Houndstooth, “Rorick Heritage Vineyard” Barbera
Houndstooth, “Rorick Heritage Vineyard” Barbera

Houndstooth, “Rorick Heritage Vineyard” Barbera

California / Sierra Foothills, United States 2017 (750mL)
Regular price$30.00
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Houndstooth, “Rorick Heritage Vineyard” Barbera

Kelli White and Scott Brenner are the (married, with children) sommeliers who built the award-winning wine program at PRESS Restaurant in St. Helena, California, among other accomplishments (Kelli is the author of “Napa Valley Then & Now”). Houndstooth is their passion project, launched in 2011, focused on small-lot wines sourced from select vineyards across Northern California. Their experience cultivating the lengthy PRESS wine served them well in identifying the best plots to showcase in their wines: This Barbera is grown by California wine celebrity Matthew Rorick in Murphys, California, in the heart of the Sierra Foothills AVA. 


Purchased by Matthew Rorick (Forlorn Hope Wines) in 2013, the Rorick Heritage Vineyard does indeed have “heritage.” The site was first farmed by the Shaw family in 1844. It was later acquired by Barden Stevenot, who planted Chardonnay in the 1970s and continued to expand the vineyard’s acreage and varietal mix. Located within the Sierra Foothills AVA, this organically farmed vineyard (now 75 acres) reaches to elevations of 2,000 feet and boasts a cool, “continental” climate. Soils combine schist and limestone.


About one-third of the must was fermented in used oak puncheons with whole grape clusters intact; it was then aged in those same puncheons and bottled after about 18 months. Shining a satisfyingly deep ruby-garnet in the glass, the wine leads with lots of saturated fruit aromas, including black and red cherry, black raspberry, rose petals, dried herbs, and turned earth. Medium-plus in body, with good concentration and a taut structure. It finishes with a crisp, mineral twang, lending it good compatibility with food. Try it with burgers or steaks off the grill, Sicilian-style pizza, or baked pastas.


Houndstooth, “Rorick Heritage Vineyard” Barbera
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United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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