Vinum Cellars
Cool Climate Rules at Sierra Del Mar Vineyard by Vinum Cellars
In 1997, friends Chris Condos and Richard Bruno began Vinum Cellars with no vineyards, no winery facility, and no financing except for their two credit cards. They had no idea they were on the leading edge of a tidal wave of small, "virtual winery” entrepreneurs. “We were just a couple of young punks who wanted to make the wines we wanted To make and not answer to anyone. And today, here we are — still buying grapes, handcrafting wines, still doing Everything the same as before.”
For more than two decades, they have cultivated relationships with growers, which occasionally lead them to very Special grapes at value pricing. They snap these up to create truly top-tier wines that offer unparalleled value. These wines are considered batch-driven in the sense that Chris and Richard may not make the same wine again. This philosophy allows them to focus on finding the absolute best fruit for the price every year. As an environmentally conscious winery, they work only with sustainable growers, and they make packaging choices specifically to minimize their carbon footprint including using domestically produced, light weight, Eco-Series glass bottles.
About The Scrapper
“This is a special little wine from the El Dorado Foothills,” says Richard about The Scrapper. “The entire vineyard only produces about 500 cases a year, but it’s worth it because it’s so good. The grower, Ron Mansfield, has been organically farming this vineyard for over 25 years. This heavily extracted Cabernet Franc has a deep, dark plum color, showcasing the intense color capacity of grapes from lowyielding vines. Our label features our version of a Scrapper (a fighter) because this varietal has long been in the shadow of Cabernet Sauvignon. It depicts Gene Tunney, the 1926 Heavyweight Champion of the World. Most people have never heard of him. Well, have you ever heard of Jack Dempsey? Gene Tunney defeated Jack Dempsey for the 1926 crown, and it was the second time he had defeated the more popular fighter (and no one else ever did that). To complete our metaphor, if Gene Tunney is Cabernet Franc, clearly Jack Dempsey is Cabernet Sauvignon. So we ask you: Which is the better varietal? Because we know who the better boxer was.”
Focusing on Cool-Climate Vineyards for Sierra Del Mar Brand
“For our Sierra Del Mar wines, we seek out grapes from various cool climates in California, and we harvest the fruit very ripe,” says Chris. “For both our featured wines, we selected fruit from the Clarksburg Delta area near Sacramento. It’s known for its cool afternoon breezes from the San Francisco Bay, which moderate the warm days. It enjoys ample sunlight in the canopy by day and cools off well before sundown. We pick in the early morning when the grapes are cold. It’s a little challenging to sort them at 7 a.m. on the crush pad, but worth the effort.
For our Pinot Noir, we did a 48-hour cold soak to ensure ample skin contact as our goal is a six-day fermentation, and we extended maceration to 9 -10 days total skin time. Then we drained the tank, pressed the remaining skins, and combined both free run and press fractions. At this stage, we encouraged malolactic fermentation in oak to integrate early with lactones, which stabilize color and marry spice and vanilla flavors. The wine matured in French oak (30% two-years-old, 70% neutral) for nine months without racking until bottling. Although it is great with food, I love drinking this Pinot Noir on its own as it is a very complex and sexy glass of wine.
After harvesting grapes for our 2021 Chardonnay, we pressed right away with minimal skin contact. We let the juice cold settle for 48 hours and then racked it clean and commenced a cold fermentation in stainless-steel for 45 days. The slower ferment allows for pretty, floral fermentation esters to develop, which we capture during the maturation process. The wine went through partial malolactic fermentation to encourage a creamy texture, and it sat on the natural fermentation lees with occasional stirring to encourage generous mouthfeel. Its crisp profile makes it an enjoyable aperitif on a warm summer night.”
The fabulous wines we featured:
- Retail Price: $40.00
- Your Price: $38.00
The Scrapper 2019 Camino Alto El Dorado Cabernet Franc
- 91 Points, James Suckling
- Pair with Grilled New York steak with sautéed mushrooms
- Enjoy now or hold up to 20 years
Tasting Notes: The intense aromas are concentrated with dark fruits such as rich plum, black cherry, and boysenberry aromas. The palate gives way to more of the same juicy dark fruits adding blackberry and huckleberry flavors and soft but firm tannins, cigar box, cedar, and integrated French oak notes with vanilla. The finish is generous, soft, supple, and complete with plush tannins and silky oak tones which interplay with generous fruit notes and contemplative spice and earth tones.
2021 Clarksburg, California Chardonnay
- Pair with: Salmon gravlax with finely sliced cucumber, lemon, dill, and capers; grilled salmon and herb butter.
- Enjoy now or hold up to 3 years.
Tasting Notes: Perfumed Chardonnay varietal character with lemon tart, wax, clove, and honeycomb. The palate is ripe with green apple and baked apple flavors, along with juicy tangerine, kiwi, and passion fruit. Soft, creamy lactic acid tones texture the mid-palate through to the finish and exposes apricot flesh. The finish is dry with slightly bitter, but juicy, apple seed.
Winemaker's Notes
The Scrapper, 2019 Camino Alto, El Dorado Cabernet Franc: A single organically and dry-farmed vineyard at an elevation of 1,600 feet within the Sierra Mountains in El Dorado provided all the fruit. This 25-year-old vineyard is head-trained, which allows more sunlight into the canopy. It aged for 26 months in 2-year-old French oak.
2020 California Pinot Noir: Wilson Vineyards, a third-generation family farming operation in Clarksburg, supplied all the fruit.
2021 Clarksburg, California Chardonnay: Fruit came from cool-climate vineyards in Clarksburg, California.
Napa Valley
Chris Condos and Richard Bruno
Chris Condos and Richard Bruno