After decades of living in the shadows of California’s coastal viticultural regions, the Sierra Foothills AVA is now drawing increasing attention for the quality potential and distinctive regional character of its wines. A new generation of winemakers, with levels of expertise rarely seen in this area in the past, is moving in and raising the quality bar. Andis Wines, founded only in 2010, has 20 acres of estate vineyards adjacent to the winery in the Shenandoah Valley.
In addition to their own production, they buy top-level old-vine fruit from nearby growers. In coordination with the Atelier Melka winemaking team of Phillipe Melka and Mayaan Koschitsky, winemaker Mark Fowler handles day-to-day winemaking operations and vineyard management. The main varietals of Zinfandel, Barbera, and Petite Sirah are all elegantly built and stand in opposition to the kind of overripe, heavy-handed wines that have typified the Foothills wines of the past.
