Findleton Estate & Winery
The Vineyard:
The estate vineyard is located at about the 3,000 foot elevation in an area known locally as Pneumonia Gulch. It is a beautiful land of towering pines and heritage size oaks with a portion of the vineyards on the edge of South Webber Creek, a major drainage point for not only the water shed, but also the cold air flowing down off the mountains. Since this vineyard is positioned near the bottom of this drainage it serves as a collection point for all that cold air, which may feel cooling in the summer, but is downright cold in the winter.
Currently there are 2 ½ acres near the creek and part way up the slope producing grapes with another 2 ½ acres along the upper slope of the hill coming into production soon. There is a surprising difference between the geology of the land at the bottom near the creek, which has deeper soils from the erosion off the hill, and the rocky hillside which is mostly chalky looking volcanic soils. As you will see from our barrel tasting notes in the wine section below, it becomes evident that the grapes from the two soil types produce wines with distinctly different flavor profiles; more than I would have suspected.
These are very low producing vines that look more like they are three years old than six. Bud break in this deep canyon comes about a month later than most of the vineyards in El Dorado County and harvest comes late, last year taking place in late November when the leaves had already turned brown. That long hang time is where this vineyard has the potential to excel in that great complexity can only come with time on the vine. The area has a shorter growing day than in Burgundy due to its lower latitude with comparable temperatures, a little more intense light during the day and that great Foothill diurnal shift, which allows the vines to rest. In many regions that grow Pinot Noir, a late November harvest would be a disaster for the grapes due to the harsher winter that comes earlier in the season. It can be a nail bitter in the Foothills as well, but many years this can be quite successful. Based on the low grape production the Findletons expect the final vineyard to produce somewhere around 2 ½ tons with a total maximum wine output of 200 cases.
The Winemakers:
Winemaking duties are shared by the father and daughter team of Tom and Carrie Findleton. Tom was a home winemaker for 30 years before deciding to take the leap to winery owner after retirement. Carrie is one of the exciting new generation of young winemakers that are taking the best of what California has to offer in the way of education and adding to it real experience in some of the major wine producing regions of the world.
Like so many of the young winemakers making their mark across California, in addition to graduating from the University of California at Davis with a degree in Viticulture and Enology, Carrie has spent time working in other wineries that share her passion for Pinot Noir. While she was still working on her degree she spent time working with on the Sonoma Coast with wineries that specialize in Pinot and then recently completed a six month internship with small winery in the Pommard region of Burgundy. Currently Carrie is in the Marlborough region of New Zealand working the harvest with a winery that devotes 20% of their production to Pinot Noir. This determination to understanding the best practices in winemaking and viticulture techniques can only be good for those of us who love California wine. Continued ...
