Sierra Foothills Rhone Varietals
Grow in Quality and Popularity

With numerous Best-of-Appellation awards bestowed to Sierra Foothill wineries for their Syrah, Viognier and other Rhone varietal wines, the spotlight shines brightly on this burgeoning region.

by Jean Deitz Sexton
May 16, 2008

---

here is a quiet revolution underfoot in the Sierra Foothills. While Zinfandel has long defined the region as its noble grape, Foothills winemakers are embracing Syrah, Viognier and other Rhone grapes, and proving nicely that the Foothills can be more than Zin heaven. The seeds of the revolution took hold in 1997 when Sierra Vista Winery owner John MacCready and Barry Bergman, winemaker of R.H. Phillips in the Dunnigan Hills area, formed the Rhone Rangers.

They had an informal Rhone cabal dating back to 1988 and decided it was time to create a formal group to educate the U.S. wine drinking public about Rhone style wines, says MacCready, their first president.

“In February, 1998, when we did the first tasting at Herbst Pavilion in San Francisco, people did not know Syrah or Viognier,” recalls MacCready, “and Grenache had a bad rep from the Grenache Rosé days.”

While the early Rhone Rangers movement was not confined to the Foothills, the early instigators were MacCready’s Pleasant Valley winery in the El Dorado AVA, Indian Springs in Nevada County, Karly Winery in Amador County and Madrona Vineyards and Perry Creek, in El Dorado County. These vineyards literally put a stake in the ground to prove that Rhone varieties had a place in vineyards along the Western rim of the States.

The first Rhone Rangers tasting featured more than 40 wineries and drew 200 to 300 participants, according to MacCready, who is now president emeritus. This year’s tasting drew more than 150 wineries from California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and other regions, close to 800 consumers, and an equal number of wine professionals, MacCready notes.

Today, MacCready says the Sierra Foothills remains the indisputable leader in Rhone varietals. Virtually every major AVA in the Foothills is now producing the most common red Rhone varietals – Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre – and the dominant Whites: Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne. Foothills growers are also cultivating Petite Sirah, Cinsault and some Grenache Blanc.

There’s Wine Gold in Them There Hills

Foothills wineries are distinguishing themselves among tough-to-please wine judges as well. In the APPELLATION AMERICA Best-Of-Appellation Program, which focused on the wines of the Sierra Foothills, (held during March and April), more than a dozen Foothills Syrahs were singled out for excellence during the blind judging. Syrah is arguably making strides as a second signature Foothills grape after Zinfandel. One of the main reasons is that it is one tough little cookie of a grape. It can thrive in many types of soils, which makes it a perfect match for the Foothill’s crazy quilt of soil conditions. Take, for example, C.G. Di Arie Vineyard's ambitious Syrah program, with Syrahs hailing from Fair Play, Amador County, and Sierra Foothills appellations judged to be among the Best-of-Appellation for each of those regions.

“Syrah is a very versatile variety and makes very different styles of wine depending on the terroir,” says winemaker and Fair Play grower Marco Cappelli, who purchased the historic Herbert Vineyard. “In the Foothills, Syrah gives you dark blueberry and plum fruit and the minerality that comes from our decomposed granite soil.” Of 13 acres planted, Cappelli has 2.5 acres planted to Syrah, three acres to Petite Sirah and 1.5 acres planted to Roussanne. The remaining six acres are Zinfandel. He is also winemaker for Miraflores, whose estate vineyard in Pleasant Valley produces, among other wines, 150 to 200 cases of an interesting “Methode Ancienne” Syrah in which they tread the grapes and there is no crushing or destemming. Cappelli describes the wine as having more spice and exotic qualities than other Foothills Syrahs.

Foothills winemakers often draw comparisons between the climates of the Northern and Southern Rhone when explaining the logic of devoting acreage to Rhone varietals. “Our climate (El Dorado AVA) is identical to that of the Northern Rhone. It is essentially a cool growing region, at 1,200-feet elevation and higher, and works well for Syrah,” says MacCready. He farms six of his 32 acres in Syrah and is excited about the new clones he is working with from the Northern Rhone valley. “These berries are half the size and spherical in shape and are producing a more intense, darker wine with more smokiness,” he says. MacCready is blending his original clones with the newer ones, and producing Syrah that he describes as having a darker character, yet still fruity and with great structure.

