The Albariño comes from the beautiful Rorick Vineyard in Calaveras County, owned and farmed by Matthew Rorick and family.

“Murphy’s Camp is a curious old mining-town in Calaveras County, at an elevation of 2,400 feet above the sea, situated like a nest in the center of a rough, gravelly region, rich in gold. Granites, slates, lavas, limestone, iron ores, quartz veins, auriferous gravels, remnants of dead fire-rivers and dead water-rivers are developed here side by side within a radius of a few miles, and placed invitingly open before the student like a book, while the people and the region beyond the camp furnish mines of study of never-failing interest and variety.” – John Muir, The Mountains of California (1894)

When discussing potential vineyard sites to source from for Wilson Foreigner, our goal was to find a white grape variety grown in a unique site in the Sierra Foothills. We found that in a block of Albariño at the Rorick Vineyard in Calaveras County, just outside the town of Murphys. The block is situated along a steep and eastern facing spine of soils at 2,000 ft. above sea level. The schist is formed in sheets and can be broken easily by hand, revealing layers of ancient sediments. Intense sunshine moderated by cool alpine nights through the growing season builds beautiful characteristics in the fruit. We are grateful to work with such an amazing property.

The fruit was harvested pre-dawn on September 5th and delivered to the winery late morning. Whole cluster pressed and fermented in neutral Hungarian and French oak barrels. Full malolactic fermentation occurred, adding texture to the wine. A moderate amount of sulfur dioxide was used to prevent oxidation and no fining was done. Gentle filtration was done at bottling. The wine shows lavender and citrus bloom aromatics, stone fruit, and citrus zest flavors, a soft and delicate texture on the palate, and finishes with bright and saline minerality.