There are many noteworthy efforts to improve sustainability and environmental stewardship among different California winegrowing regions. Located in the mountains north of Napa County, Lake County winegrowers use fewer pesticides and more low-risk crop protectants than other winegrowing regions in the North Coast and California.
The climate of Lake County is very favorable for wine grape production but not for diseases and pests. The region has many new vineyards that are designed and ... (READ MORE see PDF article)
The SIX SIGMNA PHILOSOPHY of doing business is a data-driven, systematic approach based on the idea that processes can be measured, analyzed, improved, and controlled. This internationally recognized management model has been successfully applied in many different types of organizations because its primary objective is meeting customer needs. Kaj Ahlmann, who first became familiar with the Six Sigma method while working for General Electric in the early 1990s, felt that it held great potential for winemaking. In 2000, Kaj and his wife bought what was to become Six Sigma Ranch, and in 2006 celebrated the release of the first wines under the Six Sigma label.
"Not to take the romance out of the wine process, but it is a business at the end of the day," says Kaj. "Customers want quality and consistency when they buy a bottle of wine. They don't want a completely different product from bottle to bottle." ... (READ MORE see PDF article)
Everything looked so great last January, with the wine industry healthy and happy and the economy rolling along. Then, in the spring and summer, came dark hints of a problem in the home mortgage industry, which nobody quite understood. Suddenly, wham. September arrives, and the stuff hit the fan. Now here we are slouching towards 2009, wondering what the hell happened and how much worse things will get before they start to get better.
Still, in my job, there was a lot of great wine in 2008. Here are my top-scoring ones. My employer, Wine Enthusiast, already has released our Top 100 list, so I don’t mean to compete with that. That’s worldwide; these are all from California ... (READ MORE see PDF article)
Click here to see PDF summary of reviews from SF Chronicle, Food & Wine, Wine Spectator, and more.
Sitting on his barn deck overlooking the 18 acres of vines that went into the cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc in his hand, Mike Thompson turned to his vineyard manager and said, "I could sit up here every day."
But Thompson can't sit up here for even one day. At 6 the next morning, a Sunday, he was on a plane for Washington en route to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Like most small growers, Thompson, 57, and his wife, Jan, support their vineyard with full-time jobs. She is a nurse practitioner. He is a member of Congress, First District, California. The Afghanistan work was recon for an intelligence subcommittee he chairs. The tasting work was recon for the Congressional Wine Caucus he co-founded and co-chairs.
The name Congressional Wine Caucus has the ring of elitism - as if maybe it's he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a few other fortunate farmers from Oregon and Washington. But it is not as exclusive as that. Qualifications to join are that ... (READ MORE see PDF article)
In its first full year of business, Cecchetti Wine Company is approaching 100,000 cases in total sales of its Line 39 Lake County wines and Redtree California wines, according to the Sonoma-based company. www.cecchettiwineco.com
Favorable awards and ratings, consumer acceptance, and strong demand from airlines have all helped propel the company's two brands, including:
- British Airways: The international carrier purchased the Redtree Chardonnay in late 2007 for its international economy consumers, doubled the order this summer, then doubled it again in fall 2008. In total, they will have purchased more than 37,000 cases.
- United Airlines: Redtree Chardonnay is now featured on domestic first class flights.
- US Airways: Line 39 Sauvignon Blanc was ordered in summer 2008 then re-ordered in fall.
- All Nippon Airways: Line 39 Cabernet Sauvignon is featured in first class. (The 2005 vintage was just featured as a "best buy" in Wine Enthusiast's October 2008 issue.)
Cecchetti Wine Company was founded in late 2006 and began selling wine in spring 2007. Wine sales through the third quarter of 2007 totaled less than 17,000 cases. But through September 2008 sales have exceeded 77,000 cases according to the company. Cecchetti says the company will surpass 100,000 cases by year end.
Cecchetti Wine Company was launched by wine industry veteran Roy Cecchetti in 2006. The company strives to produce consistent and approachable wines of excellent value from California, especially the emerging AVA of Lake County, California.
