Andis Wines estate spotlight
Andis Wines walks its Plymouth estate: tasting room, vineyard slope, and the Sierra Foothills light that frames Painted Fields.
The market on this bottle
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2022 Painted Fields Curse of Knowledge Cabernet Sierra Foothills, USA
Mark Fowler's high-elevation Sierra Foothills Cabernet, Melka on consult, James Suckling 92 at sixteen fifty.
Philippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky consult. Mark Fowler farms the high ground. The 2022 Curse of Knowledge pours ripe plum, blackberry, and dry violet, then lands at $16.50.
Altitude, consultants, and a name that dares the region
Painted Fields exists to change a stubborn story about Sierra Foothills wine. This 2022 Cabernet is the proof in the glass: high ground, Melka on the rail, and fruit that does not taste like a rumor.
The team
Melka and Koschitzky consult. Fowler, formerly of Skinner, farms and vinifies. Lorenzo Muslia leads Painted Fields with that bench behind him.
The ground
Vines climb toward 3,500 feet on granite, volcanic, and sandy loam, with night drops up to 30 degrees that keep Cabernet taut.
The scores
James Suckling 92 and Wine Enthusiast 91 Hidden Gem, both 2022, listed on the Painted Fields page.
The drinker
Ruby, violet, and plum with soft tannin. Lamb or mushroom ragu. Drink now, or cellar as the estate suggests.
Ruby in the glass, violet on the air
The estate writes this 2022 as an abundant Cabernet with soft tannins and a cellar path if you want one.
Wine Institute reported mild Foothills weather into early spring, then frost that cut crop size. California then ran a warm, dry season with a September heat spike. Smaller lots, concentrated fruit.
Intense ruby. Red and blue fruit, dry violet, then ripe black plum, cherry, and blackberry on the palate.
Soft tannins around that fruit, high-elevation lift from granite and volcanic ground, Cabernet blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Dark berry and black licorice linger. Drink now, or cellar to deepen the wine as the estate suggests. Serve near 62 F.
Cabernet with Melka on the rail
Painted Fields is Andis fruit and Andis people, not a guest label with a borrowed story. Philippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky set the brief. Mark Fowler runs the vines and the cellar.
Philippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky, Atelier Melka, set the Painted Fields brief the way they do for estates that live on altitude and detail. Mark Fowler, estate winemaker and viticulturist, runs the vines and the cellar day to day.
The 2022 is Cabernet Sauvignon lifted with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Fruit is hand sorted and fermented in small lots at the 2010 Andis facility in Plymouth. Alcohol 14.4%.
Lorenzo Muslia named the wine after the curse of old knowledge about this region. The work is to put a balanced, vivid Cabernet in the glass until that story changes.
From Florence espresso to Plymouth Cabernet
Painted Fields starts with Lorenzo Muslia's shock at how California talked about Sierra Foothills wine.
Andy Friedlander and Janis Akuna opened Andis in 2010 on Shenandoah Road in Plymouth, a modern cellar set against Amador vineyards first planted in the Gold Rush years.
Muslia left Florence, joined Andis in 2015, and spent years on the road hearing the same hesitation about the foothills. He named that prejudice the curse of knowledge.
Painted Fields is the reply: Melka on consult, Fowler in the vines, Cabernet from high ground, a bottle built so the next tasting starts with this wine, not the old rumor.
Lamb on the fire, mushrooms in the bowl
Soft tannin and dark fruit want rosemary, garlic, and a savory ragu more than a heavy steakhouse crust.
Two plates. One rack of lamb. One bowl of mushroom ragu on polenta. Neither fights the wine.
Pull the cork 20 minutes ahead. Serve near 62 F in a Bordeaux glass. The tannins are already polite, so air is for aroma, not rescue.
Rosemary garlic rack of lamb
Nagi's rosemary garlic marinade, roasted until the rib is pink. Fat, herb, and char meet the wine's plum and violet.
Why it works: Rosemary and garlic echo the wine's herbal lift, while lamb fat softens the Cabernet's grippy edge.
View Recipe for Rosemary Garlic Marinated Rack of Lamb (opens in a new tab)
Mushroom ragu on polenta
Serious Eats mixed-mushroom ragu, deep and savory, over cream polenta. Earth and cocoa in the wine have a place to land.
Why it works: Porcini and browned mushrooms match the licorice and cocoa notes without adding more tannin.
View Recipe for Mushroom Ragu (opens in a new tab)Put the foothills on the table tonight
This is the bottle that argues for Sierra Foothills Cabernet without raising its voice.
Take the 2022 Curse of Knowledge home while the fruit is still vivid and the argument is still cheap to make.
