2011 Gallica Suzuri Series Red

Gallica is an artisanal winemaking project founded, owned and operated by Rosemary Cakebread, one of Napa Valley’s most admired winemakers. Cakebread started her career at Inglenook, then worked briefly in Bordeaux before spending 16 years as winemaker and consulting winemaker at Spottswoode Estate Vineyard. In 2007 she offered her first vintage of Gallica, a Cabernet Sauvignon blended with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Cakebread sources her grapes from growers committed to organic farming and sustainable practices. Gallica refers to the botanical name rosa gallica, a family of sturdy roses admired since antiquity for their fragrance and medicinal qualities. Cakebread also produces Suzuri, a Rhone style blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah Noir and Viognier. Wine Advocate’s reviewer has rated Gallica in the mid-90s and called it “one of my favorite emerging wineries.”

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.

Shake Ridge Ranch