Winemaker Notes: This wine is unique in the realm of Tempranillos as it's 100% neutral oak. Usually it's mostly new Oak, especially in the Rioja region where this varietal reigns supreme. Since oak tends to add it's own flavoring this is a fun wine to taste as you can really find all the Tempranillo nuances. It's similar in body to a Cabernet but with more blue fruits rather than red. It tastes great with a variety of foods pairing just as beatifully with pasta and red sauce, steak or a crispy potato chip.

Vineyard: Shake Ridge Ranch is a magical enclave in the Amador County AVA. It is farmed and owned by celebrated viticulturalist Ann Kraemer and her family. The organically farmed vineyard slopes and dives across many different soil configurations with an emphasis on quartz speckled granitic soils. This one-of-kind site produces some of the richest Spanish, Italian and Rhone varietal expressions in California. The viticultarist and owner, Ann Kraemer, is a master in her craft and a true wizard of the vine.

Olivia's Story:

The wine is an homage to Olivia Brion's storied 9,000 mile round trip from Brooklyn to the 1915 World's Fair in San Franicsco. Ever La Vagabonde, Olivia wagered a Harley Davidson Model 11F with Alexander Graham Bell in exchange for beating Effie Hotchkiss's current transcontinental motorcycle record (set in August 1915) by October 1915. As proof of her arrived in "The Jewel City" Olivia made the world's second transcontinental phone call, this time from San Francisco to Bell in New York City, to explain -- "Bike is mine Graham, we'll toast my success on the eve of 1916!".

The Inspiration - Effie Hotchkiss:

Olivia’s “Les Vegabondes” adventure is inspired by Effie Hotchkiss, a single professional woman from Brooklyn, New York. Having never left Brooklyn by her early 20s, Effie dreamed of seeing the world. Overstressed at work, she was counseled by a doctor to “...give up all work and take a complete rest.” She bought a motorcycle with money she inherited upon the death of her father and heeded her mother’s advice, as later quoted in an interview with The Harley Davidson Enthusiast of 1916, “Let’s go to California. It’s the furthest place I can think of. We can see the exposition.” That exposition was the 1915 World’s Fair in San Francisco.

The mother-daughter team left Brooklyn on May 2, 1915 on a Harley Davidson Model 11F with side-car combo. Fame was not their intention, Effie stated, “We merely wanted to see America…” Effie dispatched rattlesnakes and coyotes with a handgun, and wove around dirt roads and mountainous routes to become the first transcontinental female motorcyclist in August of 1915.