Story Vineyards – Quartz Block

As we move forward with the Winemaker Series, we come to what will be a regularly visited site, the Story Vineyards in Amador County.  Over the six years that I’ve been making wines commercially, I’ve had the chance to make wine from a broad spectrum of grape varietals: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Grenache, Mouvedre, Chenin Blanc, Syrah and so on.  I’m very thankful that in my relatively short career I’ve worked with a lot of great fruit, and some truly beautiful wines have been made.  So, you may be asking, “Where’s he going with this?”  Well, the fact is that among the many different types of grapes that I’ve been fortunate enough to work with, there are four fantastic varietals that I enjoy making the most.

Cabernet Sauvignon: I moved to the Napa Valley ten years ago this summer – if you can’t embrace King Cab in the Napa Valley then you really need to re-evaluate why you’re here!  I understand that there are other great types of wine coming from this gorgeous valley of ours (as I’ll point out momentarily), but the opportunity to make a world class Cabernet from this world class grape growing region is something that drives a lot of winemakers. I’m not pretentious enough to say that that doesn’t apply to me, but does that make me shallow?  I digress; Cabernet is a great varietal to work with because stylistically what you do in the fermentation process really comes through in the finished product. Additionally, because so many winemakers produce Cabs, it really stands out when you can make one that is truly special; and it does result in a great sense of accomplishment for the winemaker.

Sauvignon Blanc: I’ll just say it, Sauvignon Blanc is the greatest white wine for a hot day in the world!  For me nothing is better than a 90 degree day, some good friends, a BBQ blazing with some good food, and a cooler filled with cold beer and cold Sauvignon Blanc.  I love SB because, if I want, to I can think about its complexities (if it’s good and high-quality) or I can enjoy it as an adult beverage for its simplicities and general drinkability (yes I did just compare SB to a light beer that will remain nameless, but if you knew how much crappy beer it takes to make a great wine you might appreciate the analogy).

So, without further ado, I present the next video on the Winemaker Series – We head up to Gold Country in Amador County for the third of my four favorite grape varietals… Zinfandel.