Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/426275
98 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } DECEMBER/JANUARY 2014/2015 { up-and-coming } According to Jeff, "I get opportunities thrown at me, so what the heck?" He purchases two tons for his experimental wines but treats these wines as if they were his mainstay. Because he purchases all his grapes, he has the freedom to source the grapes from the best grower in the best region for that variety. When asked how he can possibly sell these wines to consumers who aren't familiar with lesser-known varieties such as Alicante Bouschet, Carignane or even Grenache, he explains that he sells them to his top-tier wine club members. This membership level, called SME ("send me everything"), gets the opportunity to taste even the smallest of his lots. Many of his distributors across the country would like to get their hands on them but can't; during our interview, his Ohio distributor called to see if he could get three cases of Runquist Tannat. The answer was "No." Just down the road at Amador Cellars, winemaker and family member Michael Long also believes that Amador isn't just Zin country and can grow and produce almost any warm weather red grape variety. Currently, Amador Cellars is working with 14 different varieties of which five are Italian. I tasted the Aglianico, which was well-balanced with a slight menthol flavor and good acidity. Although they grow many of their own grapes, Amador Cellars also purchases from local vineyards and like to pro- duce in small-batch lots resulting in 100 to 500 cases per lot. According to Long, "With the smaller-lot batches, we can bring out more of our own Amador terroir using Italian, Rhône and even Spanish grape varieties." Vino Noceto Winery is banking its reputation on Sangiovese. This winery does make other wines but Sangiovese is the signa- ture varietal. Intrigued with the Altesino Sangiovese clone from Montalcino, Rusty Folena, the winemaker, began to trial it but became concerned with its high acid and tannin structure. So, for the past few years he has been experimenting with various fermentation techniques trying to alleviate the clonal issues in order to produce a wine with the acids and tannins much more married into the wines. What he has come up with is very intrigu- ing. Using 130 gallon puncheons, he sets the barrels upright, removes their heads and ferments open. According to Folena, "By fermenting this way, we don't encourage the oak flavors, as were not after oak. We can keep more extraction color, and we Jeff Runquist believes Barbera is the best grape to grow in the Sierra Foothills. PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF RUNQUIST WINES Amador wine pioneer Jeff Runquist and his wife Margie.