The Rockpile area - now its own appellation which is about 700-800 acres in size - had been five times bigger before the U.S. It’s a fruit forward wine with raspberry overtones and a nice broad finish that makes it a good choice for drinking right now or perhaps holding for a short while to let the minor tannic bite relax just a bit. Most goes to wine club members, but you can get a pretty good idea about just how good the small production wines are by sampling the 2007 Dry Creek Valley zinfandel ($27), which includes about 40 percent Rockpile fruit. Production for each special lot of Mauritson zinfandel is limited to only a few hundred cases. Clay Mauritson, whose father, Thom, heads the farming operations, is the winemaker. The Mauritson family have been farmers for more than a century, but it’s only in the last decade that winemaking became part of their operation. Three Generations of Mauritsons - Glendene, Thom and Clay It’ s hard to imagine that just a few minutes from the whizzing traffic on the interstate you’ll find Suisun Valley’s backroad wineries flanked by rows and rows of lush green vines set alongside rolling hills. There are 10 wineries in the appellation and most are within a few minutes drive of Fairfield. Vezer is the brainchild of Frank and Liz Vezer, Canadian immigrants who decided to get into winemaking in 2001 as a sideline to their successful industrial contracting business.
This winery is in the beautiful Suisun Valley appellation, which is off I-80 about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento. I’d tasted a few regional wines, and some were pretty good, but nothing that really screamed delicious until I ran across Vezer Family Vineyard. I’ve wondered about the winegrowing part of Solano County for quite a while. To learn more, check out this list of Marin County wineries.
Pey-Marin has a tasting room at the Olema Inn, but most of the other winemaking operations are private and open only by appointment. There are about a dozen wineries in Marin. Several commercial vineyards were developed and vines were a common site until 20th century residential real estate development pushed Marin grape-growing into less-hospitable areas. The first grapes were planted here in the early 1800s by Spanish clergy who built the San Rafael Mission. Marin actually has a long history of viticulture. Rounding out the lineup are syrah from Sonoma, another pinot from Monterey and a Napa cabernet sauvignon called Textbook. They also make an excellent dry riesling (the 2008 Shellmound is $24) from Marin County grapes and a Marin merlot. Grapes from this cooler growing area can give wines an enjoyable balance and smooth as silk finish that is hard to resist. This pinot is a blend of juice from three vineyards located within a few miles of the Pacific Ocean. I really enjoyed the Pey-Marin 2006 Trois Filles ($39), which is named for the couple’s three daughters. The resulting wines, especially their pinot noir grown in western Marin, are wonderful.
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