My first glimpse of Lake County, Calif., was a flash of silver through the trees. Clear Lake, the second largest freshwater lake in California, shimmered and rippled in the sharp afternoon sun. Two hours into my drive north from San Francisco, the familiar sights of Napa — winery lined roads, faux Italianate tasting rooms, chichi shops — had given way to a more countrified scene. I passed ramshackle trailer parks with names like Holiday Harbor and Starlite Resort, where "OvernitersAre Welcome" and sagging family resorts painted the faded colors of a ’70s postcard... (READ MORE see PDF article).
After two decades of heavy investment and pioneering work by an infusion of ambitious winegrowers, Lake County - once better known for canoeing than cabernet - is re-launching itself, made over with more thoughtfully sited vineyards and state-of-the-art winemaking facilities. Although the just-north-of-Napa region has enjoyed a solid reputation for Sauvignon Blanc for a few decades, it was also known for uneven Cabernet Sauvignon and other reds. New plantings coming on line in the high-altitude Red Hills of Lake County and High Valley AVAs are already producing some head-turning wines, especially Cabernet Sauvignon.
Grape growing in Lake County dates to the 1880s when the first commercial winery was developed there by David Voight. By 1920, there were some 10,000 acres under vine in the valley and hillsides surrounding Clear Lake. Then, during Prohibition, most of the vineyards were replaced with pear and walnut orchards, which, though they don't reliably produce bumper crops in the relatively infertile volcanic soils that dominate Lake County, are still a common sight. (READ MORE see PDF of article)
As California's winemakers begin the 2008 harvest, they are scrambling to find enough Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. After several years of bumper crops, Mother Nature turned fickle this year, offering up deep frosts, followed by hot weather and ultimately not enough rain. "This is one of the strangest weather patterns that I have seen in more than 30 years of farming," said Andy Beckstoffer, the largest independent grower on California's North Coast.
Growers and winemakers estimate that the state's grape crop, especially in such prime wine regions as Napa and Sonoma counties and the Santa Rita Hills near Solvang, could be 20% smaller than last year and as much as one-third less than a massive harvest in 2005. It's likely there won't be enough grapes to meet all the needs of wineries, said Beckstoffer, who has already sold most of what he is growing and came up 5 tons short on a 50-ton order of Sauvignon Blanc grapes last week. (READ MORE see PDF of article)
Responding to its remote location, far-flung wineries and limited visitor accommodations, Lake County wineries are adopting a popular European model - wine tourism.
At present, Lake County is short on high-end visitor facilities. The only real qualifiers are the Tallman Hotel and adjacent Blue Wing Saloon and Café in Upper Lake, far from most wineries. As a result, many wineries are developing lodging, food and entertainment facilities to host visitors, in some cases primarily members of the wine trade, but often with plans for the wine-loving public. (READ MORE see PDF of article)
Lake County is another fast growing region with 22 wineries (18 with tasting rooms), up from just four in the early 1990s.
Fredrikson said the standouts remain Steele Wines and Jim Fetzer's Ceago Vinegarden, which attracts a number of well-heeled visitors, some of whom fly in on seaplanes and land on Clear Lake to taste his wines and visit his bio-dynamic vineyards. (Plans at Ceago also call for a restaurant, hotel and spa and nearby condominiums.)
Fredrikson isn't the only observer paying attention to Lake County. Its Snows Lake Vineyard, in the Red Hills Lake County American Viticultural Area, won a "great gold" and three other golds in Bordeaux, France, this year at the 15th annual Concours Mondial de Bruxelles international wine competition, one of eight U.S. wineries to win a total of 14 medals -- and the only one to win a great gold. (READ MORE see PDF of article)
A vineyard tour hosted by the Lake County Winegrape Commission led VIP guests including County Supervisors, city managers, chamber directors, and media representatives for a question and answer session, as well as a lunch and wine tasting.
Attendees were sent winegrape vines with an invitation attached, asking them to meet at the County courthouse where they boarded a bus that took them to... (READ MORE - See Winegrape News Winter 2008 Newsletter)
2005 Gregory Graham, Bartolucci Vineyards, Lake County ($20): One simply does not often see wines of this quality bearing $20 stickers. Yet that is exactly what this fresh, fruity, full-bodied and impeccably balanced wine delivers. Its style is tighter and racier than the softer wines from the Central Valley, and it is more likely to go with fish and shellfish than with sweet-basted chicken.
