Naggiar Vineyards’ Winefest: food, wine & music starts this spring

THE FOOTHILLS HAVE SOME SPLENDID destination wineries: Viña Castellano in Auburn with a stone wine cave amid the 40-year-old Mendez Family Ranch; Wise Villa Winery in Lincoln with a bistro and tasting room set amid a 14-acre vineyard; Bent Metal in Grass Valley with sweeping views of the Sierra from comfortable Adirondack chairs; and Pilot Peak […]

Vintners predict quality wines from grape harvest

THIS YEAR’S WINE GRAPE HARVEST began early. Deploying little more than a pair of well-sharpened shears, the vintners, laborers and volunteers fanned out into the vineyard, hand harvested the grapes, put them in bins (or lugs) and hauled them off to the winery on a big tractor. The freshly picked grapes were sorted for quality, […]

Bud break at Sierra Vintners’ wineries

As the weather warms, the vineyards begin to wake up from their dormancy and green shoots “break” through to begin their growth cycle. “Alas, the vines have beaten me to spring break,” says Naggiar’s winemaker Derek Irwin. “The vines have been whooping it up,” he adds. “We are 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule, which on […]

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