Celebrating the New Wines!

After a successful inaugural harvest at our new solar powered winery at our Stoney Creek Vineyard in Fair Play, we are happily looking after our first estate grown and produced wines from the 2010 vintage. 

 
Our New Releases

The first wines from the 2009 vintage are sourced from local vineyards throughout El Dorado.  While working closely with our growers to maximize the potential of the fruit from these truly unique vineyards, we were able to take advantage of the excellent growing season marked by moderate temperatures, minimal heat spikes, and no rain until all of the fruit was in the winery. As a whole the reds are more structured, darker and concentrated than their 2008 counterparts, while the whites are more racy and focused with higher natural acidity and lower alcohols.

They include the following:  (click on the name of the wine to learn more!)

• 2009 El Dorado Grenache — 150 Cases Produced ($26)
• 2009 El Dorado Mourvédre — 50 Cases Produced ($24)
• 2009 El Dorado Rosé — 65 Cases Produced ($18)

As always, you can buy them on our website, click here ...

Our Rose is perfect for warm weather, or anytime!

Our 2009 El Dorado Rosé is truly yummy!

Only 65 Cases were produced, and what could be more perfect ... this rosé is comprised predominantly of Grenache with a small amount of Mourvédre making up the balance. 

Crisp and refreshing, this rosé highlights aromas of strawberry and cherry combined with subtle notes of white flowers, orange peel and watermelon. To order, Click Here    ($18)

Mourvedre -Our Inaugural Vintage

Our wonderful inaugural vintage of Mourvedre has a unique story:

The 2009 El Dorado Mourvédre (only 50 Cases produced!)  is sourced from a unique site in El Dorado managed by Ron Mansfield.

Our Mourvédre block is perched high above the south fork of the American River on a terraced hillside carved out of well-draining yellow gravel and sandstone soils. 
This medium bodied wine offers aromatics of red and black fruits coupled with tobacco, anise, forest floor, leather, and dried meats. To order, Click Here   ($24)

Compare and Contrast: the 2009 El Dorado Grenache is the Best of Two Vineyards!

We only produced 150 cases of our 2009 El Dorado Grenache, and it is a rare beauty!

This is our 2nd Grenache bottling,  derived from two vineyards that bring contrasting characteristics to the wine.

• The Sumu Kaw vineyard contributes elegance, nuance, and acidity
• The Fenaughty vineyard brings fruit, structure, and concentration. 

The resulting wine is fruit driven at its core with aromas of dark cherry, rhubarb pie, and Chambord complemented with hints of dried herbs and holiday spices. This medium bodied wine integrates supple fruit tannins and fresh acidity with a full mouth-coating texture that dominates the palate. To order, Click Here   ($26)

Turkey Day and Family Feasts: Skinner Wines Will Enliven the Meal !

Turkey Day is almost upon us, and Skinner Vineyards has wine pairing suggestions for your dinner table.   We’ll make it brief since we know you have a lot of buying, cooking and family entertainment plans to do, but here’s what you’ll want to get now.   Go to the sales page at on our website (click here!)   or stop into Wally’s Fine Wine Shop in Los Angeles or Pour House in Truckee, CA.

 

Serve with the Turkey and Fixin’s:

2008 Seven Generations:  the great aromatics and medium body make for a versatile white wine.  It will carry through to be enjoyed with not only the turkey, but also the stuffing and other fixin’s.  It’s our blend of 46% Roussanne, 29% Marsanne, and 25% Viognier sourced from three high-elevation vineyards in El Dorado.  $26.00/bottle  To learn more, go directly to our tasting notes, click HERE. 

2008 Grenache: Our winemaker Chris Pittenger says that this wine is “ drinking great at the moment and would be an ideal turkey pairing.“   Since he knows what he’s talking about, we want to give you the opportunity to snap this up while there is still some available.  Straight from our website, these details: This Grenache is sourced from a warm ridgetop vineyard that lies at an elevation of 2,850 feet. The wine exhibits aromatics of red cherry, rhubarb, and strawberry jam combined with hints of warm Christmas spices and wet rock. Its supple tannins and mouth-coating texture lead to a dry finish with bright acidity.    $28/bottle.   To buy it from our website, click HERE  

 

With Dessert:

2008 Seven Generations is going to be terrific with apple and pumpkin pie too, or any dessert with a spiciness.  This versatile while wine has great aromatics and medium body.  It’s our blend of a blend of 46% Roussanne, 29% Marsanne, and 25% Viognier.  We sourced the fruit from three high-elevation vineyards in El Dorado County.  $26.00/bottle  To learn more, go directly to our tasting notes, click HERE.

WHERE TO BUY:

THE POUR HOUSE is located at 10075 Jibboom St in Truckee; phone is (530) 550-9664.    www.thepourhousetruckee.com

WALLY'S FINE WINES is located at 2107 Westwood Boulevard in Los Angeles; phone is (310) 475-0606. www.wallywine.com

IMAGES:

Turkey image courtesy www.whatscookingamerica.net

Pumpkin pie image courtesy of www.idahofergusonfamily.blogspot.com.    (Your blogger gained weight just looking at the yummy recipes on that site!)

Apple pie image courtesy of www.lovealiz.files.wordpress.com  (Oh these wonderful cooks who share goodies in the blogosphere.  Oh my waistline!)

Roy Tuscany, Winner of Skinner Wines at Auction, Thrilled with his Score!

Roy Tuscany is Executive Director of the High Fives Foundation, a Tahoe-based non-profit organization dedicated to raising money and awareness for athletes who have suffered a life-altering injury while pursuing their dream in the winter action sports community.   Roy bid on a "lot" of Skinner Vineyards wines that were donated for the Wines for Wheels charity event held in mid-September at Plumpjack's in Squaw Valley.

"I purchased the lot of Skinner Wines as a community service gesture, but I am thrilled with them.  The Red Wine had an aroma that made me anxious to try the wine and see if it would deliver, and it was just terrific on the palate. I served 3 of bottles at recent dinner party and I was the hit of the party because of the wine," said Roy. 

Another fan!

We love our fellow bloggers!

Stacy De Fino of WinoBee is "looking forward to tasting the wines as they come to life,"  she told her followers on November 4.   You can see her blogpost here:  http://winobee.blogspot.com/2010/11/buzz-skinner-vineyards-announces-estate.html  but we are so pleased that she likes what is going on that we are reprinting it here for you below. 

Thanks Stacy!