Winemaker Notes
The McManis family has been farming in the northern interior region of California since 1938. Fourth generation farmer Ron McManis, and his wife Jamie, founded McManis Family Vineyards in 1990. From the beginning, their mission was simple: every bottle of McManis Family Vineyards should consist of “quality wine at an honest price”. They now farm over 3,600 acres of premium wine grapes from premier growing areas across the state. In 1998, the company designed and built a state-of-the-art winery to produce a range of red and white varietals sourced from ten estate vineyards. All 10 delicious varietals are certified sustainable under Lodi Rules standards and the winery itself is certified under California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. McManis is also the keeper of the third smallest American Viticultural Area (AVA) in California. Nestled between the cool confluence of the Stanislaus and San Joaquin rivers, south of Lodi, the River Junction Appellation comprises 1300 acres. The land near the river basin is consistently 2-5 degrees cooler than the surrounding farmlands, combined with the sandy loam soils unique to the area, is ideally suited to growing premium quality grapes. This geographical advantage also provides a more significant diurnal temperature swing – warm days, cooler nights than other vineyards. McManis Family Vineyards grows Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Viognier and Muscat Canelli in the AVA. McManis Family Vineyards produces its high quality wines using small winery methods. Considered “petite” compared to the size of other facilities in the area, the winery is designed for small lot wine production. As grapes arrive at the winery, they are introduced to two state-of-the-art grape receiving stations outfitted with Delta Stemmer and Bucher presses; the receiving hoppers are equipped with mechanisms designed to slow the intake of grapes, gently handling the incoming fruit. The majority of the tanks are designed to ferment approximately 9,000 gallons of red wine each, and there are several smaller tanks available for blending and fermenting. These innovative methods of winemaking are unique to a winery of this production capacity and produce excellent finished wines meant to be enjoyed when young, with juicy flavors, freshness and balance.
Covering the most vine acreage in the state compared to any other red wine variety, Cabernet Sauvignon produces as much wine in California as Merlot and Pinot Noir combined. The state’s diverse terrain and microclimates, as well as the freedom of its winemakers, allow for an incredible range of wine styles from this single grape.
California’s most famous region—and especially for Cabernet Sauvignon—is the acclaimed Napa Valley. While Cabernet is successful throughout the world, rarely has it achieved such merit as it does from the Napa Valley. At this point the two are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other.
Napa’s closest neighbor, Sonoma County, does an impressive job keeping up with Napa’s fame and glory. Alexander Valley, Sonoma Mountain, Moon Mountain and Knights Valley contribute to the lot of some of California’s top-rated Cabernet Sauvignon.
Lake County in California’s North Coast has become a focus for some of Napa’s more respected growers. From the Central Coast come iconic examples of classic California Cabernet; Lodi and the Sierra Foothills are great budget-friendly sources of amicable Cabernets.