In Calaveras County, Twisted Oak winemaker Scott Klann says the appellation is similar to the Southern Rhone. It is a hot, arid climate with a continental Mediterranean influence. The grapes grow in elevations ranging from 1,500 to 2,000 feet, a midpoint in the Foothills which enables constant air flow, cooling the vineyards down at night and giving the vines a chance to rest. It preserves acidity. Soils tend to vary in the ‘geological chaos’ that is the Foothills’ hallmark. “You can have different soil strata 100 feet apart in the same vineyard block,” says Klann. “The loamy and gravelly aspects of our soils are ideal for Rhone varietals because they are so well drained. We monitor the vines for stress very carefully since the soils are so well drained that the vines can lose water.”

Syrah’s Versatility Thrives in the Foothills

Another proof of Syrah’s versatility is its expression in the Shenandoah Valley AVA, where Montevina Winery in Plymouth produces 5,000 cases of an estate Syrah - 3,500 under the Montevina label and 1,500 under the Terra D’Oro label, which offers a bigger, more complex style. Zinfandel remains the winery’s stock in trade, at 90,000 to 100,000 cases produced of its total 250,000-case production. “Syrah does very well in the Foothills and shows the breadth of your appellation,” says Montevina Vice President and General Manager Jeff Meyers.

The Shenandoah Valley AVA, at 1,600-feet elevation, is more consistent in soil, climate and temperature than other Foothills AVAs, says Meyers, who served as winemaker for 18 years, before handing over chief winemaker duties to Chris Leamy. The soils tend to be thin and characterized by clay loam and decomposed granite. Meyers chooses to grow only two Rhone varieties – Syrah and Viognier, the latter of which he uses solely as a blending grape for the Syrah. He co-ferments three to five percent Viognier with the Syrah, “which has a dramatic effect on the wine. It adds complexity and a little perfume, and the tannins become less expressive.”

Meyers is staying away from Grenache. “It adds real zip as a blending grape but it is pretty tough to do. You would be working with young wines. We purchased some (Grenache) fruit from a local grower but it wasn’t what we were looking for,” says Meyers. He uses seven Syrah clones, from “inky, black, dense and tannic, to herbal mint at the other end of the spectrum.” The unique bacon fat and roasted meat notes in Foothills Syrahs are a product of a Meridian declassified clone from Davis, but the downside is that it “leaves a little donut hole in the middle of the wine” which has to be corrected with more tannins, he says. His favorite clone is the European Syrah Noir, with “berries as tiny as BBs,” producing intense color and concentrated flavors.

The varied microclimates in the Foothills may be kind to Syrah but the harsh reality is that the grape may be topped out as a consumer choice. “The market is totally saturated for Syrah so we are not increasing the [acreage] volume,” says Meyers. Australian Shiraz imports and other Syrah wines have caused the saturation, he says.

“Syrah had a real big push for a while but the Sideways movie (focused on Pinot Noir) pushed Syrah to the side a little bit,” observes John MacCready. “In some places, California Syrah isn’t selling that well.” One of MacCready’s best sellers appeals to the Cabernet crowd as well. The Sierra Vista Cabernet-Syrah blend “shows the chocolate and fruitiness of the Cabernet, with blackberry, raspberry and blueberry notes, and has a little spice from the Syrah,” says MacCready, and is around 14 percent alcohol.

MacCready is a firm believer that the “ideal expression of a Rhone style Syrah should be less than 14 percent alcohol, with medium body, good fruit and structure. The Syrahs from the Côte Rôtie are the standard for me.”

Whimsical Viognier

Of all the varieties in the Foothills, one of the most under-appreciated yet inviting wines is Viognier. In the recent APPELLATION AMERICA Best-Of-Appellation Program, Viognier showed very well. "What is fascinating", says Clark Smith, an APPELLATION AMERICA columnist, enologist and co-owner of Vinovation, Inc, winemaking consultants, "is that the Foothills offer very different expressions of Viognier."

"There are two kinds of Rhone whites: the feminine peach, lush, more Chardonnay-like body of a Viognier, contrasted with the masculine, angular, structured, acidic and minerality qualities of a high altitude Viognier or a Roussanne or Marsanne.” In the Foothills, the consumer has the luxury of having both. Taking a bold step from the traditional perfumey Viognier is the gold-medal winning Pilot Peak 2007 Viognier (Sierra Foothills AVA). “I absolutely adore the wine. It tastes like a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc,” says Smith. This more masculine style can also carry off a fair amount of wood aging, which is demonstrated in Sierra Vista's award winning 2006 Viognier, estate grown in El Dorado County.

