MARCO S. CAPPELLI
I became interested in wine in a most genial way: through a college girlfriend, whose roommate was an enology student. During our first year in the dorms we made wine together from diluted honey. Seeing the transformation that took place during fermentation got me hooked. I took the next fall quarter off from school and worked at the Louis Martini Winery in St. Helena. What an experience, tons of grapes rolling in, being crushed, fermented and pressed! All the sights, smells and flavors! It was the most exciting thing I had ever experienced.
I returned to U.C. Davis, acquired my B.S. in Enology in 1984 and took off to Europe for more practical training, one year in Italy and six months in France. While Davis had given me a solid theoretical foundation in winemaking, Europe helped refine my palate and gave me a deeper understanding of what wine is and how to enjoy it. I learned in Italy that wine is food, as important a part of the daily meal as bread and pasta. France taught me to recognize how soil, climate and human factors influence the character and personality of wine.
I came back to the States in January of 1986, ready to embark on a winemaking career in Napa Valley. I landed my first job at Saintsbury Winery in Carneros as a cellar worker and soon had the good fortune to meet and become friends with Andre Tchelistcheff. It was Andre who, one year later, introduced me to Clarke Swanson.
In March of 1987, Clarke took a chance and hired me, an inexperienced twenty six year old, to make wine for Swanson Winery. Andre provided the winemaking expertise and Clarke the patience to get me through the first few years.
My 40th birthday came in 2001, and brought with it a desire to start something of my own. In April of 2002 I purchased a 42 acre property in the Fair Play region of El Dorado County. The property was planted in the late 1970’s by Beverly and Frank Herbert, and had 12 acres of producing vineyard. In June of 2004, after 17 great years, I left full time employment at Swanson Vineyards and moved to Fair Play into the house built by Frank and Beverly.
Once fully installed on my property, I realized that grape-growing is tough work, and not very financially rewarding. To provide me with some financial stability, I began consulting for a few local wineries, and now work with half a dozen little wineries in the foothills, from Grass Valley to Murphys.
For the last three years I have been selling the Zinfandel and Syrah fruit from my vineyard to local wineries with the hope of learning more about the ‘terroir’ of the site and of understanding the personality of the grapes. I will begin making wine for myself in 2006.
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VINEYARD
In the late 1970’s Frank and Beverly Herbert moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to El Dorado County, with the aim to retire into the wine industry. They purchased 42 acres on a ridge between the north and middle forks of the Cosumnes River, built a house and planted 12 acres of vines. Within a few years, they had begun making remarkable wines.
When I purchased the property from Beverly in 2002, the vineyard was comprised of 3 acres of Sauvignon Blanc, 3 acres of Syrah, and 6 acres of Zinfandel. After the first few harvests, I realized that the Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah blocks were yielding too little to be economically viable. Over the last few years I have replanted them with more Syrah and Petite Sirah. Next year I will plant an acre each of Roussanne and Viognier.
The vines are planted on both sides of a little draw on the south side of the property. About half of the planted acres are north-facing and the other half face south. The soil is typical of the Fair Play region, decomposed granite. It provides excellent drainage, with enough organic material to give the vines the nutrients they need to produce great quality fruit.
While the summer days in Fair Play can be quite hot, often near 100 degrees, the nights are generally cool with a gentle down draft from higher elevations. By September the days are cooler and the nights become downright chilly. This allows the fruit to slowly achieve full ripeness and maintain good acid structure.
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