I was driving along the backroads of El Dorado County’s Fairplay area and found the delightful little Mellowood Vineyard winery and woman winemaker Linda Neal. The tasting room opened in July 2011 in the small wood barn style working winery. Linda explained that she was making wine in Napa Valley but now doing her own thing in the Sierra Foothills.  What I love about the site is it is well off the main road and up a hill in an oak and pine forest.  Really a romantic location.  

Linda is an interesting and informative winemaker to engage with so I shot a video interview with her for our Discover El Dorado County Wine Region video.

I had little time for tasting but later tried Linda’s 2006 Sierra Foothills Zinfandel.  It has big flavors and aromas with a medium weight wine and no alcohol burn.  The oak was noticeable, which we like, and reflected the winemaker’s Napa roots (not the Zinfandel’s roots).

I strongly recommend a visit to Mellowood and hopefully you’ll catch Linda in the tasting room.

- Jim

When Katya and I find a wine that is particularly interesting and flavorful I put the empty bottle in my office and aggregate a few to blog about.  While we like pretty much all the we pick up at wineries around California there are occasionally ones that really get our attention.  As usual I’m not going to tell you it has certain attributes because context changes taste but if you are looking for flavor and an exciting taste experience give any of these a try.

1. Ridge 2005 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay Home Ranch.  Ridge is a mountain winery with a breath-taking view of Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay.  The picnic area has one of the best views in California.   Ridge has a reputation for outstanding wines and we feel their Chard is special.  Santa Cruz Mountains wines tend to have more nose and be more flavorable than elsewhere in California.  There are a few light soft wines made in this region but we find more taste adventure per bottle here and in Gilroy than anywhere else. This Chard fits that.  It is a fascinating blend of flavors that is unusual and we loved each sip.  It is worth going out of your way for.
2. Locatelli 2001 Cab Estate from Paso Robles.  This is a small family owned winery on a hill north of Paso in a rather warm zone.  The patriach arrived in 1898 from Italy and went right into the wine business. This is a classic Cab that doesn’t disappear when you swallow.  The nose is full and fun. The oak and berries and light tannins linger nicely but no burn.  It isn’t soft which is our preference.
3. Narrow Gate 2006 Petite Cuvee from El Dorado County.  Narrow Gate is a rather remote and little known mountain winery in the Sierra pines with the tasting in the working winery.  They have a nice picnic area under pines so it is like camping out in the Sierras.  The winemaker is very approachable and loves to take visitors on a tour de force.  The cuvee is a blend of Petite Sirah, Mourvedre, Zin, and Viognier.  So what is special?  The nose and taste are significantly more interesting than most blends.

OK, now I can clear out the bottles and get ready for the next unusual wines.  There are several from Hahn that are merit special attention and that post is coming up sometime this month.  We have six that we captured at the tasting room so give us time to try them again after a “waiting period”. 

- jim