2015 Keplinger El Diablo

Keplinger, based in Napa Valley, was founded in 2006 by winemaker Helen Keplinger and her husband Douglas Warner, and it has become one of the rising stars among wineries established by a new generation of youthful, innovative winemakers. Keplinger herself has been featured in cover stories in wine journals including Wine Spectator. Keplinger fell in love with Grenache during a sojourn working in a Priorat, Spain, and at her new winemaking enterprise she focuses on Grenache-based and other Rhone-style blends. Keplinger earned a graduate degree in enology at UC Davis and worked in Australia and several regions of California before starting her own venture. She sources grapes from the Sierra Foothills and elsewhere. Along with Grenache, she blends Mourvedre, Syrah, Viognier, and starting in 2012 has made a white blend of Viognier, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc. Wine writer James Laube has noted that “in embracing a handful of Rhone Valley grapes, especially Grenache, Keplinger has created captivating and uniquely styled wines that are stretching the boundaries of what has been a Syrah-centric arena among California vintners.”

Sierra Foothills AVA is in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and it includes parts of eight counties. With total acreage of 2.6 million acres, and nearly 6,000 vineyard acres, it is one of the largest appellations in California. Wine grapes were planted in the foothills during the Gold Rush in the mid-19th century and the appellation was officially recognized in 1987. There are five sub-appellations within the Sierra Foothills region, and more than 100 wineries, most small and family-owned. Zinfandel is the most successful wine grape in this region, though Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are also planted.