SacBee: Fiddletown Wines

The SacBee's wine columnist, MikeDunne, is one of my favorite wine writers. Plus being a heck of a nice guy. His column this week is on the wines of Fiddletown.
If you ever been thru Fiddletown (don't blink or you'll miss it), it's a slice out of old Californy. Not much different than an old hillbilly town up in the Ozarks. Some of the Zins, especially from ChetEschen's ranch, especially those made by Ridge, were legendary wines, the likes of which have not been see'd since.
Tom

SacBee: FiddletownWines

[Jenise]

Whenever I've had wines from wineries who make both a Fiddletown and a Somewhere Else, I've always preferred the Fiddletown. If you'd asked me why, I would have said "they're spicier". Mike doesn't say that, but in a roundabout way he explains why I think so in that "Traditionally, they've been somewhat lighter and brighter, with leaner builds and sharper edges, sometimes even finishing tart." Interesting to realize, thanks for the article.

Jenise; Fiddletown's a few hundred feet higher than most of Shenandoah Valley, and a little more exposed to the "alpine" influence from the High Sierra, so it's not unusual, I think, to get fruit riper with lower alcohol and higher acidity from there. And the fruit I worked with from Eschen back in early 90's definitely showed a higher degree of spiciness, which I felt is the signature of the place.