Ep 160 - Sierra Foothills

03/29/19 • 12 min

This week we are talking about the Sierra Foothills The Sierra Foothills is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. The total area of the appellation is 2.6 million acres within eight counties, making it one of the largest AVAs in the state of California.

Cruse Wine Co. Rorick Vineyard Chardonnay 2016

This wine has aromas of melon, pineapple, nectarine, white flowers, beeswax and a hint of toasted nuts
It’s dry with medium plus acidity, medium body and flavors of lemon, white flowers and stone fruit
It a well crafted and balance Chardonnay, it’s crisp, fruity with a really lovely texture
Priced around $3

Forlorn Hope Heinzelmann Picpoul 2015

This wine gave us aromas of green apple, pear, yeast and a hint of white flowers
It’s dry with high acidity and flavors of lemon rind and pith, white flowers and yeast
Very tart, too acidic on it’s own - most people probably need to pair this with food
But we thought it was delicious, crisp, fruity with a hint of those yeasty flavors - a great sparkler
fifty cases produced
Priced around $45

Cruse Wine Co. Rorick Vineyard Chardonnay 2016

This wine has aromas of melon, pineapple, nectarine, white flowers, beeswax and a hint of toasted nuts
It’s dry with medium plus acidity, medium body and flavors of lemon, white flowers and stone fruit
It a well crafted and balance Chardonnay, it’s crisp, fruity with a really lovely texture
Priced around $3

Forlorn Hope Heinzelmann Picpoul 2015

This wine gave us aromas of green apple, pear, yeast and a hint of white flowers
It’s dry with high acidity and flavors of lemon rind and pith, white flowers and yeast
Very tart, too acidic on it’s own - most people probably need to pair this with food
But we thought it was delicious, crisp, fruity with a hint of those yeasty flavors - a great sparkler
fifty cases produced
Priced around $45

Previous Episode

Ep 159 - Wine in the News March 2019

Below are the articles referenced in this week's episode.

Millennials Now Ruining Wine As Well By W. Blake Gray Posted Friday, 18-Jan-2019, Wine-Searcher

Sensory tests suggest 'liking' wines made with native grapes a learned response March 6, 2019, Source: Penn State, featured in Science Daily

The mysterious case of the cork-tainted carrots Esther Mobley Feb. 7, 2019, San Francisco Chronicle

SAUVIGNON BLANC ‘SUFFERS FROM AN IMAGE PROBLEM’ 8th February, 2019 by Lucy Shaw, The Drink Business

Constellation Brands to Discontinue 40% of Wine & Spirits Portfolio BY LESLIE GEVIRTZ, February 21, 2019, Wine Enthusiast

Next Episode

Ep 161 - El Dorado

This week we are talking about the small AVA in California call El Dorado. El Dorado is a sub-appellation of the 2,600,000-acre Sierra Foothills AVA which is one of the largest appellations in California.

If you want to learn more about the Sierra Foothills, check out episode 160.

Wine Recommendations

RPM Wines 2014 El Dorado Gamay Noir - priced around $33.

Light Garnet colored wine with aromas of dried cherries, balsamic and a hint of coriander
It’s dry with light to medium body, light tannins and medium plus acidity with flavors similar to aromas as well as a bitter component to the finish, almost like radicchio
This wine is starting to show it’s age but still is fruity
We loved the candied cherries aromas, the nose in more intense than the flavors of this wine
Although it’s not an intense flavored wine, more delicate, we think this would compliment food really well and could still be aged if you are looking to see how the aromas and flavors continue to develop over time.

Skinner Mourvèdre 2015 - priced around $30.

For this wine we got aromas of red berries, dust, violets and graphite
It’s dry with medium body, medium tannins and medium plus acidity with flavors similar to aromas, red fruit - cherries, strawberries, sandy dirt, violets with a hint of mushroom
This is a really approachable wine and is more fruity in aromas than in taste
We think this wine who do well with food: Beef and lamb dishes, Chili, Hard Cheese, dishes with earthy flavors like Mushrooms or lentils,
Had a hard time finding the 2015 online but the 2014 and the 2016 is available on Skinner’s website.

If you are looking for some additional El Dorado wine recommendations check out our past episodes listed:

Sources used for this episode: