Resting  on the banks of the Truckee River in an old turn of the century red barn, lies the Truckee River Winery.  The small winery owned and operated by Russ and Joan Jones make some truly great wines.  It’s more than just a curiosity, Russ is a serious wine maker graduating from UC Davis in enology and opening the winery in 1989. Russ’s wines are made by hand in small batches by the open fermentation method.  Reds are aged  in French oak barrels.

    

 

  Interestingly, as most wineries are concerned with keeping the wines cool, Russ needs to be careful with warming the winery in the cold Truckee winters.  Surprisingly, Truckee is not as harsh an area to make wines as you might imagine, since heat is only needed when temperatures reach around zero degrees outside.   Russ is assisted by his wife, Joan, who he calls his cellar rat.  However, I’ve never heard him addresses her that way in public.   Truckee River Winery makes 4 wines, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc and a mellow, soft Merlot.

 

Many of Russ’s grapes come from Gary’s Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey County.  His Pinot Noir is made from these special grapes.  It is believed that the closeness to the ocean brings cool nights while it’s closeness to the valley brings daily heat that seems to bring out the special flavor his Pinot’s are known for.

 

 Meeting Russ, you feel that this man loves his work.  His wines are all hand made and carefully brought to maturity by his experienced hands.  In this day of machines and huge fermenting tanks, it’s heart warming to experience wines made in the old, time honored fashion.  When drinking a glass of Russ’s wines you are truly tasting the result a man who has put his heart into his work and the flavor of his wines bare witness to this. There just seems to be a certain something that is hard to identify but, needs yet just another glass.  His wines can be found on the menus of most restaurants in Truckee and Lake Tahoe as well as, “Florian’s Fine Wines” in Truckee.

 

You are invited to learn more about these fine wines and the wine making process at truckeeriverwinery.com or you may call Russ, or Joan at 530-587-4626.  They’d love to hear from you.

 

                                                            Don Schaller

                                                            Broker/Owner

                                                            Schaller Family Realtors

                                                            Dickson Realty, Truckee

                                                            dschaller@suddenlink.net