Epoch Estate Wines

California

York Mountain Viognier

York Mountain

$ USD

Release Price

Drink Window

13.8%

ABV

3.51

pH

5.3

TA

RS

Growing Conditions

Parentage: 100% York Mountain Vineyard

The York Family, Paso wine pioneers and owners of this historic property for more than eighty years, planted vines on this land in 1882, making it one of the first vineyards on the central coast. Despite five name changes, prohibition, and the catastrophic San Simeon Earthquake, York Mountain Winery ran continuously for 119 years, making it one of the longest continuously run wineries in the United States. When we purchased the property in 2010, the site of the York family’s original vineyard was fallow, but we were eager to one day plants vines on these historic soils again.

In the spring of 2015, after much dreaming and planning, we began planting vines at this “cool climate” site (colder than Burgundy). Located just seven miles from the Pacific Ocean at an elevation of 1,500 feet, this property falls in the small 640 acre York Mountain AVA, which is outside of the very large Paso Robles AVA.

The soils and climate are very different than our other two vineyards. The combination of sandstone soils (some areas look like you are on the beach) with a very moderate climate due to the even closer proximity to the Pacific Ocean make this site quite the departure from our Paderewski and Catapult Vineyards. Because of its elevation and distance from the ocean, York Mountain receives more than twice the amount of rainfall as our other vineyards and has characteristic foggy mornings throughout the year with cool breezes all day long.

When deciding what to plant, we wanted to keep with what we know and love best, but we also decided to experiment a bit too. We planted mostly Syrah and Grenache with the hopes of crafting pure varietal expressions of these two Rhône grapes on our very different terroir. In addition, we grow a small amount of Viognier, Roussanne, Zinfandel, and for the first time ever, Cabernet. We love the spice, fresh fruit, and bright acidity York Mountain Vineyard brings out in these varieties.

Bottling

Graduation: Bottled July 14th, 2020

Winemaking

Rearing: Fermented in French oak puncheons (33% new)

Aging

Aged nine months sur lie in French oak puncheon (33% new)

Jordan Fiorentini
After completing her B.A. at Dartmouth College in Engineering Sciences with a minor in Italian Language and as many visual arts classes she could fit into her curriculum, Jordan headed west to Napa Valley to have a fun, new experience as a harvest intern in the Fall of 1999. Winemaking stole Jordan’s heart and in the fall of 2000, she started the Master’s of Science program in Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis.

Her studies and internships brought her to work for renowned wineries such as Araujo Estate in Calistoga, CA and Antinori in Tuscany, Italy, where she met her husband Manu. In 2003, the couple moved to Jordan’s home state of Georgia to join Jordan’s family in their newly established vineyard and winery, Frogtown Cellars, to learn all sides of the business.

After several years in the North Georgia Mountains, Chalk Hill Estate in Healdsburg hired Jordan as the Director of Winemaking in 2007. At Chalk Hill, Jordan rooted herself in California viticulture and ultra-premium winemaking, making a name for herself in the production of estate grown Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay, Bordeaux varietals and Syrah. In 2010, after an extensive international search, Epoch owners, Bill and Liz Armstrong, found their dream partner in Jordan Fiorentini.

Passionate, dedicated, and not afraid to push the envelope, Winemaker, Jordan Fiorentini, brings an enthusiastic and experienced spirit to Epoch and now has amassed a plethora of highly regarded wines as well as 12 collector-worthy vintages at Epoch. In addition to writing about each wine, Jordan lets her artistic side shine through drawing visual interpretations of her wines’ palates.

Jordan oversees all the wine and vine decisions along with the day-to-day needs of the winery. Alongside her staff of four, she works tirelessly to ensure every bottle of Epoch is always at its best. She has been fortunate enough to receive many outstanding accolades during her tenure at Epoch. Most recently, Jordan was peer-nominated 2021 Winemaker of The Year for San Luis Obispo County.
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