Visited York Vineyard & a Stop at Cedarville
Kiara and I spent Sunday in Amador County. We visited George and Pam York whose vineyard is the source of my 2002 Syrah. A few weeks ago, they visited the winery to barrel taste the Syrah.
We arrived at their ram dirt house (see below) around noon. The house is perched on a granite cliff overlooking their vineyards and much of Fiddletown. They bought the land in 1983, built the house in two phases, and sought the quietness of a small rural town. After some homemade lemonade and a house tour, we went into the vineyards.
Most of the vineyard was done with bloom. The clusters have pollinated and are forming small green orbs (see picture below). This "fruit set" ultimately turns into grapes. The fruit set looks great. Pam mentioned it happened all at once about 2 weeks ago. When we met at the winery, I expressed interest in going up during bloom. We caught the tail end.
Pam and her crew have been busy in the vineyards. Over the past several weeks, they have been training and thinning the vines. Around 5 am, she's often found in the vineyards, taking care of her "babies".
The mixture of volcanic soil and decomposed granite make the Syrah happy. The soil is similar to the Northern Rhone, famous for its Syrah. She mentioned that the Hermitage clone, down in a valley, was particularly vigorous.
They are wonderful folks. George, a neurologist, has an insatiable curiosity for art, history, and wine. Pam and her green thumb tend the vineyard. They both love food and wine. Lunch was an epicurean delight-- blue cheese quiche, fresh garden salad, and olive tap�nade on french bread. The meal was accompanied with an epic 1988 Burgundy.
Our second stop was one of my favorite Amador County wineries, Cedarville Vineyards. Accompanied with Ken's post on the West Coast Wine Network, we scheduled an appointment with Jonathan Lachs, the co-winemaker. He walked us through the vineyards, explained their winemaking methods, and took us to their caves. We then tasted their lineup. I was particularly inspired by their 2001 Viognier, 2001 Zinfandel and 2001 Syrah. After 2 hours, we left happily with a case of wine. Jonathan is great guy- full of passion and knowledge.
The small gold rush community of Fiddletown is located in historic Amador County, California. It was settled in 1849 by a party from Missouri. When the creeks dried up during the summer months, the miners spent their time "fiddlin" around.
In 1878, the state legislature changed the name to Olema. An Indian name said to mean "Old Home Spring".