About Fogarty
Few wine regions on earth can match Santa Cruz Mountains’ climates, soils and vertigo-inspiring views. Set high in the mountains overlooking California’s Silicon Valley, the Thomas Fogarty winery has been making single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet from the SCM appellation since 1981. Fogarty’s two estates are divided into micro-vineyards, ranging from .25 to 5.25 acres, based on soil and topography. All are maritime (12-18 miles to Pacific), cool-climate (Regions I and II), high-elevation (1600-2300 feet), low yielding (1-3 tons per acre) and mountainous. The winery was founded by Dr. Thomas Fogarty, a Stanford cardiovascular surgeon and world-renowned inventor.

Vintage
2007 is rounding out to be one of our most successful years! The 2007 vintage was marked by numerous days of frightening weather. But, just when things seemed lost, a warm Indian summer came to the rescue and produced a small crop of fully ripe, incredibly intense fruit. What an amazing vintage!

Vineyards
Dick Martella, Winemaker Michael Martella’s brother, farms our Barbera at his mountain vineyard in the Fiddletown AVA. The red soils and warm weather seem to be well suited for this Piedmont variety.

Winemaking
After de-stemming our Barbera to tank we allow the must to soak for 24 hours, at this point we saignée the tank, removing a small portion of the juice from the skins. This juice was then racked to older French oak. Fermentation was long and cold, preserving freshness. We stirred the lees every other week to add some flesh to the naturally steely frame of Barbera acidity. After partial malolactic fermentation the wine was racked out of barrel to stainless steel tank.

Tasting Notes
Bright Strawberry, fresh herbs and rose highlight the nose of the bright and refreshing rose. Barbera holds it’s acidity, even in warm climates like Fiddletown, very well. The laser like palate is fleshed out with more strawberry and herb flavors. This wine will be a fantastic addition to the table for your late summer and early fall barbeques. This wine begs for food, the more flavorful the better. This wine may throw a light layer of tartrate crystals in the bottom of the bottle. These are harmless and the result of natural, non-interventionist winemaking. Simply pour the wine off leaving the crystals in the bottom of the bottle and enjoy!

TECHNICAL DATA:

APPELATION
Fiddletown

VINEYARD
100% Oleta Vineyard

ELEVATION
1000 feet

WINEMAKER
Michael Martella

Finished alcohol: 14.1% ABV
Acid/pH: .712 / 3.29
Total production: 70 cases
California suggested retail: $23.00