Day 17
Wine in the Central Valley is good enough to compete with the likes of the bigger named areas of the wine business in this state: Napa, Paso Robles, Monterey, etc. We’ve even garnered attention overseas with the wines that come out of Fresno. If you’ve never known, there are miles and miles of grapevines that are found way out in west Fresno several miles west of the highway 99. With those grapes, naturally come wineries, and a big giveaway that you’re in an area called Chateau Fresno.
Fresno State is the first university in the country that bottle and sold its own wine. You can pick it up almost anywhere local: Save Mart supermarkets, Costco, and also on the campus. This is some world class stuff they have in garnering almost 300 awards and medals in the last 13 years for their product. Their enology (the major of wine and wine making) students work from the beginning of grapes to the finish of corking the bottle and that is something I find fascinating.
In Fresno, there is a hidden gem on the outskirts of west Fresno and that is Engelmann Cellars. Me and a friend would frequent their winery a lot during the summer. They all are so hospitable and will talk for hours about anything wine related or not while you’re getting a taste of their wines. My favorite was their gravel pit Syrah. Pure deliciousness. All the people that work there, including the owner Bret, have had their coursework at Fresno State to study enology. You can find Engelmann Cellars at the cross-streets of Dakota and Rolinda - just look for the gigantic windmill standing tall and erect.
Some places are proud of the coffee beans they produce, some are proud of the beer that they brew, and some proud of their automobiles that come out of their city; I’m proud that we have wine this excellent that people go head-over-heels about.
This is why I love Fresno.
=ryne=
