Montevina Winery 

The Ponds

January 26th, 2001

Wine List

• 1999 Pinot Grigio

• 1998 Zinfandel

• 1998 Syrah

• 1998 Barbera

• 1998 Sangiovese

• 1998 School-House Zinfandel

• 1998 Refosco

• Terra D'Oro's Deaver Ranch "Old Vine" Zinfandel

Amador County

Grapes have been grown in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range since the early days of the Gold Rush in the 1850s. The heart of the region is Amador County, whose rolling hillsides, shallow soils, and warm climate are ideal for the production of richly flavored, robust red wines. 

Many of the fortune-seekers who flocked to the Sierra foothills in the 1850s to search for gold were European immigrants, who planted extensive vineyards upon their arrival. After the mines ran dry, many of these wine-loving prospectors turned to winegrowing. By the 1890s, there were over 100 wineries in the foothill region, more than in Napa and Sonoma counties combined. 

In 1918, Prohibition destroyed this frontier wine industry, which remained dormant until the 1970s, when a new generation of pioneering vintners, led by Montevina Winery, re-established the foothills as a premier wine region. Today, there are 40 wineries in the Sierra foothills, half of them in Amador County.

1999 Pinot Grigio

 Pinot Grigio (also known as Pinot Gris in France, California and Oregon) is the most popular dry white wine in northern Italy. Less than 1,000 acres are planted in California, and Montevina is one of the few wineries to produce it, debuting with this wine from the 1999 vintage. The grapes were grown in the Lodi region, harvested in mid-September, and sent directly to press, with no crushing. The free run juice was fermented for two weeks at an average 55º F and then stored in stainless steel tanks until bottling in March, 2000.

Technical specifications

Alcohol: 12.5%
Total Acidity: 0.62 g/100 ml.
PH: 3.44
Bottling Date: March, 2000
Cases Produced: 6,000
Release Date: May, 2000

Tasting notes

Montevina's 1999 Pinot Grigio exhibits a clean, fresh aroma of ripe apples and pears. Compared to typical Italian versions, which tend to be light-bodied and delicately flavored, it offers rich, round, juicy flavors, with a crisp, lingering finish. This delightful, distinctive white table wine will beautifully accompany all seafood and poultry dishes, as well as lighter pastas and mildly flavored cheeses.

1998 Amador County Zinfandel

In 1998, a long, cool growing season in Amador County produced zinfandel grapes with highly concentrated flavors, resulting in one of Montevina Winery's best-ever Amador County Zinfandel bottlings.  After the grapes (50% from Montevina's estate vineyard and 50% from neighboring Amador County vineyards) were harvested in late September, winemaker Jeff Meyers removed 15% of the free run juice at the hopper to concentrate color and flavor, a traditional French technique called saignÈe. The juice was then fermented in stainless steel tanks for ten days at an average 8o† F. Subsequent to gentle tank-pressing and natural clarification, a blend of free run and press wines was aged for an average of six months in American oak barrels and puncheons and lightly filtered before bottling.

Technical specifications

Alcohol: 15.3%
Bottling Date: January, 2000
TA: 0.62 g/100 ml.
Cases Produced: 27,000
PH: 3.57
Release Date: July, 2000

Tasting notes

Montevina's 1998 Amador County Zinfandel displays an aroma of ripe, spicy berry and plum fruit with hints of sweet oak vanillin. The wine's rich, mouthfilling, spicy raspberry and blackberry flavors are enriched by oak and supported by remarkably supple tannins and excellent acidity, resulting in a robust wine of surprising balance and freshness. This deeply fruited zinfandel is a terrific match for grilled steaks, barbecued ribs, hearty, spicy pastas and stews, and flavorful cheeses like aged sharp cheddars, bleu, and Stilton.

1998 Amador County Syrah

Grown most successfully in the northern Rhone Valley of France and in Australia where it is known as Shiraz, the Syrah grape has also found a home in the hills of Italy's famed region of Tuscany and in the comparable topography of California's Sierra foothills. Montevina's young vines, grown in the winery's estate Amador County vineyard, are already producing wines bearing a striking aromatic resemblance to the best of France and Australia.

Montevina Syrah was fermented in stainless steel tanks, undergoing at 10-day maceration. It was subsequently aged for one year in oak uprights and for another two months in new American oak barrels.

Technical specifications

Alcohol: 13.5%
Bottled: April, 2000
PH: 3.51
Release Date: June, 2000
Total Acidity: 0.58 g/100ml.
Cases produced: 600

Tasting Notes

Montevina's 1998 Amador County Syrah displays a multifaceted, developing aroma of ripe black raspberry and plum fruit, accented by hints of violets, bacon, and smoked meat. The wine's rich, well-knit, black fruit flavors are given added interest by licorice spice tones and enriched by toasty oak, followed by a long, warm finish that invites a second taste. This delicious Sierra foothill Syrah will develop a more complex, aromatic bouquet and clearly delineated varietal flavors with several additional years of bottle aging. 

1997 Amador County Barbera

Montevina Winery has vinified world-class barbera in the Sierra foothills of Amador County since 1974 and is widely acknowledged as among California's elite producers of this classic Italian variety. Our estate vineyard's hillside vines, warm microclimate, well-drained, decomposed granite soils, and low yields (2-4 tons/acre) combine to create ideal conditions for the production of superlative barbera. Our 1997 barbera, produced entirely from estate-grown grapes, was fermented in stainless steel tanks for eight days at 80 degrees F. and was aged in second- and third-fill American oak barrels for an average of six months prior to bottling.

