Seam Barnum Vineyard Barbera 2013
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Wilfred
Wong
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
A big, beautiful and balanced Barbera from the Sierra Foothills, the 2013 Seam exhibits pure freshness of the grape and uncommonly crisp acidity—traits that natives of Piedmont (Italy) and high-level sommeliers from around the world would enjoy. This wine is so versatile; one can see pairing well with a wide variety of dishes. Drinking well now. (Tasted: August 24, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
All of our wines are low in alcohol. I like this because sometimes I enjoy being able to consume a glass of wine and not be foggy headed. There’s a time and place for everything right? I also want the wines to be crisp, fresh, and vibrant because this is the style that I most enjoy both for a single glass, and with a meal. There is never any new wood used in Seam Wines because it just isn’t needed. Barrels are important and delicious in many styles of wines, but not these…see the fresh and crisp statement above.
Friendly and approachable, Barbera produces wines in a wide range of styles, from youthful, fresh and fruity to serious, structured and age-worthy. Piedmont is the most famous source of Barbera; those from Asti and Alba garner the most praise. Barbera actually can adapt to many climates and enjoys success in some New World regions. Somm Secret—In the past it wasn’t common or even accepted to age Barbera in oak but today both styles—oaked and unoaked—abound and in fact most Piedmontese producers today produce both styles.
As home to California’s highest altitude vineyards, El Dorado is also one of its oldest wine growing regions. When gold miners settled here in the late 1800s, many also planted vineyards and made wine to quench its local demand.
By 1870, El Dorado County, as part of the greater Sierra Foothills growing area, was among the largest wine producers in the state, behind only Los Angeles and Sonoma counties. The local wine industry enjoyed great success until just after the turn of the century when fortune-seekers moved elsewhere and its population diminished. With Prohibition, winemaking and grape growing was totally abandoned. But some of these vines still exist today and are the treasure chest of the Sierra Foothills as we know them.
El Dorado has a diverse terrain with elevations ranging from 1,200 to 3,500 feet, creating countless mesoclimates for its vineyards. This diversity allows success with a wide range of grapes including whites like Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as for reds, Grenache, Syrah, Tempranillo, Barbera and especially, Zinfandel.
Soils tend to be fine-grained volcanic rock, shale and decomposed granite. Summer days are hot but nights are cool and the area typically gets ample precipitation in the form or rain or snow in the winter.