Onesta Grenache Blanc 2012
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Her desire to learn more about winemaking has taken her around the globe. To gain essential winemaking experience in a short time, Jillian traveled to the southern hemisphere to work an additional harvest each year. For three years she traveled south to learn how to work with different varieties and observe different winemaking styles. She did internships in McLaren Vale (South Australia), Margaret River (Western Australia), and Stellenbosch (South Africa). Syrah quickly became her deepest passion and she returned to Bonny Doon as Associate Winemaker in 2005, focusing her talents on the Rhone varieties that the Dooner is known for. She played a major role in the transition to biodynamic winemaking at Bonny Doon.
Now a truly seasoned winemaker, Jillian has started her own passion project, Onesta. She is an artist with a scientific mind. Her artistic expression is manifested in her wines. Jillian believes life should be filled with family, good friends and adventure. Life is short, life by truth and honesty and you will always find peace and happiness. Connect with the people in your life and enjoy wine on a regular basis. Her wines are a library of her life and each year tells a different story and adventure.
Producing full-bodied white wines, Grenache Blanc can be unctuous and soft or floral and fresh. Some of the finest examples are terroir-driven, age-worthy wines. It is a key ingredient in white Châteauneuf-du-Pape and many white blends across southern France and NE Spain. Somm Secret—Grenache Blanc plays a key role in the vins doux naturels of Rivesaltes and a subsidiary role in those of Banyuls and Maury.
Positioned between the San Francisco Bay and the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the Lodi appellation, while relatively far inland, is able to maintain a classic Mediterranean climate featuring warm, sunny days and cool evenings. This is because the appellation is uniquely situated at the end of the Sacramento River Delta, which brings chilly, afternoon “delta breezes” to the area during the growing season.
Lodi is a premier source of 100+ year old ancient Zinfandel vineyards—some dating back as far as 1888! With low yields of small berries, these heritage vines produce complex and bold wines, concentrated in rich and voluptuous, dark fruit.
But Lodi doesn’t just produce Zinfandel; in fact, the appellation produces high quality wines from over 100 different grape varieties. Among them are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc as well as some of California's more rare and unique grapes. Lodi is recognized as an ideal spot for growing Spanish varieties like Albarino and Tempranillo, Portugese varieties—namely Touriga Nacional—as well as many German, Italian and French varieties.
Soil types vary widely among Lodi’s seven sub-appellations (Cosumnes River, Alta Mesa, Deer Creek Hills, Borden Ranch, Jahant, Clements Hills and Mokelumne River). The eastern hills are clay-based and rocky and in the west, along the Mokelumne and Cosumnes Rivers, sandy and mineral-heavy soils support the majority of Lodi’s century-old own-rooted Zinfandel vineyards. Unique to Lodi are pink Rocklin-Jahant loam soils, mainly found in the Jahant sub-appellation.