Best In Class | 2019 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition: Grenache Blanc is the main white grape in the Côtes du Rhône and Châteauneuf du Pape appellations. While plantings in California have increased considerably in the last few years, there are still only about 250 acres in the state. The warm days and cool nights of The Foothills showcase the unique qualities common to this varietal – a subtle richness and racy natural acidity.

93 Points & Editor's Choice Wine Enthusiast Magazine | "This wine tastes bold and assertive, pushing smoky oak and vanilla flavors close to the edge but rescuing them with attractive ripe flavors of blackberry and black cherry. The wine is full bodied, layered and mouthcoating, supported by moderate tannins that melt into the bold flavors." Reviewed by Jim Gordon

92 Points Wine Enthusiast Magazine | "This classy wine offers a mix of spice rack and black cherry aromas, with rich plum, earth and rhubarb flavors. There is balance between ripeness of fruit and tension from the tannins and acidity. It stands on it own as a beautifully complex but not heavy wine." Reviewed by Jim Gordon

92 Points Wine&Spirits Magazine | "Focused on syrah, grenache and mourvedre from Skinner’s Stoney Creek estate, this wine’s full-on richness emphasizes bright strawberry scents, succulent cherry flavors and a pretty, earthy scent that brings to mind freshly turned garden soil. One-third of the lot ages in new French oak, lending a toasty scent to underline the wine’s warm generosity. Decant it for grilled quail." 

90 Points Wine&Spirits Magazine | "As a young wine it’s a big bruiser, focused [...] black-skinned fruit, with notes of chocolate, anise and black pepper trailing those tannins in the end. Brisk, tough and powerful, this is a mouth-filling red to decant for slow-braised short ribs"

Syrah is a versatile varietal and has the ability to produce great wines in various climates and regions. Styles and profiles vary as you move from the cooler coastal sites towards the warmer interior vineyards. The Foothills based Syrahs are distinctive to the specific region in which they grow. Amador Syrah is typically bigger and rounder than the Fair Play (El Dorado) Syrah grown just up the hill, which tends to be more restrained and rustic in nature while showing pronounced minerality.