|
AUGUST 2004
PRESS RELEASE:
Narrow Gate Vineyards
Placerville
,
California
Contact:
Teena Hildebrand, owner
530-409-6265
Announcing the long awaited opening of
El Dorado
County
’s newest El
DôRhone™ winery*, Narrow Gate
Vineyards. Located in the
“heart” of the El Dorado appellation, Narrow Gate Vineyards reflect the
natural beauty of the Sierra foothills landscape – set deep into a hill,
amidst a stand of half century old Ponderosa Pines and surrounded by rocky
slopes composed of the diverse soil types that have made El Dorado County one of
the fastest wine growing regions in California.
Frank Hildebrand, Narrow Gate’s winemaker and owner,
believes that the
Pleasant
Valley
area is ideal for growing the celebrated
varietals of the region, Zinfandel & Cabernet Sauvignon, and especially
French Rhone varietals: Syrah,
Grenache, Mourvedre, Roussanne, & Viognier.
“The beautiful Zins, Cabs, and Rhône-style wines produced by my two
neighbor wineries, Holly’s Hill and
Sierra Vista
, are what attracted me to this very area.”
In 2000, Frank, his wife Teena, and two children packed up their life in
Southern California
and headed for the hills - the Sierra Foothills,
that is.
Currently, the
Hildebrands farm 12 acres of wine grapes. “I
don’t know what I would do without great friends and family – they seem to
come and help just when I need them most!” Frank said.
Four years later they are able to share the fruits of their labor.
Enter through the old barn wood doors into the romantic, candle-lit, and
subdued setting of the cellar. Taste
their first vintage among the barrels and hear their story firsthand.
You can usually find one or both of them pouring. Their
first wines are two whites: 2003 El
Dorado Chardonnay and Estate Viognier/Roussanne blend, and 3 reds:
2003 El Dorado Zinfandel, Syrah and a Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah blend. As
their vineyards mature you can look forward to additional Grenache based
Rhone
style blends.
In hindsight, the Hildebrands have been preparing for
this venture for years. A graduate of UC Davis, Frank has been making wine
for over 7 years while attending UC Davis’ enology extension courses.
Teena is a graduate of the
University
of
Colorado
business school and majored in Marketing.
Both wound up in the fashion industry for over 20 years and 15 years
respectively. Frequent travels to
New York
and other major
US
cities allowed them to “wine and dine” at top restaurants –
feeding their interest and enthusiasm to someday have their own winery.
Almost all of their vacations were spent in either
California
or the
Pacific Northwest
wine regions.
Finally, in the summer of 1991 they traveled to
Italy
and in ’95 to
France
. Intent
on learning all they could about these historical European wine growing regions
both trips proved very productive – but not exactly in the way they expected:
daughter Gina was born in ’92 and son Frank Jr. in ’96!
Nonetheless, their vineyards and winery are clearly a result of years of
passionately pursuing the art of growing and making wine and, like their
neighbor wineries they are hoping that one day their children will take the
reins.
Located
approximately 6 miles south of the town of
Placerville
, at
4282 Pleasant Valley Road
, ¼ mile east of
Newtown Rd.
and just 2 miles from both Sierra Vista Winery
and Holly’s Hill Vineyards. Open
Friday & Saturday
10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
and Sunday 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. Please call for
information or directions: 530-644-6201 or check out their website at www.Narrowgatevineyards.com.
The winery is closed Easter & Christmas. Email:
Narrowgate@prodigy.net.
El
DôRhone™ Wineries* include Sierra
Vista, Holly’s Hill and Narrow Gate Vineyards – all pursuing excellence and
quality standards in both the vineyard and cellar with regards to producing
French Rhône varietals and blends.
|