Winemaker Notes (2015 VINTAGE)
Winemaker Notes (2018 VINTAGE)
Being Earth Friendly is easy to say, but it's much harder to do. The actual winery is an energy efficient ICF (insulated concrete form) structure. Their water comes from our own artisan well, with UV sterilization to replace chemical additives. Year round power is provided by a 10KW PV solar system and the only private wind turbine, in Amador County. They use pulp shippers rather than polystyrene foam cores. In addition, we strive to do business with Green Friendly companies and use our fruit from organic farmers. They recycle everything; from cardboard to sending the fruit pressings back to the vineyard for organic compost.
As the lower part of the greater Sierra Foothills appellation, Amador is roughly a plateau whose vineyards grow at 1,200 to 2,000 feet in elevation. It is 100 miles east of both San Francisco and Napa Valley. Most of its wineries are in the oak-studded rolling hillsides of Shenandoah Valley or east in Fiddletown, where elevations are slightly higher.
The Sierra Foothills growing area was among the largest wine producers in the state during the gold rush of the late 1800s. The local wine industry enjoyed great success until just after the turn of the century when fortune-seekers moved elsewhere and its population diminished. With Prohibition, winemaking was totally abandoned, along with its vineyards. But some of these, especially Zinfandel, still remain and are the treasure chest of the Sierra Foothills as we know them.
Most Amador vines are planted in volcanic soils derived primarily from sandy clay loam and decomposed granite. Summer days are hot but nighttime temperatures typically drop 30 degrees and the humidity is low, making this an ideal environment for grape growing. Because there is adequate rain throughout the year and even snow in the winter, dry farming is possible.
