Scott Harvey Forte 2006
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Growing up in the Sierra Foothills, Scott Harvey’s grandfather owned vineyards in Shenandoah Valley, in Amador County. Dating back to the Gold Rush days, Amador County is one of California’s oldest wine-producing regions. The oldest documented Zinfandel vineyard in California is the 1869 Vineyard where we source the fruit for our prized Vineyard 1869 Old Vine Zinfandel.
Located in the Sierra Foothills, Amador County vineyards are centered around Shenandoah Valley and Fiddletown. Composed mostly of decomposed granite and reddish volcanic soils, elevations range from 1,200 to 2,000 feet. This “mountain fruit” provides better acid and tannin structure to Zinfandel, Barbera and Syrah than lower elevation growing regions and helps us make complex, elegant wines that are not overly ripe and pair well with food.
While Amador has the same granitic foothill geography as the Piemonte region in Italy, it benefits from more sun. Scott believes this makes it the best place on the planet to produce “World Class” Barbera.
Considered an Amador County “Pioneer”, Scott began his winemaking career as an apprentice at Montevina. He went on to study winemaking in Germany, returning to Amador as head winemaker at Story Winery. After roles as Winemaker/General Manager at Santino and Renwood Wineries, Scott became a partner, winemaker, and the President of Folie a Deux Winery in Napa Valley where he created “Ménage a Trois”.
In 2004, when the Folie a Deux Winery was sold to the Trinchero Family, Scott moved back to Amador to start his own winery with his wife, Jana, a wine industry veteran. Throughout his time in Napa Valley, Scott continually maintained his passion for Amador County wines and keeping his close relationships with premier Amador County growers.
Today the winery focuses on Zinfandel, Barbera and Syrah from the Amador area, along with a few smaller bottlings of Napa, Lake County and Mendocino wines.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
As the lower part of the greater Sierra Foothills appellation, Amador is roughly a plateau whose vineyards grow at 1,200 to 2,000 feet in elevation. It is 100 miles east of both San Francisco and Napa Valley. Most of its wineries are in the oak-studded rolling hillsides of Shenandoah Valley or east in Fiddletown, where elevations are slightly higher.
The Sierra Foothills growing area was among the largest wine producers in the state during the gold rush of the late 1800s. 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 was totally abandoned, along with its vineyards. But some of these, especially Zinfandel, still remain and are the treasure chest of the Sierra Foothills as we know them.
Most Amador vines are planted in volcanic soils derived primarily from sandy clay loam and decomposed granite. Summer days are hot but nighttime temperatures typically drop 30 degrees and the humidity is low, making this an ideal environment for grape growing. Because there is adequate rain throughout the year and even snow in the winter, dry farming is possible.