Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
Growing up in the Sierra Foothills, Scott Harvey’s grandfather owned vineyards in Shenandoah Valley, in Amador County. Dating back to the Gold Rush days, Amador County is one of California’s oldest wine-producing regions. The oldest documented Zinfandel vineyard in California is the 1869 Vineyard where we source the fruit for our prized Vineyard 1869 Old Vine Zinfandel.
Located in the Sierra Foothills, Amador County vineyards are centered around Shenandoah Valley and Fiddletown. Composed mostly of decomposed granite and reddish volcanic soils, elevations range from 1,200 to 2,000 feet. This “mountain fruit” provides better acid and tannin structure to Zinfandel, Barbera and Syrah than lower elevation growing regions and helps us make complex, elegant wines that are not overly ripe and pair well with food.
While Amador has the same granitic foothill geography as the Piemonte region in Italy, it benefits from more sun. Scott believes this makes it the best place on the planet to produce “World Class” Barbera.
Considered an Amador County “Pioneer”, Scott began his winemaking career as an apprentice at Montevina. He went on to study winemaking in Germany, returning to Amador as head winemaker at Story Winery. After roles as Winemaker/General Manager at Santino and Renwood Wineries, Scott became a partner, winemaker, and the President of Folie a Deux Winery in Napa Valley where he created “Ménage a Trois”.
In 2004, when the Folie a Deux Winery was sold to the Trinchero Family, Scott moved back to Amador to start his own winery with his wife, Jana, a wine industry veteran. Throughout his time in Napa Valley, Scott continually maintained his passion for Amador County wines and keeping his close relationships with premier Amador County growers.
Today the winery focuses on Zinfandel, Barbera and Syrah from the Amador area, along with a few smaller bottlings of Napa, Lake County and Mendocino wines.