties and AVAs.  But to achieve true marketing success, there needs to be one umbrella organization.  With a budget. With goals and objectives and accountability. With at least a part-time executive director.  You know... an effort that is run like a business. 

Mike & Jeff from Wine Enthusiast;
fellow audience members Vine Talk

Let me get down off my MBA-highhorse for a moment and say that I know it is hard to organize an effort like this.  A bit like herding cats.  Winemaking in the mountains and Foothills has economic and other challenges.  The last thing any winemaker wants is another set of dues to pay, meetings to attend, energy-consuming events to pour at.

The reality, however, is that a rising tide floats all ships.  (Sorry for all the aphorisms).  That's one of the reasons I promote (re-promote?) the outreach of the Sierra Foothills associations. (SEE THE RESOURCE LIST ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THIS BLOG !) I blog their press releases to reach more eyes, Tweet and RT, Facebook and Link-In, because I believe.  I believe in this region, I support the winemakers and winery owners, and I'm here to beat the drum.

Surely there is a way we can all pull together on this? 

And yes ... Stanley Tucci is as good looking, compelling and sexy in person as he is on stage and TV.  I almost got to kiss his ring.

Relaxing at Boulod Restaurant w/
Bruce Marcus, Exec Producer of
Vine Talk, after tapings Lincoln Center

Elena Crespo, Chief Marketing
Officer, on the Vine Talk set

~~~~~~~~~ (below, courtesy of PR Newswire) ~~~~~~~~~

 "Paso Robles Wine Country to Be Featured on New Television Show – VINE TALK"

A-List Host Stanley Tucci and Panel of Celebrities Blind Taste Paso Robles Zinfandel



PASO ROBLES, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paso Robles Wine Country continues a pattern of positive recognition in mainstream media as a featured wine region in the new television series, VINE TALK. Paso Robles Zinfandel wines will be showcased in the sixth episode of VINE TALK where celebrity A-Lister and long-standing foodie, Stanley Tucci, guides a panel of celebrity oenophiles through an on camera tasting. This new PBS show strives to break the mold of stuffy wine content programming by creating a fun and welcoming environment for viewers where even the studio audience is a part of the show. Paso Robles has been chosen as the region to highlight Zinfandel with six Paso Robles wine brands to be sampled, discussed, judged and unveiled including – Carina Cellars, J Dusi Wines, Peachy Canyon Winery, Steinbeck Vineyards & Winery, Turley Wine Cellars, and Victor Hugo Winery.



“VINE TALK stands to enthrall new wine consumers into discovering Paso Robles and our wines. The timing could not be better as we prepare to celebrate the biggest festival of the year in Paso Robles Wine Country.”



Each week a different wine region from around the world serves as the inspiration for a lively and engaging conversation which highlights the varietals or wine characteristic of that region. The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance assisted producers from VINE TALK to compile a sampling of standout Zinfandel wines to be considered for the inaugural season. Mr. Ray Isle, executive wine editor of FOOD & WINE magazine provides his expertise on the show by answering questions about the wines and providing background on regions. Episode six features celebrity chef, Tim Love; former MLB All-Star pitcher, Ron Darling; and internationally acclaimed violinist, Philippe Quint, as they sniff, swirl, and sip while discussing their current projects and of course Paso Robles Zinfandel wine.



“It’s exciting for Paso Robles wines to be highlighted in this show with such incredible personalities,” said Christopher Taranto, marketing director of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance. “VINE TALK stands to enthrall new wine consumers into discovering Paso Robles and our wines. The timing could not be better as we prepare to celebrate the biggest festival of the year in Paso Robles Wine Country.”   (etc etc)

225 Sierra & Its Foothills Wineries: Growing in Numbers and Thriving via Quality

In the summer of 2010, I spent months on the mountain roads of the Sierra and its Foothills, visiting 40-50 of the 225 wineries there.  People are always astounded at those numbers -- even those in the wine business who ought to understand the economics and allure of vinifera-friendly land that doesn't cost a fortune (um, Napa and Sonoma come to mind...). 

In the process, I met wonderful people who are truly dedicated to grapegrowing at altitude, and who are producing Mountain wines that are incredible: intense, unique, sometimes even experimental in terms of blends and varietals.  It's certainly not about the numbers here in the Sierra, but in case you are interested, let me answer, to the best of my ability, the most frequently asked question:

So what's the current count?

In alphabetical order by county:
CALIFORNIA
48    Amador
39    Calaveras
74    El Dorado ..   oops, 75
6      Mariposa
20    Nevada
23    Placer
1      Sutter
5      Tuolumne
6      Yuba
NEVADA
3 - Washoe County

So the number is currently 226... and additions are being made all the time.  Let me know of the newcomers, please!

For example, just yesterday, I was talking to Doug Noble, Food and Wine Writer for the Mountain Democrat Newspaper, which circulates widely in El Dorado County.  He was raving about a dinner he'd had recently that featured wines from Nello Olivo.  Don't know how I missed that one, but that raised the El Dorado County winery number to 75.   The new Nello Olivo Wine Tasting Room opened fairly recently.   It is in the historic cellar of the Sequoia Restaurant (the restored Bee-Bennett Victorian mansion) in downtown Placerville.  The Winery is located in Cameron Park. They produce Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Claret, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Primitivo, Sangiovese, Toscanello (a blend that is primarily Sangiovese), and a Super Tuscan.

More about the winery: (a few remarks cribbed from their website,  www.nelloolivo.com/ ) 

The Olivos have chosen to grow old-world style grapes—particularly those common to regions of Italy, Nello's ancestral home—which flourish in the California Sierra Foothills terroir and climate.

"A lifelong dream of mine," says Nello, "has been to grow my own grapes and produce my own wine. That's exactly what my grandfather did who came from the old country. It's a passion in me. It's probably in my blood. When I'm doing that, I feel like a happy little kid!"

Rancho Olivo Vineyards is a true boutique winery, producing less than 100 cases of each varietal annually. This makes Nello Olivo wines true sought-after treasures by those who have discovered its qualities.

.