87 Points Six Sigma 2006 Michael's Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc (Lake County) $28.00.
Lots of new French oak barrel fermentation and less stirring went into the making of this wine, and it shows the yeasty richness and creamy texture of that expensive handling. Yet the underlying wine is just very good. It has very bright acidity, and slightly sweet flavors of spearmint chewing gum, lemons and limes.
85 Points Six Sigma 2006 Rooster Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc (Lake County) $20.00.
Lots to like in this dry, crisp Sauvignon Blanc. It shows ripe grapefruit, peach, lemongrass, peppery spice and gooseberry flavors, but those sensitive to aggressively pungent scents will be turned off.
87 Points Guenoc 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (Lake County) $18.00.
Soft and gentle in the mouth with a silky texture, this very ripe Cab shows jammy blackberry, cherry, vanilla and smoke flavors. This is the best Lake County Cab from Guenoc in years.
87 Points COPAIN $26.00
Madder Lake, Lake County 2004
Sweet, raspberry-like fruit is joined by slightly peppery spice and light notes of briar and dark chocolate in both the well-defined aromas and bright, medium-density flavors of this yet-to-evolve youngster, and, if firmed up by both tannins and acids at the finish, the wine exhibits good depth and should come into its own with five years of age.
| Noggle Cabernet Sauvignon Lake County $25.00 Long Valley Vineyard 2003 |
Obsidian Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Red Hills $25.00 Lake County 2004 |
1. Anderson's Conn Valley 2006 Sauvignon Blanc Lake County $40.00 White 85
Anderson's Conn Valley 2005 Sauvignon Blanc Lake County $40.00 White 88
"Todd Anderson and his very capable assistant Mac Sawyer are turning out some attractive Sauvignons from Lake County. My favorite is the 2005, a 100% Sauvignon Blanc that shows crisp fig, grapefruit, and steely notes with good penetration, medium body, and a nice dry finish. "
2. Cartlidge & Browne 2006 Dancing Crow Lake County $12.00 white 89
"Cartlidge and Brown continues to provide rewarding and suprising tasty drinking. Their brilliant 2006 Sauvignon Blanc Dancing Crow is a medium-bodied white loaded with melony fruit notes, crisp acidity, freshness and a true Sauvignon character. Drink it over the next year. "
3. Copain 2006 Madder Lake Lake County (not yet released) red 90
"The 2006 Syrah Madder Lake is co-fermented with 5% viognier and that gives the wine an exotic, heady fell to the exhuberant aromatics. It is a wine to drink in the next 4-5 years, and is a wonderful bistro-style Rhone Valley red with loads of spicy, peppery, peach and blackberry fruit notes in a stunningly proportioned style. It is seamless and velvety textured.
4. Corte Riva 2005 Petite Sirah Lake County $60 red 92+
"Pride Mountain Vineyard's well known viticulturist, Romel Rivera produced impressive wines under his own label Corte Riva. Working closely with Bob Foley has been to his benefit and Foley's winemaking philosophy is apparent in these brilliant reds. The enormously endowed 2005 Petite Sirah reveals an opaque blue/purple color, a stunning bouquet of acacia flowers, incense, blueberries, and black rasberries and a powerful, rich, super-concentrated style. Forget this beauty for 4-5 years and enjoy it over the following two decades."
5. Rosenblum Cellars 2005 Zinafandel Snows Lake Lake County $35 red 91
"Another impressive effort is the 2005 Zinfandel Snows Lake. A blend of 87% zinfandel, 9% Petite Sirah, and 4% Syrah from, of all places, Lake County. It boasts a dark ruby/purple hue along with floral, blueberry and boysenberry characteristics interwoven with black currant, camphor, earth ansd oak notes. With crisp acidity, sweet tannin, and a long heady finish, this elegant beauty is filled with substance. Drink it over the next 5-7 years.
The promise is there in this ripe, plush wine, with its rich tannins and good acidity. It’s rewarding in herb-tinged blackberry jam, plum, violet, coffee and chocolate flavors, with a distinct white pepper edge...— S.H.
