About the winery
In the early 2000s French Hill Winery made wine in Mokelumne Hill, the Gold Rush town in Calaveras County3. Its history page on Web Winery said it took its name from the French trappers who worked these slopes in the 1840s and turned to gold mining in 1845, and that French Hill is one of four hills around the town3. The winery specialized in Italian varieties, following the Italian winemakers who helped start commercial winemaking in the county, and made Barbera, Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Port3.
In May 2001, when it was two years old, winemaker Rod Ruthel's 1999 Sierra Foothills Grand Reserve Barbera won the Chairman's award at the Riverside International Wine Competition, a gold medal and Best of Class at the Los Angeles County Fair, and a gold medal at the Orange County Fair4. "I believe in the quality of grapes here in the foothills," Ruthel said on the winery's 2001 awards page4. In January 2005 MyMotherLode.com reported that Wine Enthusiast had given its 2002 Barbera 92 points, and named Ruthel as the vintner1.
Nearby in Sierra Foothills
- Green Family Winery AuburnNot confirmed
