1850 Wine Cellar, Sutter Creek ...new California style wines in historic Gold Country

The 1850 line of wines is a convergence of historical California and a new outlook on wine. The yellow old-town building is representative of the area's historic past. The 1850 label is iconic Californian and hip at the same time.

1850 Wines is one of the diverse brands under the Goldline Brand of wines. Mark Wooldridge, Chief Operations Officer talked with me about Goldline. He said they “like to over deliver in the bottle.” CEO Paul Haley has a background in international food and wine distribution, international operations, consulting in agriculture and beyond. The group commissioned someone in the industry to research all of the California AVA's to see which area can produce world class wines.

After initiating a research project that took into consideration many factors such as soil, fallow land vs. land currently producing grapes, production sites, land values, ease of access and transportation, which varietals grow best and where, and even cost of bottles and materials... well, the conclusion on all quality parameters was the El Dorado County region!

The soils, climate, and terrain are conducive to Rhone and Bordeaux varietals. Amador and El Dorado County get plenty of daytime heat. The evenings cool off enough to keep the grapes from over ripening, as compared to the Sonora area which tends to stay warmer and produces wines that may be sweeter, heavier, and higher in alcohol. Which wines you gravitate towards, all depends on your style preference.

Mark said, “You can grow great fruit up here if you really pay attention. And with a great winemaker, you can make terrific wines.” With that vision, Goldline hired Mica Raas from Santa Cruz as VP of Production and Winemaking. They moved him up to the region two years ago after extending to him an offer many winemakers dream of...You make the wine and we, Goldline, will oversee the distribution, marketing, the tasting rooms and guests services.

Now Mica makes all the wines for Goldline. He oversees the vineyard development and the quality of grapes. The new 16,000' winemaking facility and lab in Diamond Springs is exclusively for production. Mica can truly focus on the quality and consistency of the wines and do what he does best: produce amazing wines.

Goldline Brand offers different brands of wines for tasters, and each line is unique.

• In the 1850 collection, look for Reisling, Viognier, Zinfandel, Grenache, Syrah, and Cabernet, to name a few.
• The Goldline labeled wines offers Chardonnay from Carneros.
• Myka wines are under the winemaker's own label. The 2015 Myka Cellars White Label Mitzi Chardonnay is one of the best $15 Chards I've tried. Fresh, yet has body.
• Their Coast brand offers an economical Merlot and Chard from Lodi at $9. each. Geared for restaurants and bulk sales.
• The newest addition will be the Mediterranean line of wines, with a tasting room scheduled to open this summer in Fair Play. There will be a food component, featuring Mediterranean varietals with a California influence. I happened to drive by the site while tasting the other week!
  
• To visit 1850 and to see Goldline's other brands, visit their site (link.)
  

The goal of the 1850 brand is to showcase California winemaking at its best,
with wines made from local El Dorado and Amador County fruit.
It's a big state, but there's a great value-to-product to this region.

When visiting, one can't help notice a tremendous momentum in the wine industry.
There's a passion and desire to highlight the Amador and El Dorado County regions
as premier wine destinations.
That seems to be the theme of many people in the wine industry up here,
and I think they're onto something!

Whether you're tasting wines from new winemakers on the scene,
or historic wineries, here's to your jaunt.

Shondra
For another look at Gold Country wines, here's a read on the El Dorado region.