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NEXT GENERATION WINEMAKERS as a winegrower and his understanding of the market. “With Altitude, we’re aiming for a hybrid style from this area with a focus on balance,” he says; “the wines show plenty of fruit and varietal character while retaining their acidity.” Through careful site selection—the Dark Forest Syrah vineyard sits right up against the forest line, providing afternoon shade—and canopy manage- ment to combat the challenging heat load, he crafts Perry Creek’s high-eleva- tion fruit into complex, stylish wines that retail between $24 and $28. Work in progress: Buckland has a namesake label under development using high-elevation Syrah from a 2,800-foot site in Georgetown, which lies between Placerville and Auburn. Bridging the Gap Hélène Mingot, Derenoncourt California A native of Angers, in the Loire Valley, an area best known for Chenin Blanc from nearby Savennières, Hélène Mingot has been making wine in California for almost four years in collaboration with Bordeaux consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt and Montesquieu Wines. With a deep tech- nical background in winemaking—she holds the French National Diploma of Enology—Mingot has worked as a re- searcher and cellarmaster in Bordeaux and then spent five years in Tuscany growing grapes, assessing olive oil and making Chianti Classico. There, she met Derenoncourt and became part of the Montesquieu team. Hélène Mingot balances winemaking with sailing and traveling. Striking Gold in El Dorado Garrett Buckland, Perry Creek Winery Second-generation viticulturist Garrett Buckland just celebrated his 30th year, and this Napa native and fan of fly fish- ing and local barbecue is building a ca- reer upon what can only be described as the best of both worlds. He worked for his father Al Buckland’s vineyard management company while training in viticulture and enology at U.C. Davis and went on to become Vice President 82 / the tasting panel / may 2010 of Premiere Viticultural Services, where he and his partners manage more than 4,000 acre of vineyards across every Napa AVA. Buckland, who began making Pinot Noir in high school, is ideally suited as Director of Winemaking for Perry Creek Winery in El Dorado County, where he helped design and plant their Zinfandel and Syrah vineyards more than ten years ago. He recently developed the Altitude 2401 label for the winery, demonstrating both his skill Fluent in Italian, Spanish and English in addition to her native French, she uses this rare combination of skills to help bridge the cultural gap for Montesquieu and to connect the American importer directly with Italian producers. Mingot, whose unusual name means “universal guardian,” is an avid sailor and balances the demanding seasonal work of winemaking with her passion for sailing and travel. “Making wine is like deciding how to put the pieces of a puzzle together,” she says; “during the last three weeks you’re developing a strategic ap- proach to harvest.” As winemaker for Derenoncourt, strategy begins with site selection, which she views more as PHOTO: DEBORAH PARKER WONG