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A common misperception is that
Amador is a hot region. In fact, it rates
as a high Region 3 on the UC Davis
heat summation scale, making it comparable
to St. Helena and cooler than
Calistoga. Maximum summer temperatures
are in the upper 80° to low
90°F range. Cooling breezes typically
pick up in early afternoon, emanating
from the San Francisco Bay Area and
river deltas. At sunset, hot air rises
from the Central Valley and cool air
cascades down the Sierras and settles
in. As a result, night-time temperatures
average in the upper 50°F range.
This 35° to 40° diurnal temperature
shift is widely credited as a significant
factor in grape quality, contributing to
acid balance and tannin development
in red wines.
Amador’s signature variety continues
to be Zinfandel, with more than
2,000 acres planted. Amador County
is home to the oldest existing Zinfandel
plantings in California, dating
from 1865. Emerging varieties in
the past two decades include Italian,
particularly Barbera and Sangiovese;
French (Syrah); and Spanish (Tempranillo).
About 600 acres of vineyards are
more than 65 years old. Employment
of organic farming practices is
a growing trend. At least 10% of the
vineyards are farmed organically and
almost all are farmed sustainably;
reports are that these percentages will
increase steadily.
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Preferred rootstocks for new plantings
are St. George and 110-R, with
some 1103-P and 101-14. Older plantings
are own-rooted and while Phylloxera
is slow moving in the region, it
is gradually wearing down many of
these vines.
Sub-appellations
The two main sub-appellations are
the Shenandoah Valley of California
and Fiddletown. The Shenandoah
Valley AVA (SV) includes 3,074 acres
(plus 120 acres that cross over into
El Dorado County). The SV AVA is
seven miles long by five miles wide,
located in the northern portion of the
county near the town of Plymouth.
The Fiddletown AVA is east of the SV AVA,
and ranges from 500 feet to 1,200 feet higher
in elevation than the Shenandoah Valley AVA.
The terrain is steeper
with more rolling hillsides and the climate
is cooler than SV, bringing later
ripening. While geographically larger
than SV, it has only 215 planted acres.
Bill Easton has been growing and
making Amador wine for 25 years.
He founded Terre Rouge and Easton
Wines (Domaine de la Terre Rouge)
in 1985, outside Plymouth. “I grew
up drinking wine from the Shenandoah
Valley. Then I was immersed in
European wine when I owned a wine
shop in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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The French have a term for wine that
expresses the place where it is made:
goût de terroir.
Amador is one of the few regions
in California where I experience the
place in the finished wine. I wanted
to make place-oriented wines and
Amador and the Sierra Foothills has
so many varied terroirs where varieties
such as Zinfandel and those from
the Rhône excel.”
Easton produces a total of 20,000
cases per year, comprised of 32 bottlings,
including Zinfandel, Syrah,
Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier,
Sauvignon Blanc, and other Rhône
varieties. The Terre Rouge label has
an exclusive Rhône focus, the grapes
are grown and sourced from vineyards
in various areas of the foothills
region, including Amador. Easton
Wines include non-Rhône varieties
grown primarily in Amador, as well
as other areas of the foothills region.
Easton owns and leases estate
vineyards in Shenandoah Valley and
Fiddletown. These properties include
21.5 estate acres in Fiddletown (13
acres of Syrah, 6 acres of Zinfandel,
and 2.5 acres of Viognier), and 30
estate acres in Shenandoah Valley
(Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon).
He also contracts with other growers
with whom he works closely on farming
practices.
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