The Vineyards
Zinfandel and Sangiovese
The Massoni Ranch in Amador County is the source of fruit for the majority of the wines produced by Jeff Runquist, providing both Zinfandel and Sangiovese. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact beginnings of viticulture on the Massoni Ranch, but the discovery of a bill of sale for grapes in 1905 has led most to speculate that the first grapes where planted sometime in the late 1890s. At the turn of the century vineyards where propagated using cuttings, and cultivated by horse-drawn plow. Since the vineyard has always been dry farmed it is unlikely that a commercial crop was realized until the vineyard's fifth or sixth vintage which would mean that it was planted sometime before the turn of the century.
Amador County has the distinction of being the only county in California that increased its acreage under grapes during prohibition. While the Volestead Act prohibited the commercial production of alcoholic beverages, it remained perfectly legal to produce wine at home. The principle market for the grapes from Amador County was the Italian communities of North Beach in San Francisco and throughout the Central Valley. The hearty Zinfandel and Mission grapes from the foothills packed well and were highly prized by the Italian home winemakers. The demand grew and additional vineyards were planted on the Massoni Ranch in the 20s and 30s.
Head trained and spur pruned the Zinfandel vineyard yields limited quantities of intensely flavored wine. The grapes are not shaded by a dense trellis supported canopy and so they soak up the foothill sunshine and yield skins with a deep blue black color. The vineyard is dry farmed, meaning it is not irrigated. The vine's roots search the depths of the decomposed granite soil for moisture that was provided by the previous winter's rains. This extensive root system provides the grapes with the flavors of the specific vineyard site.
Most recently, the Massoni Ranch was part of the original vineyard holdings of the Montevina Winery. It was during this time that the Pioneer Hill Vineyard was planted. Named for the small encampment on the knoll above the vineyard where mining artifacts have been unearthed, the vineyard first produced Sauvignon Blanc. In 1986 it was grafted to a clone of Sangiovese Grosso selected by Daryl Corti a Sacramento Wine Merchant and longtime importer of Italian wines. Daryl believed that the iron laden decomposed granite soils of Amador would be suitable for the great variety from Tuscany known to produce the Brunello Wines. When Montevina was sold to Sutter Home in the 1980s the Massoni Ranch including Pioneer Hill was sold, not to Sutter Home but, to an independent grower, Jim Fox. Jeff has known Jim since his purchase of the Massoni Ranch in the early eighties. When he decided to produce a Zinfandel under his own label Jim was happy to provide the fruit.
Barbera
The Cooper Family has been growing walnuts, prunes and grapes for generations in Amador County. Just off of Shenandoah Schoolhouse Road is their original Barbera vineyard. It was planted in the early eighties. Like the Zinfandel these vines are head trained and spur pruned. The limited yield attains great color and flavor. The vineyard is on a small knoll and Dick allows Jeff to select the portion of the vineyard he is to receive each fall.
Syrah
The Syrah is grown in the Three Way Vineyard in Paso Robles. Located in the Estrella River Plateau, the vineyard soil is thin and doesn't hold moisture so the vines are nourished by a drip irrigation system. Steve Carter, the vineyard owner, practices the Australian method of partial deficit irrigation and our goal is to emulate Syrahs produced by the Australians in the Barrosa Valley. Syrah is an incredibly vigorous variety and has a tendency to throw huge crops. Yields in the neighborhood of 10-12 tons per acre are not uncommon and we learned that in order to attain the color and intensity we were after we needed to manage the vigor and crop load. Through a combination of severe pruning and cluster thinning the vineyard production is limited to five tons per acre. At this production level the fruit ripens fast in the sunshine and warm temperatures of Paso Robles.
Cabernet Sauvignon
For almost a decade Jeff has produced Cabernet Sauvignon from the Colina Poca Vineyard in Paso Robles. Introduced to the vineyard while the winemaker at J. Lohr, the Colina Poca Vineyard produced the wine that motivated Jerry Lohr to purchase neighboring property and move his Cabernet production from Monterey to Paso Robles. When Jeff started his own label he returned to this location to source the grapes for his first Cabernet Sauvignon. He says, "I have always been impressed with the intense fruit orientation these grapes possess. They produce wine that is both distinctive and charming."
Pinot Noir
Added to the cellar in the 2000 vintage was Pinot Noir from the Sisters Vineyard located off of Cuttings Wharf Road in Carneros. Carneros, located at the Southern tip of the Napa Valley, is the premier California appellation for this variety. The fruit grown in the Sisters Vineyard is used primarily for sparkling wine, but there is a small corner that ripens the fruit to still wine standards and it is from this small portion of the vineyard that the grapes for this wine are grown. Depending on the vintage only 1-2 tons are designated for still wine and thus production is extremely limited.
Petite Sirah
Located in the heart of the Sacramento River Delta is Sutter Island. On Sutter Island Enver Salman grows some of the finest Petite Sirah Jeff has had the pleasure to make wine from. Enver is the most conscientious grower Jeff knows. Petite Sirah is a risky variety in that if it is rained on it melts. Enver however realizes the added flavor ripe fruit produces and provides Jeff with fully ripened deeply colored and intensely flavored grapes. In 1999 Jeff was impressed with the wine he aged in French oak and so in 2000 he selected 480 gallons to be aged in selected barrels and the result was as Jeff puts it, "The most unique wine I have ever produced. Unique is not always good, but this wine was so tasty that I had to bottle it separately."