March 23, 2006
Gold Country's rockin' Rhones
Winemakers turn out French-style varietals in the Sierra foothills San Francisco Chronicle
Tim Teichgraeber, Special to The Chronicle

...That sort of mineral flavor and texture isn't common in California wines. You'll taste it in some wines from France's northern Rhone Valley, where the soils are older, rockier and long deforested.

Yet in the counties of El Dorado, Amador and Calaveras within the Sierra Foothills appellation, soils are primarily made of granite that slowly decomposes into rocks and sand. Granitic soils produce wines with stony flavors that add structure and textural firmness, balancing the sweet fruit flavors of wine.

For all of their beauty, marine-influenced Napa and Sonoma county wines don't have the same mineral character as Sierra Foothills appellation wines. The area may be best known for Zinfandel, yet when it comes to Rhone-variety grapes like Syrah, Grenache, Roussanne and Viognier, the Sierra foothills seemingly have at least one advantage over their winemaking peers to the west: granite...

New wineries like Karmere Vineyards & Winery in Amador County and Mount Aukum and Cedarville Vineyard in El Dorado are producing some of the region's best Rhone-style wines. Holly's Hill, Lavender Ridge, Narrow Gate and others bear watching...

Tasting the Foothills ...

2004 Holly's Hill El Dorado Grenache ($17) Light and bright with briary cherry, berry, pepper and cinnamon aromas and flavors, a soft mouthfeel and mild tannins...
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