by Fred McMillin
for September 2000

The Foothills Versus the Coast...
Their White Wines

Prologue

"East from the state capital of Sacramento rise the foothills of the mighty Sierra Nevada...The Foothills are best known for their Zinfandels, but other varieties such as Barbera, Sangiovese, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are cultivated with growing success."

...Stephen Brook's The Wines of California

The Rest of the Story

Note that all the varieties mentioned produce red wines. Our past tastings have shown that those Foothill reds compete well with their Napa-Sonoma counterparts of the same price. That is, a $15 Amador County Zinfandel generally scores about as well as a $15 Dry Creek Valley Zin (Sonoma County).

We got to wondering about the white wine situation; at the same price, which will win in a blind tasting? Hence, we put together seven pair and here are the winners, the highest-rated wine listed last.

The Twelve Winners

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