Wines of the Sierra Foothills, Part 2

Jonathan, our host at Cedarville Vineyards, suggested that we stop at his neighbor's place, MV. MV is owned and operated by John Miller. He makes just 600 cases per year. His wines are hand-crafted and I use that term with its fullest meaning. John says he could not make more wines, given all the attention he gives to detail, on these.

Some important folks agree: The French Laundry (America's most-expensive restaurant? in Napa) wanted to buy his entire production, but he refused, saying he must be loyal to his regular customers. He is a very intelligent, quiet, and quietly-proud person. I liked his wines, and one in particular was SO EXCELLENT that I can't wait to offer it to you. I can't believe I actually have access to it. He sells direct from the winery, so we'll have to add about $3/bottle for S&H, but who cares? as this is world-beating wine. And you won't believe the grape, when I tell you. I'm withholding the details now because I don't want anyone else to rush in and seize those wines before you can.

The photo above shows the golden grass on black rock hills, with the stately oaks. Typical view of the Sierra Foothills AVA. Gorgeous.

This is why to travel in search of great wines. You just can't find them all in the grocery store ;)

Wines of the Sierra Foothills, Part 1

We had an appointment to meet Jonathan Lachs, the owner/founder/vineyard manager/winemaker at Cedarville Vineyard in Fair Play, California. He and his wife (fellow owner/winemaker) are both Davis-trained. He worked at HP (before Carly F--the question was raised: how can you get elected in CA if you already have 10,500 people (HP former and present employees) who despise you?). Then once they had saved up the money to start this place, it all unfolded by dint of talent and hard work.

Fair Play is north of the Shenandoah Valley, which is N of Plymouth, CA. It's a hike but worth it. The soils are decomposed granite--it looks like dusty black and white granite but crumbles in your hand.

Jonathan's place is not far past Fitzpatrick, a quirky and fun place with a lap pool, lookout tower, fig trees, art for sale, pizzeria, Irish pub, B&B, and, oh yes, a winery. And all of it in the most-remote gorgeous dry rolling hills. Jonathan's wines are described (aptly) by Parker as "producing some very tasty wines at most intriguing prices . . . well-made, reasonably priced, delicious efforts."

Cedarville Vineyard grows and offers Viognier, Grenache, Cab, Zin and Syrah (those two are the signature wines of the AVA, which is mammoth, extending from Nevada City in the north (NW of Tahoe and our first wine stop) down to Placerville, then Plymouth and Fair Play, then all the way south to Murphys--all old gold mining towns in the golden-grassed, rolling black-rocky foothills of the Sierras), and Petit Syrah and Cab. All the wines are expertly made. My question is how to project what the wines will be in the future, because they seem tight, big and minerally now. Some of the Amador County wines from N of Plymouth have an odd undercurrent that I can't quite describe well--I suspect it's from the reddish soil down there--maybe it's a soapiness/meatiness/funky taste? that I just don't like. But up in Fair Play--1000' higher where the red soils give way to the wonderful crumbly granite--the wines are totally pure; the minerals "just right." I want the Cedarville wines to open up with time, and everyone (even folks from other wineries) assured us that Johathan's wines DO emerge gorgeously after a couple of years. He was so kind as to give us an older bottle, which I cannot wait to taste, once it has rested from its trip from Fair Play to Reno to Portland.

I think Jonathan is highly skilled (aside from a wonderful person to meet, and he just joined the ZAP board, with the big boys in Zinfandel). All the wines here have good acidic structure, which makes them great with food. They are not the jammy wines from Walla Walla which I love so, but they are well made, elegant, big and tasty. And the prices are great! I will offer his wines and if you have the patience to lay them down for a year or two, you will be amazed.

Jonathan adopted some cool trellising methods for his various grapes (he grows all the grapes used in his 2000 case/year production). Above is a pic of his cab sauv (excellent wine!) on quadilateral lyre trellises. Fun!

Finally, the light in Fair Play. O, the light! It is a little like the light in Tuscany, only more intense. And the crumbly granitic soil is very special.

Ione, CA: Preston Castle for boys

That edifice to your right is proof that Old California really knew how to do it right. That gorgeous Potter-inspiring, Hearst-inspired structure was built not for some wealthy family, but as a prison for bad boys. The Preston School of Industry opened in 1894, seeking to rehabilitate youthful offenders and offering a progressive alternative to San Quentin. The Romanesque Revival building has carved sandstone balconies, and lots of wonderful stylistic touches in granite from Folsom and bricks from Folsom and San Quentin prisons.

This place would be so wonderful to live in, that it makes me want to go out and steal a chicken or something ;--)

It's in the tiny town of Ione, not far from Jackson, not far from Sutter Creek where we stayed. The whole area is property owned by the CA prison system, and elsewhere on the campus are other buildings, some ruined like this one, some new and in use.

This castle's roof had fallen in and decades of occasional rain (it's near-desert here) had taken its toll. When I took this shot yesterday, they were having a very swanky wine fundraiser, to raise funds to rebuild it. The new roof (visible) is already on, and now the inside needs to be refurbished.

If you love castles, improbable as their location or history may be, you can contribute to save the Preston Castle. I'm not sure what its future use holds, but I suspect it won't be housing miscreants anymore, save for the occasional winelover like us ;)

And, dig those Tuscan cypresses astride the castle; having seen them all over Tuscany last April, it is somehow reassuring to see them here. Italians made a huge mark on California, as we see again and again.

Extreme Dining in Sutter Creek CA!

I think I am in heaven. Only (and this is the best part) I'm NOT DEAD.

