A Tour Of California Under The Radar

The high-profile big names of Californian wine dominate media coverage, but if your interest is piqued by the fascinating and the smaller-scale, where best to look? Julie Albin points to the producers and regions quietly making waves, and recommends 10 great wines to try.

- Julie Albin

California has no shortage of sunkissed vineyards and praiseworthy wine. Images of Napa and Sonoma instinctively come to mind, yet the Golden State is actually a treasure chest of esteemed vineyards rooted in less obvious areas. Among these underdog, regions are the Sierra Foothills, Lodi and Contra Costa. Unique in their own right, whatthey shares is a repertoire of old-vine, own-rooted vineyards that unveil a movement towards wine that’s picked at lower Brix (sugar levels/potential alcohol) with gentler handling to achieve supple texture, fruit purity, and crunchier acidity. With the appealing pricequality ratio of these regions, both new and veteran winemakers have access to some of the state’s most distinguished sites.

Sierra Foothills

After James W Marshall struck gold in 1848, it was the arrival of European immigrants that brought viticulture to what later became the expansive Sierra Foothills AVA (American Viticultural Area). One of five sub-AVAs, El Dorado represents high-elevation plantings up to 975m with more than 70 varieties sprawled across a multitude of microclimates. James Skinner was among the first to acknowledge El Dorado’s potential in 1861 and his vineyard remains a staple for Rhône varieties. Farming its land since 1972, the Boeger family also helped boost the area’s reputation with Barbera as its flagship variety. And Barsotti Vineyard’s Beaujolais-esque pink granite has made it a mainstay for Gamay and other varieties in labels such as Donkey & Goat, Arnot-Roberts and Jolie-Laide.