Vermentino 

A white, Italian Varietal. Found most prominently on the Island of Sardinia off the coast of Italy as well as Piedmont in Northern Italy and parts of Tuscany. It is also known as Rolle in Southern France but is less common.

Vermentino produces food friendly, aromatic wines with good acidity. It can be made in a number of styles depending on the region and the producer. In cooler, more coastal climates the flavors lean more toward citrus fruits and are lean, bright and minerally (think Sauvignon Blanc). Grown in warmer, more arid and inland climates the wines tend to have more body, floral aromatics and a range of fruit flavors including stone fruit, melon and potentially more tropical fruits (think Chardonnay/Viognier).

The higher elevation, granite and volcanic based soils and climate of the Sierra Foothills region has proven to be a great fit for the sun loving grape. The many microclimates of the area offer an array of potential styles to be explored. I believe Vermentino has the potential to be one of the very best white varietals for the region as a whole.

Fiddletown of Amador County is a great example with beautiful Red Sierra Sandy Loam soils, warm days and cool nights. It is cooler on average than the Shenandoah Valley just over the ridge to the Northwest. The fruit ripens slowly, which helps maintain higher natural acidity with full flavor development. In a cooler vintage and harvested less ripe the wines will lean toward the cooler climate style while in warmer vintages and harvested slightly riper the wines will reflect that warmer climate style.

Amador Cellars makes the Oleta Vermentino in a very unique way giving them a very interesting style that captures the complexity and provides more texture and structure than typical. The fruit is destemmed and crushed and then left to macerate on the skins for anywhere from 48 to 72 hours prior to pressing. This helps obtain more body, structure and aroma/flavor precursors from the skins. After pressing the wine is fermented in a couple different vessels with varying yeast selection. It is then allowed to go through malo-lactic fermentation resulting in more full bodied wine with a rich, soft, creamy texture. The wine is bottle Unfined and Unfiltered and is often aged for some period of time before being released.