Score 91/100: Shannon Ridge 2006 Lake County Sauvignon Blanc; $16. An intriguing style of sauvignon, this is as fat as a scallop, with a leesiness that brings toasted rice to mind. While the texture is broad, the flavors are cool, clean and spicy. It's a balanced white that would work well with wasabi-spiked sushi. (2,000 cases) Shannon Ridge, Clear Lake Oaks, CA
#88: 39° 2006 Sauvignon Blanc (Lake County); $9. This is a really great price for a Sauv. Blanc of this varietal purity. It's bone dry and crisp, with stimulating flavors of lemongrass, lemons and limes, figs, peaches and melons. Makes you admire how the winery produced 12,000 cases at this quality and price.
The 2006 Fortress Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc – Musque Clone just received a review of 91 points and designated as an “Editor's Choice” from the Wine Enthusiast magazine. Check it out in the forthcoming May 2008 issue!
In addition, the wine is recommended in Santé Magazine's 2008 Annual Buyer's Guide and Fortress Vineyards was featured in Touring and Tasting Magazine's fall/winter 2007 issue! A copy of the Touring and Tasting article is on our website.
The 2006 vintage was also awarded a bronze medal in this year's San Francisco Chronicle International Wine Competition.
Fortress Vineyards began a new, night hand-harvest program for the 2007 harvest. This allows for the grapes to be picked in a cool environment and remain fresh when delivered to the winery for an early morning crush.
The picking begins at dusk and ends around one a.m. A custom-made, state-of-the-art light system was developed for this project. The
lights are mounted on a ...read the whole article (PDF).
Here is a Lake County Merlot with some structure and varietal character. Blackcherry, red currants and a smokiness prevail in the aromas and flavors of the Brassfield 2004 Merlot. Medium tannins make it a candidate for grilled rib-eye. The Brassfield property is becoming a destination in the High Valley appellation with its series of caves and a wonderful view of the area. About $16.
Lake County, Calif. – Oenophiles who missed the First International High Altitude Viticultural and Winemaking Symposium on June 14 in Lake County can now view the transcripts of the event online.
“This symposium was one of the most important events to high altitude grape growing to date,” said Clay Shannon, president of the Lake County Winegrape Commission. “The discussions that took place laid the foundation for important and continuing dialogue among ...read the whole article.
Interested parties can view the transcripts at http://www.theelevationofwine.org/transcripts/2007.
Lake County is ranked the third cleanest county in the nation, according to the American Lung Association’s report for long-term chronic PM-2.5 exposure. Lake County has complied with all California AAQS since 1988 to include visibility and hydrogen sulfide. According to the report, Lake County measured the third lowest level of year round particle pollution of all reporting counties in the country. The federal standard for the average level of particle pollution is 15 micrograms per cubic meter. Lake County measured 4.6. Lake County was ranked cleaner than such perennial clean air areas as Maui and national parks. For more information visit www.lcaqmd.net and click in the picture.
2005 Obsidian Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Red Hills Lake County, $348/case, $29/bottle
Editors Note: If you want to read all the rambling verbiage below, you may. What you really need to know is this is one of the most delicious Cabernets we've had in quite awhile, at a crazy good price. You can cellar this one too; it should age well for a decade.
A lot has been written recently about the Lake County Red Hills appellation here in California. Geographically it's but a stone's throw from Napa, and for years it's been the dirty little secret; wines from Lake County have "topped off" many a legendary Napa wine. The difference between the two regions is that Red Hills is at an elevation ranging from about 2000-3000 feet. It snows here. The soils are rugged, foreboding and volcanic; one of those places that you'd be crazy to plant grapes. This is why Beckstoffer and many, many others have flocked to this region. It's producing grapes of extraordinary flavor and quality.
The Molnar family was one of the first to plant here; their vineyard is situated on a northwest facing slope at about 2600 feet, in a vineyard that is so laden with obsidian - huge chunks and shards of shiny jet black volcanic glass- that special diamond edged cutting blades had to be used to plow the vineyards.
The cool temperatures and high elevation makes for absolutely fantastic fruit. This Cabernet is full of concentrated black fruit, big ripe cherry, floral notes, and a prevailing aroma of warm cinnamon courtesy of the 100% Hungarian Oak in which this wine is aged. We don't know of another Cabernet that receives this treatment. The tannins are noticeable but not intrusive – this wine will continue to develop for years and years. A Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa of this quality would fetch three times the price. Get this one before the rest of the world figures it out.
