El Dorado County Wineries

Young Sierra Foothills Wine Region Recalls Old California

Driving southeast from Placerville toward the wineries around the tiny burg of Fair Play, I had a reverse-Dorothy moment: Toto, I don't think we're in Napa anymore.

This was more like Kansas, with Bill's Taxidermy over there, and Double Diamond Tack & Feed, and two-pump, mom-and-pop gas stations, and roads with names like Squirrel Hollow and Buzzards Gulch. Even the name Fair Play has old-timey roots: It's said that when two Gold Rush miners got into a fight, an intermediary broke it up by saying, "From now on, we'll have fair play here."

When I pulled into Fair Play, a wide spot in the road if there ever was one, I felt deep in the heart of nowhere, yet also cognizant that this was a place that's becoming "somewhere" -- an emerging wine country that harkens to Napa Valley and Sonoma County in their early oenological days.

Fair Play is both a village and a 6-mile-by-6-mile American Viticutural Area (AVA), which means the government recognizes its distinct grape-growing climate, soils and history. Ten years ago, you could count on your hands the number of wineries in the Fair Play AVA; today there are two dozen, and 350 acres of vines, with more of each on the way.

For several years, Fair Play wineries have produced intense, powerful Zinfandels, Syrahs and Petite Sirahs from vineyards nestled in the Sierra foothills, yet the region is just now emerging as a visitor destination because -- finally -- fine food and accommodations are catching up to the liquid gold rush of wines.

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Italian Influence on the California Wine Industry

Since decades, the California wines have been associated with distinct deep flavors, high alcohol level, forward fruit and a hint of oak. California wine makers have focused mainly on the cultivation of the Barbera grape, to cater to the demand for Italian styled California wine. Despite a great difference between the Italian and California styles, California wine tastes similar. The California wine industry owes much to the influence of the Italian immigrants. The long list of influences includes, Sebastiani, Mondavi, Martini, Gallo, Cribari, Parduci, Martinelli, Nichelini, Pedroncelli, Rafanelli and Rochioli.

American wine drinkers could never indulge in the California wine, till it flaunted the Italian style. The vineyard owners commenced a serious exploration of suitable sites to cultivate grapes of a better quality, after the rush to terroir movement in the 80s. They found the sites in the Sierra Foothills and Central Coastal regions. But, this too failed to attract the desired business. A new direction was noticed in the early 1990s and it began with a subtle educational campaign by the winemakers and wine industry representatives. They attempted to educate the people that Barbera was not the great red Italian grape, but from the family of Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. Still the Italian wines continued to be popular as food-friendly. Earlier, the Italian wines used to complement food and were not appreciated for their maturity.

Despite the Italian influence on California wines, the Italian wine industry developed very slowly in America. The wine makers of California used to spend most of their time trying to catch-up with their French counterparts. They focused more on the French varietals and convinced the Americans to a great extent that the best wines were Merlot, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

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