Little grape-growing region that could
There’s a little part of Yolo County that’s home to one of California’s most overlooked wine regions.
Established as an American Viticultural Area in 1985, Clarksburg is marked by its location along the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which pulls in ocean breezes and creates a cool maritime climate. Fertile, low-draining soils allow the little wine region to produce 45,000 tons of grapes each year. Here the “heritage grapes” are the crisp Chenin Blanc and the bold, chewy Petite Sirah — varieties that produce excellent standalone wines, but also excel as blending varietals.
In fact, 90 percent of the grapes grown in Clarksburg are sold outside the county, predominantly to neighboring Napa Valley. But you’d never know it. A little bit of fresh, acidic Clarksburg Chenin or brawny Petite Sirah can round out a Napa Valley blend — and as long as Clarksburg fruit makes up less than 25 percent of the final wine, the winery can still put “Napa Valley” on the label.
Despite that 90 percent figure, there has been a recent increase in the number of vintners who want to keep more Clarksburg fruit in Clarksburg. Rather than exporting their high-quality wine grapes, they’re taking ownership of the full product, from grape to glass.
The Old Sugar Mill, a 1930s beet processing facility, helped Clarksburg gain steam when it opened in 2005 as a multivendor tasting room and custom-crush site. Today, it houses 14 individual wineries. Visitors can easily spend a whole day winery hopping without ever leaving the building.
But venture outside the Mill, and you’re guaranteed to find a few of Yolo’s treasures.
There’s a sense of solitude along the craggy farm roads lined with vines, altogether more rustic than what you’d find in Napa or Sonoma. There are very few buildings, just a light smattering of modest homes and barns. One starts to wonder, where are all the wineries?
To find them, I took to the singlelane back roads that follow the Sacramento River to discover what Clarksburg’s winemakers are creating with their heritage grapes.
“You’re almost there!” reads Julie Russell’s sandwich board signs, sporting an attachment of Mylar balloons. She staggers them along South River Road — the main road that leads tourists in and out of Clarksburg — urging drivers to make the detour to her Julietta Winery.
Julie and her husband, Craig, are among the newest kids on the Clarksburg block, having officially opened their winery 2½ years ago. Craig, a Napa County native, grew up in a family of vintners, but followed a different career path, establishing his own general contracting business. It was Craig’s mother, Beverly, who encouraged the couple to transform the family’s Clarksburg property — an unplanted 12-acre lot with an old barn used for storage — into a winery. To hear the couple tell the story, this was more than a gentle suggestion: “She was always saying, ‘You have to get into grapes, you have to get into grapes,’ ” says Julie.
Using Craig’s connections in Napa, the Russells started buying fruit from a few trusted grape growers and experimented with a winemaking side business. “We figured it was something we could pursue after we retire,” says Julie.
But the couple’s “side business” blossomed, so they transformed the barn into a tasting room and built a winery next door.
Julie, with her personal preference for Napa Cabernets and cool-climate Syrahs, will continue to source grapes from various California regions, in Clarksburg and beyond. However, her first estate vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon, from the modest vines circling the parking lot, is now aging in barrels. She’s looking forward to planting more varieties — including Zinfandel, Tannat, Cabernet Franc and Tempranillo — on the property this year, in hopes of producing more estate wines.
Clarksburg’s small-town quaintness extends to the Julietta tasting room, where the walls are decorated with works by local artists. Lounge chairs and sofas invite lingering. Outside, visitors can enjoy the bocce ball court, putting green and picnic area — and, of course, the bucolic serenity of the Clarksburg countryside. The Russells are often behind the bar, greeting regulars by name and welcoming those just passing through as if they, too, are part of the Clarks-
burg community.
During my visit, Julie poured a full lineup of her current releases, which range from the crisp Clarksburg Chenin Blanc to the hearty Napa Cabs. However, she seemed to take personal pride in the 2013 Beverly’s Legacy, a melting-pot blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, Tempranillo, Grenache, Mouvedre and Petite Sirah named in honor of the woman who got the Russells “into grapes.”
Loyal Miner is another Clarksburg vintner with winemaking in his blood. His great-grandfather, Loyal Aubrey Miner, was a bootleg winemaker in the 1920s. While majoring in history at UC Davis, known for its viticulture and enology program, he took a wine appreciation class. “I remember thinking I really
like this. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to make wine.” Now a successful partner in his own law firm, he finally made his dream a reality when he opened Miner’s Leap in 2013.
This is truly a boutique operation. Miner makes more than 13 single-varietal wines along with several blends in lots that never exceed 100 cases. Limited production allows him to experiment with grapes from other wine regions more frequently. This means a taste of Miner’s Leap will be different on each visit.
The outdoor tasting room was a bit chilly for Miner and me during my windy winter visit. Luckily, he stocks a box with wool blankets for just such an occasion. Though the red wines also seemed to be affected by the cold atmosphere (the Zinfandel and Petit Verdot refused to open up), his Lodi Albariño was perfectly enjoyable — the proper balance of crisp acidity, a creamy mouthfeel and beautiful floral aromatics.
Miner loves to call in and entertain the crowd. The century-old barn that sits on the property now houses the indoor-outdoor tasting room. It’s eclectically decorated with art from Cabo San Lucas (Miner’s home away from home) and “Hotel California” memorabilia (“Obviously, I like the Eagles,” he says). The tasting room patio overlooks an outdoor area that calls to mind a beach resort, complete with palm trees, lounge chairs, and a small stage for local bands, wedding ceremonies and, once a month, church services.
The newest addition is an even larger event space just a few yards from the tasting room, able to accommodate up to 500 guests — perfect for the summer concert series Miner has in the works. This summer, Miner’s Leap will also plant its first estate vineyard plantings, which will include Chenin Blanc and Petite Sirah.
The Bogle family — the major winemaker in town — has been farming this slice of Yolo County since the mid-1800s, primarily as a seed-corn grower. It wasn’t until the 1960s that Warren Bogle, looking for a crop he wouldn’t need to sow each year, planted his initial 20 acres of vines — 10 acres of Chenin Blanc and 10 acres of Petite Sirah.
“He was the first to plant (grapes) in Clarksburg,” says granddaughter Jody Bogle, director of public relations for Bogle Vineyards.
Today, Bogle Vineyards farms more than 1,600 acres of grapes with estateowned vineyards throughout California. Although this is by no means a small operation, it’s a family business through and through. Grandchildren Ryan, Jody and Warren Bogle have their hands in all aspects of the business, from tasting room hospitality to vineyard management.
“We are farmers at heart,” says Bogle. “We feel very blessed to get to do what we love every day.”
That sense of family extends to the visitor’s experience. While I tasted a few current releases and futures (the estate was having a barrel-sampling event that day), my host, “CC,” toured me through the quaint tasting room. He pointed out photos of the Bogles dating back to those pre-grape-farming days and a topographic map illustrating the Clarksburg terroir.
The Bogle pioneering spirit seems to endure to this day with the few familyrun wineries recently planting their roots in Clarksburg soil. Though small and virtually unrecognized by the dominant wine regions, Clarksburg’s vintners see the potential of their surroundings. Their hard work in the vineyards and hospitality in the tasting room truly make Clarksburg a worthwhile winetasting travel destination.