Patianna Organic Vineyards

Oregon lumberman Barney Fetzer moved his family to Mendocino County in the 1970s and eventually all 11 children of Barney and Kathleen Fetzer were involved in the family wine business. When the eldest, John Fetzer, eventually made the decision to sell the company to Brown Forman of Louisville, many of the family members took their share of the proceeds and invested in the wine business. Among them was Patti Fetzer Burke, who has a 126-acre vineyard project adjacent to the Russian River in Mendocino County.

The project, called Patiana Organic Vineyards, was founded on the concept of organic farming that has been followed by her brothers in other offshoot projects of Fetzer Vineyards. (Included are some biodynamic farms.) Located in Mendocino County, Patti’s project is cool enough to make superb cool-climate red wines, but the most explosive wine in the line is this handsome Sauvignon Blanc.

To make the wine, Patti hired former Kenwood wine maker Mike Lee, who set a standard for Sauvignon Blanc while at the Sonoma County property. This is a superb and stylish wine with melon and pine notes and richly flavored fruit in the mid-palate. The wine is dry, but so succulent you’d swear there is a trace of residual sugar.

Reviewed April 10, 2007 by Dan Berger.