Technical Specifications

Alcohol: 14.4%
Bottling Date: 4/99
Total Acid: 0.61 g/100 ml.
Release Date 7/99
pH: 3.54
Cases Produced: 17,000
Release Date: August, 1999

Tasting Notes

Our 1997 Barbera is very Italianate in style: less fruity than previous vintages, but with better structure and more elegance. It boasts the ripe black cherry/plum fruit and slight earthiness characteristic of the variety, with ripe, bright, slightly spicy plum flavors, excellent acidity, and a long, bracing finish. This superb food wine will beautifully complement a range of Mediterranean-style foods, including grilled chicken, lamb, and sausage, red-sauce pastas, and spicy risotto dishes. 

1997 Amador County Sangiovese

Montevina has 75 acres of Sangiovese in its 400-acre, sustainably farmed estate vineyard in the Shenandoah Valley of Amador County, making it one of California's largest producers of the noble red variety that is the mainstay of Italy's great Tuscan reds. The grapes are typically harvested in mid-to-late-September at an average 25° Brix and then saigneed (15% of the free-run juice is drawn off to concentrate color, body and flavor). The remaining juice then ferments in stainless steel tanks - a total 10 days of skin contact time - at approximately 75° F., fully extracting alcohol, color and flavor. The Sangiovese subsequently is aged 6-8 months in second-fill American oak barrels and is lightly filtered prior to bottling.

Technical Specifications

Alcohol: 14.3%
Total Acidity: 0.63 g/100 ml.
PH: 3.53
Bottling Date: April, 1999
Cases Produced: 6,000
Release Date: June, 1999

Tasting Notes

Montevina's 1997 Sangiovese displays a ripe, red-fruits aroma (plum, berry and rhubarb) accented by sweet, toasty oak scents. The compact, full-bodied palate delivers rich, juicy, spiced raspberry and plum flavors with moderate, but firm tannins, excellent acidity and a long, warm finish. This beautifully structured, delicious rendition of California Sangiovese, Montevina's finest bottling to date, will make an ideal companion to grilled or blackened salmon, barbecued chicken, lamb, and moderately spiced pasta dishes. 

1997 Refosco

Refosco is a black grape grown in the Friuli region of northeastern Italy, where it is prized for its dark, saturated color, ripe, plummy flavors, and firm, but supple tannins.  Montevina planted Refosco in 1990 in its estate Amador County vineyard and has produced it as a varietal wine since 1995, among a handful of California wineries to do so. The positive reception for the wine among consumers, trade, and media is further evidence that the Sierra foothills is the finest site in California for the cultivation and production of Italian varietals. 

Technical Specifications

Alcohol: 13.3%
Total Acidity: 0.61 g/100 ml.
pH: 3.50
Bottling Date: 1/99
Cases Produced: 1,000
Release Date: 4/99 

Tasting Notes

Montevina's 1997 Refosco offers a saturated, opaque color, aromas of black fruits, herbs, coffee and chocolate, and rich, pleasingly textured flavors that linger into a long, warm finish. This soft, flavorful red will develop a more complex bouquet and palate with additional aging, but can be enjoyed now with hearty foods such as grilled and barbecued chicken, pasta and risotto, and beef, duck, and lamb dishes.

Terra d'Oro
Zinfandel – Deaver Ranch Old Vines

The Deaver Ranch, adjacent to Montevina's estate vineyard, is one of the oldest zinfandel vineyards in California, dating to 1881. For nearly 30 years, the grapes were used by Sutter Home Winery to produce its legendary Amador County Reserve Zinfandel. Now, they are going to Montevina, whose initial, 1997 vintage, perfectly captures the essence of intense, super-rich, complex, old-vine zinfandel. Produced in limited quantities, this marvelous wine is a must for fans of classic "old-style" Amador County Zinfandel.  Beginning in 1968, and for nearly 30 years thereafter, Sutter Home Winery in Napa Valley produced intense, robust zinfandels from a vineyard planted in 1866 in the Shenandoah Valley of Amador County. In fact, Sutter Home's Deaver Ranch Zinfandel was one of the first wines to convince wine lovers that the zinfandel grape could produce world-class red wines. In 1997, Montevina Winery, purchased in 1988 by the Trinchero family, which has owned Sutter Home since 1947, began receiving the old-vine Deaver Ranch fruit. Bottled under Montevina's Terra d'Oro reserve wine label, this is the first vineyard-designated wine Montevina has produced since its inception in 1970.

The 1998 vintage produced ripe, lush, concentrated red wines in Amador County. Grapes for the Deaver Ranch zin were harvested in late September at approximately 250 Brix. After saignee (drawing off a portion of the free run juice to extract more color and flavor from the skins), the juice was fermented using the rack-and-return method practiced in Bordeaux (draining the tank of juice and then recirculating it over the fallen cap of skins and seeds to enhance color and flavor extraction), and kept in contact with the skins for 14 days. After pressing, the new wine was settled and racked to American oak barrels, 40% new, where it aged for 14 months before being lightly filtered and bottled in April, 2000. 

Technical Specifications

Alcohol: 15.7%
Total Acidity: 0.67 g/100 ml.
PH: 3.46
Bottling Date: April '00
Cases Produced: 4,800 (6 bottles)
Release Date: October, 2000 

Tasting Notes

This classic old-vine zinfandel should delight aficionados of "old-style" Amador County zin. Nearly black in color, it displays a marvelously complex aroma of super-ripe blackberry and black raspberry fruit, mingled with scents of raisins, anise, milk chocolate, pepper spice, and oak vanillin. The wine's lush, mouthfilling flavors are beautifully balanced, with a very soft texture, unobtrusive tannins, and excellent acidity, which materializes in a lip-smacking finish. This is an extraordinary, memorable zinfandel, which can be enjoyed now or over the next decade with the heartiest foods, or simply savored on its own.