Skinner Vineyards Archives - Wine Country Getaways

It was ten years ago that we first began making an annual trip to this wonderful wine country in the Sierra Foothills. Much has changed in that time, with many more wineries having been established in recent years, and very noticeable improvement in the quality of wines from this region.

Our base for our visit to the Sierra Foothills is the town of Sutter Creek. We consider it to be the best little town in the Gold Country of the Sierra Foothills. The town is quaint with many small shops, restaurants and other attractions. We make our home at the Hanford House Inn in Sutter Creek where owners Robert and Athena Gordon are very gracious hosts. On our annual trek to these parts, we always spend one full day exploring the wineries in the Fair Play AVA. It is about a 35-minute drive to Fair Play. The Fair Play AVA located in El Dorado County has the unique geographic feature of having the highest average elevation of any of the AVA’s in California. The average elevation is 2500 feet. Here are three wineries we enjoyed immensely in our visit the past week.

Cedarville Vineyards
Cedarville is always at the top of our list of wineries to visit. Owners Jonathan and Susan are a terrific winemaking team and they put their hearts and souls into making some fantastic wines. The emphasis is on Rhone wines, and in my opinion all their wines deliver high quality at a very reasonable price point. The wines are very balanced and layered, with many delicate characteristics. The winery is open by appointment, so call ahead before visiting. We tasted through the lineup of wines and once again were totally impressed with the overall quality. I must declare that their current release of the 2009 Syrah is the best they have made, and we have tried all their Syrah vintages. The other Rhone wines in their lineup include an organically grown Viognier, a Grenache, and a Petite Sirah. They also make a dazzling Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. All wines are estate grown except for the Petite Sirah. Their Grenache has become somewhat of a cult wine and sells out quickly once released and announced through their mailings.

Jonathan Lachs and Susan Marks - Cedarville Winemakers

We had the opportunity to take a sneak preview of the Skinner Vineyards tasting room that will open in just a few weeks. With its panoramic views, it will easily qualify as one of the “Best Views” of any tasting room in California. And that is just the start of the tale of this remarkable winery in the wine region known as Fair Play in El Dorado County. We met up with winemaker Chris Pittenger at the Skinner Vineyard’s winery this past Sunday, Feb 27, and spent the next couple of hours tasting some excellent Rhone-style wines and learning all about this fascinating winery.

The Skinner wine saga began in 1860 when James Skinner purchased land in the Sierra Foothills and began a very successful business making wine and brandy. When Prohibition struck, the winery and brandy distillery ceased operation. Today it’s the great-great-great grandson of James Skinner, Mike Skinner, who has re-established this historic winery just a few miles from the original site.

Family photos of the original winery were used to recreate the same style

Chris Pittenger gave us a brief tour of the recently-completed winery facility. Chris was brought in as winemaker in 2007. With 20 years of winemaking experience, Chris said it is nice to be able to build a winery and install a selection of his favorite winemaking equipment, which is perfect for this size of a winery. For example, the winery is equipped with small fermenting tanks, some 2 tons and some 4 tons. All are jacketed and fully-temperature controlled. Each varietal clone or vineyard-selected grapes are kept in separate fermenting tanks and then transferred to French oak barrels. Case production now is 1500 cases of 11 different wines and the facility will be able to handle up to 5000 cases of wine annually.

Small and jacket stainless steel fermenting tanks

Chris led us through several barrel samples comparing varietals from the past two vintages. We then journeyed outside and up the path to the almost-completed tasting room. It was a Sunday, and several construction workers were very busy hoping to finish the tasting room within the next couple of weeks. We sat out on the deck of the tasting room and tasted five of the current vintages. What amazing views! We could see snow-capped Sierra Mountains to the east and the west make out the skyline of the city of Sacramento.

Winemaker Chris Pittenger

We were very impressed with the quality of the wines. The Grenache, as Chris puts it, is his Pinot Noir wine. It is light with fantastic berry flavors and subtle spices. The Mourvèdre is a delightful, medium-bodied wine perfect for your favorite foods. Another favorite is a wine labeled “Eighteen Sixty-One.” This wine is patterned after the wines of the Southern Rhone, blended with Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah. Then there is 2007 Stoney Creek Syrah aged in new French Oak barrels. The Syrah is a beautiful wine, quite drinkable now but will age beautifully for several years.

These current vintages were made at the Copain facility in Santa Rosa. They are well-made, sophisticated, and finished wines. These are the early days of this winery. As the new winery comes into full production and the vineyards are fully developed, these wines can only get better. I can’t wait to try the future vintages and go back to the completed tasting room on a beautiful warm and sunny day to enjoy a picnic lunch with the Skinner wines.