Lovers of the more feminine style Viognier will find satisfaction in El Dorado-based Perry Creek’s 2006 Viognier, which took Best-of-Appellation gold honors. Twisted Oak Winery makes a Calaveras County Viognier, which winemaker Scott Klann describes as notes of peach and apricot stone fruit, Muscat and perfume of jasmine and gardenia. Viognier is a varietal that loves dry weather and can handle the heat pretty well, Klann says, and does well in Calaveras’ gravelly, well drained soils. While stainless steel is all the rage these days, both Perry Creek and Twisted Oak winemakers employ partial barrel fermentation for their Viogniers.

One of the places in which the Foothills can shine is the category of Rhone blends. Consumers who may not be ready for a single exotic varietal can enjoy skillfully blended expressions in Rhone reds and whites. Nevada County producer, Pilot Peak, demonstrates the balance and charm of well blended Rhones with its 2006 Paramour, a masterful marriage of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Petite Sirah. Similarly, Sierra Vista does a Rhone blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault, labeled Fleur de Montagne, which John MacCready describes as a California Chateuneuf du Pape. He completely integrates the varietals and says his goal is to create a true blend, one in which you cannot easily differentiate a specific varietal. The 2005 blend has notes of black raspberry and plums, a little pepper spice, and that characteristic Foothills earthiness. It is a medium bodied wine that pairs well with red meat, salmon and blackened fish.

At Twisted Oak, Klann is making a Potty Mouth Red Rhone blend and a small lot of a River of Skulls (Calaveras translates to skulls) blend of about 90 percent Mourvedre and the rest Syrah. The Potty Mouth blend is 45 to 60 percent Mourvedre with Syrah and Grenache blended in. Mourvedre lends a cherry and tarry character while Syrah adds plum and jammy notes, and Grenache spikes it up with acids and brighter flavors, Klann says. “We are doing things out of the norm and people expect that of us. We appeal to those who want to drop some of the bull#@$& of the wine industry snobbery.”

The Foothills Get a Leg Up on the Competition

Foothills winemakers and observers are uniquely individualistic but they do agree on one thing: the Foothills’ appeal to consumers is their very eccentricity - growing Rhone varietals at high elevations, trying new blends, breaking free of the endless Bordeaux wannabe imitations, and sometimes failing, but at least pushing the envelope a little bit when they do.

In Calaveras County’s 22 tasting rooms, “consumers find unique varietals and that is why they are coming here. They are not looking for Napa Cabs or Chard,” says Steve Kautz, president of Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys and president of the Calaveras Wine Grape Alliance. “In the traditional wine regions, everybody is trying to make the same Cab or Chardonnay. They are losing the expression of the fruit. Here we have winemakers 20 years younger. They have brighter, fresher palates and they are more in tune with younger consumers because they are the same age.”

Ironstone Vineyards is Calaveras’ largest producer at 160,000 cases. Its signature wines are Zinfandel and Cabernet Franc, the 2005 version of which earned gold in the recent APPELLATION AMERICA Best-of-Appellation tastings. The winery produces 14,000 cases of estate Syrah and 6,500 cases of estate Viognier. Kautz is more optimistic than some of his Foothills colleagues and believes there is still some growth potential for Syrah. “A lot of people jumped to Pinot Noir and didn’t stay. They started looking for other varietals and found Syrah.” He also sees growth for Viognier and other Rhone varietals. “The Aussie influence is felt by these consumers. They like the big, rich, fruit forward reds and whites, and the complexity, without the big dry tannins.” A good example is the Ironstone Syrah, priced at $9.99, in a brighter, fruit forward style. “If we are going to expand the consumer base, we need to have reasonably priced wines in order to enable them to experiment,” says Kautz.

The Foothills’ plethora of relatively small production wineries makes the region a natural for tasting room sales and wine professionals believe tasting room direct sales is how the Foothills will thrive. “In the Foothills you can experiment with offbeat varieties. I made 22 wines for Indian Rock last year and we sold all of them through the tasting room,” says Marco Cappelli. “The distributors have a great reluctance to take wines that have to be hand sold but a tasting bar person can explain the wine to the consumer.”

Clark Smith says, “the less of a wine snob you are, the more you are going to be delighted about what is going on in the Foothills. These are wines of great value and they have a tremendous sense of place.”