My introduction to Amador County came as a harvest intern at Montevina (Terra de Oro today) in 1979. Upon graduating from UC Davis a year later, I returned to Montevina as an enologist. One of the attractions that drew me back to the Sierra Foothills was the diverse collection of grapes that Cary Gott, Montevina’s winemaker, had introduced to Amador. Cary was the first to plant Barbera in Amador in 1974 and alongside the Barbera was a row of Nebbiolo. Cary had a great friendship with Sacramento wine merchant, Darrel Corti and Darrel provided Cary with some cuttings of Sangiovese from one of his favorite producers in Tuscany. It was those nine cuttings that provided the source material for the Pioneer Hill Sangiovese vineyard.
In Italy, Sangiovese is the most widely planted red grape representing almost ten percent of all of Italy’s acreage. It is recommended or authorized in more than half of Italy’s wine regions. It produces some of Italy’s most prestigious wines, most notably Chianti and Brunello Di Montalcino. The clone that Darrel provided Cary is a member of the Sangiovese Grosso grouping, and as such our wines tend to have deeper color, a richer more intense flavor and usually a tad more alcohol than the average Sangiovese.
