The Shenandoah Valley: nestled in the Sierra Nevada Foothills is a beautiful valley of rolling hills and meandering streams. This majestic place is where gold was discovered back in the 1850's. Italian farmers came to this valley during the Gold Rush with the precious grapes of their homeland. Some of these 100+ year-old vines are still producing in Amador County- California's oldest red grape growing region. My wife, Maggie and I fell in love with the region when we began our search for "Grape land" eighteen years ago. We were lucky to find and procure 40 luscious acres of land in the Shenandoah Valley, and I started to fulfill my dream of becoming a premier wine grape grower. With the help of UC Davis courses in viticulture and enology, I learned what was needed in order to produce excellent grapes. Soon after I bought the land, I planted Zinfandel, Syrah, Barbera and Viognier grapes. I have combined the latest growing techniques with "TLC" to produce consistent, high quality grapes for excellent wines. We are excited about sharing our wines with new and old friends and hope you will try some Wilderotter Wines.

Fast forward to 1999...

After 6 years of selling grapes to local wineries and tasting the magnificent finished product, the time came for Wilderotter Vineyard to become Wilderotter Vineyard and Winery. Working with consultants, I started slow and fermented only 3 barrels each of Zinfandel and Syrah from the 2001 harvest. In the Summer of 2003 my first vintage was in bottle and for sale. But where? I had no tasting room, no distributors, and no wine brokers. I turned to "friends and family" to test my winemaking skills. Sales went well and I quickly sold out. (Every winemakers dream!) With the 2002 harvest, I produced 750 cases of Zin, Syrah, Viognier, and Roussanne. All quickly sold out! Wilderotter Winery is still growing with hopes of reaching 2000 cases by the 2006 harvest. A beautifully constructed tasting room, distributors in the New York and Phoenix areas, a broker in Sacramento, and an ever increasing Wine Club list have reinforced my decision to grow.

View here our current wine list, and you can purchase by calling (209) 245-6016.