More posts to follow about the Sierra Foothills AVA, our trip to Tahoe and the lovely drive out to these golden-grassed, oak-studded hills so rapidly giving ground to masses of promising vineyards, and about the various gold mining towns here that revel in second lives as tourist destinations for history, fine wines and food. And we saw the most amazing castle today in a town you've never heard of (Ione). And it isn't a castle--it was a prison for wayward boys. Old California really knew how to do it right. And the scads of wineries include some which make great wines.

But I'm in heaven because of Susan's Place. Oh, my! Where to start? Little restaurant in Sutter Creek, where the CA gold rush began. Most of the tables are outside, only covered. Vines trail lazily about. Wonderful ambience. Susan herself interviews you about your wine stylistic preferences, and then she custom blends a glass or a 750ml pitcher of local wines for you. For us, she crafted a combo of local Grenache and an Italian blend called Migliore. Oh, my! This was yummy with our dinner and cost only $20!!!

The food rang the bell. Cream of asparagus soup was divine. My salad was seriously perfect. Jane had a veggie concoction with pesto, over polenta. I had the most scrumptious Mediterranean sauce full of ground beef and pork, with lots of veggies--slightly spicy, tomato-based. Then some angel named Ingrid (local pastry chef) supplied our caramel-walnut tart, which was to die for.

Why should you hop SW Air and get down here now? Because: The custom-blended wine was only $20. The entres were only $15 or $16 each, and the service and owner and atmosphere were SO wonderful. Not to mention the town is only 50 miles from Sacramento or about 100 miles from Tahoe (where we came from, via flight to Reno). This town is lovely. Well-preserved. Stone, simple wood, and fancy Victorian storefronts. Friendly folks everywhere. Tomorrow is a chili cookoff and antique car show. The buildings on main street are jumping from the 1850's right into your mind. If you shop carefully in the little shops here, you can find the most amazing antiques, and even the occasional 1921 Uncirculated Morgan silver dollar for just $25. And if you're a sun lover, it is BRIGHT and HOT here right now. Too hot for this Willamette boy, but with the low humidity the nights are cool.

Our Hanford House B&B is also perfect, with great young hosts who handle all the rooms, plus their organic veggie garden and chickens. Historic brick building. Free bikes which we used to see the town, including a tree just past the Jehova's Witnesses church, which was loaded with small, juicy yellow/orange plums. The "placer" gold (loose, in the creeks) went first, then they dug deep mines, which finally played out. The gold mining stuff (hoist derricks, ore carts, foundries, etc.) is mostly gone now, but a few reminders of that era remain.

Many more posts to follow. We have found many tasty wines, and they are very reasonable. Nary a tasting fee to be had, and the winery owners are marvelous. Napa was never this much fun for such little cost.

Wait! I see another angel outside, watching the tricycle races! Will write more later . . .

Rain rain stay away

2010 is a tricky year for grapes hereabouts. First they got a late start due to a long winter. Spring was cool and record-wet. Then, flowering was late. Then, after a very hot 2009 summer in the Pac Northwest, 2010 gave us only a few hot days, and way too many cool cloudy days. I think July set a record for lowest average high temps. My nearest weather station calculates that my Growing Degree Days to date (a measure of sunlight hours) is fully 24% behind where we were, this time last year. That is very bad. Veraison (color change) is about 2-3 weeks late, and has just begun, at my 490' elevation site.

All this means that we are running a risk of a sub-par year, or even a disastrous, no-crop year. If the persistent rains come early, then it could wipe out the Willamette Valley's Pinot noir crop.

However, Dick Shea told me this week that persistent Fall rains, starting in the last week of September, occur in NW Oregon only about 20% of the time. If that happens this year, we could have a grape disaster on our hands. The rest of the time, the Rains come in either the first week of October (in which case some PN makers could make a good wine) or the second week of October, or even later (in which case many PN makers should make very good wines, and some should make great wines, in a spectactular triumph of recovery from all odds).

And, in the silver linings dept, even if we have a grape disaster, the winemakers who survive it might benefit from the marked reduction in wine inventories which would ensue, if there simply was no 2010 wine to be had.

Last comment: It is SUCH a shame, but all that winter and spring moisture gave the vines a supercharging. I've had to hedge (trim) them way more often than normal. Their growth is rampant, and they confidently threw out far more than the usual number of grape clusters. But, as the end of the growing season approached with the grapes so far behind, we all had to drop fruit like crazy, in order to try to get some of it ripe. Such a shame. A high yield of fruit, with high quality, is a bifecta which only rarely happens, in this marginal growing environment. These are some of the reasons why Pinot noir is "the heartbreak grape." Stay tuned . . .

2005 Clarendon Hills Grenache

Wow. In the photo to your right, that is the Clarendon Hills vineyard, planted in the 1920's. This is 25 miles south of Adelaide, NE of McLaren Vale.


No trellises. No wires. Just a fine witch's stew of gangly, contorted head-pruned branches.

It's beautiful.

The 2005 Clarendon Hills Grenache series (from six vineyards) are great wines (91-94 points, Spectator). Even better, they were released at retail from US$61-$100, but can now be had (from me) for $28.50. However, the 2005s are almost gone forever.

The Billionaire's Vinegar

This book, by Wallace, is a very difficult read. It contains fascinating wine collecting tidbits and snippets, without being overall interesting. If you want to read it (for any purpose other than the need to put yourself to sleep), be warned: This book will bore you to death, but on some pages there are stories that will highly entertain you.

Still, why would such a clear charlatan not be called out sooner by the wine industry? If the owner of Petrus thinks that Petrus never issued a 1787 magnum, then why not publicly state doubts about the provenance of such a bottle? Why would a fraudster, who has gone to all the trouble to mimic the correct bottle, label and capsule, and has probably also put expensive 19th-century wine from the same chateau into an 18th century bottle, then use corks which are clearly not "original issue"?

Why would anyone who bought a bottle from the 18th Century, then open it?

Questions, but no answers . . .