A recent magazine ad, published on p.84 of September's release of Wine & Spirits:
This wine's sweet, juicy cherry flavor and slightly bitter green tannins finish clean. Match it with barbecued beef ribs. (Thirty Nine Drgrees, Graton, CA).
Two Angels 2006 High Valley Sauvignon Blanc:
"Like a breath of springtime in the California hills. Hints of new green grass, acacia blossoms, clover honey and buttercup lead to notes of cassis in this bone dry crisply acidic wine, which shows how beautifully Lake County deals with Sauvignon Blanc."
In the December 2006, issue of Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Mr. Parker rated and commented on the following Lake County Wines:
2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Amber Knolls Vineyards Lake County - 90 points: "An excellent value in Cabernet Sauvignon for the Beckstoffer family, this offering indicates that a higher potential for quality exists for Lake County than previously believed. A dark/ruby color is accompanied by a classic nose of sweet black cherries and cassis reminiscent of a Rutherford cab. Pleasant spice and smoke characteristics, medium to full body and silky tannin. This pure elegant beauty should be consumed over the next 10-12 years."
2004 Syrah Madder Lake - 91 points: The 2004 Syrah Madder Lake from a vineyard planted in rocky, red volcanic soils near the shores of Clear Lake, is co-fermented with 5% viognier and 50% whole clusters. It exhibits wonderful flower, blackberry and blueberry characteristics as well as underlying minerality, gorgeous intensity, a full bodied opulence and abundant pure black fruit and ground pepper notes. This is a beauty to drink over the next 5-6 years."
When people in the wine business think of Lake County, they usually think of a hot growing region, but one that produces excellent Sauvignon Blanc. If they’re observant, they know that its new Red Hills AVA has the potential to produce superb Cabernet and other Bordeaux reds with much lower land costs than Napa or Sanoma.
Few, however know of the new High Valley appellation above the northeastern shore of Clear Lake, the large lake that gives the county its name. See the whole article (PDF)...
At the southern end of High Valley is Shannon Ridge Vineyards, a large-scale project started by Clay and Margarita Shannon in 1995. Grapes planted on the property include Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Barbera, Rhone and Bordeaux varieties, and a small amount of the unique Spanish red grape variety, Tempranillo.
Most of the vineyards are located on steep slopes that trickle down each side of the ridges and deep red volcanic soils that were originally generated by ... See the whole article (PDF)...
High above the northeast shores of Clear Lake in Lake County, CA, Shannon Ridge Vineyards includes more than 250 vineyard acres planted along the steep volcanic ridges of High Valley at 2,100 to 2,400 feet elevation.
Steep mountains ranges in excess of 3,000 feet defi ne this distinct growing area, which rise directly from the valley fl oor at 1,700 feet above sea level. Approximately nine miles long and three miles wide, its rare east-west transverse in the Californian Costal Range was created by the volcanic activity of nearby Round Mountain. See the whole article (PDF)...
Grape grower John Roumiguiere has had his fair share of challenges over the years. Perhaps the most memorable one happened thirteen years ago, when he and his father, Robert, began to develop Red Hills Ranch, the first large-scale vineyard site in what is now the Red Hills District in Lake County.
Prior to Roumiguiere's inaugural vineyard project in Red Hills, the hilly terrain was mainly covered with black walnut orchards, the rest relatively untouched. "Back then, the land just didn't look very friendly to me," Roumiguiere recalls. "The area was unproven for growing a large amount of grapes. I knew from the beginning that working with the soil was going to be a true learning experience." If you see the landscape, you'll know exactly what he meant. (Article no longer available...)
KELSEYVILLE - California's next wine frontier may well be sleepy Lake County, Napa's northern neighbor and a place better known for pears and watersports than for grapes.
Grape plantings have tripled since 1994, according to state figures. Most of the older vineyards were in fertile, low-lying places that were easy to farm but, especially for red grapes, not the best locations for high quality. Many of the new plantings are on hillsides with well-drained volcanic soils, ideal for reds such as cabernet sauvignon. Read the whole story...