TERMINIM is a collaboration between François Villard (Domaine François Villard – Northern Rhône Valley, France) and Donald Patz (Maritana Vineyards – Russian River Valley; Secret Door Winery – Napa Valley). We have selected the Alder Springs Vineyard in Mendocino to be the source for our wines. The unique location and microclimate found at Alder Springs Vineyard gives us grapes that best fit with the vision for Terminim wines. The resulting wines from this collaboration have already shown great promise and the future will hold even greater wines to come.
As the team becomes more familiar with the character of Alder Springs Vineyard as experienced through these grape varieties there is no doubt that the wines will evolve. We all look forward to sharing these wines with you and your friends for many years to come.
Cépages d’Or
Meaning “Grapes of Gold” – is a white blend of Marsanne, Roussanne, Picpoul Blanc and Viognier. Depending upon the year this blend may vary somewhat but 54%, 22%, 12%, 12% respectively has been the blend in 2018 and 2019. Each grape adds to the overall complexity and delivers something important to the final wine. The goal is a white wine that echoes the characters of the great Rhône Valley whites but is distinctly California in nature. We prize great depth along with crispness and a refreshing character in our wines.
Syrah
The quintessential red grape variety of the Northern Rhône Valley in France also does very well in California. At Alder Springs Vineyard we have worked closely with owner/grape grower Stuart Bewley to access Syrah from several clones and particularly from his “Spirit Rock” location. This is 100% Syrah. François Villard and Donald Patz were determined to make a wine of elegance and finesse utilizing the Syrah grapes from Alder Springs Vineyard. A very gentle extraction process, somewhat lower sugar levels and careful barrel aging have produced a Syrah unlike any other in California.
Other varietals
In the unusual year of 2020 with the challenges of wildfires and potential for smoke impacting the aromas/flavors of the grapes TERMINIM only produced a single barrel of Viognier. This wine will be bottled separately. Whether or not Viognier as a stand-alone variety will be available in the future or not is yet to be determined.