Sierra Foothills _ Wine Region of the Day

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Photo of the Sierra Foothills by David Toomey for Qorkz

Photo of the Sierra Foothills by David Toomey for Qorkz

The Sierra Foothills received their designation as an AVA in 1987. Situated on 2,600,000 acres, The Sierra Foothills includes sub-appellations California Shenandoah Valley, El Dorado, Fair Play, Fiddletown, and North Yuba. The Sierra Foothills features a mostly volcanic soil structure, but also has regions of loam and alluvial fans. The climate in the region is Mediterranean due to the warm days and cooler evenings. The region is famous for first being settled during the California gold rush, with vines of Zinfandel being planted soon thereafter. Prohibition devastated the region's wine growing efforts, but many of the vines were just abandoned in place instead of destroyed. Many of these vines still survive today, giving the Sierra Foothills some of the oldest Zinfandel vines in the country.