The wine pours with a deep cloudiness that foreshadows the thunderstorm of flavor that's about to follow.

It's a 2009 sauvignon blanc called Prince in His Caves by Scholium Project, a Suisun Valley winery that is redefining and challenging notions of what a wine can taste like. So forget the typical citrus and grassy flavors that you usually find in sauvignon blanc. Take a sip of Prince in His Caves, and you'll find a sauvignon blanc that's amplified into a rich, unctuous mouth feel, with flavors of pineapple and ripe apricot that'll blow back your palate. No wonder Scholium Project founder and winemaker Abe Schoener describes this wine as "savage."

Winemakers rarely come as maverick as Schoener, a former professor of ancient philosophy. And the accolades are following, too. Esquire magazine recently listed Schoener as one of "16 geniuses who give us hope" in its "2010 Best and Brightest" issue.

So in the world of wine, that means partially skin- fermenting the sauvignon blanc – stems, seeds and all – and not fretting over why the wine turns so cloudy. Schoener's embracing of the unpredictable is the antithesis for much of the winemaking world, which would rather play it safe with consumers and aim for year-after-year consistency. Or could that be complacency?

"It's more like having methods in mind, not end results," said Schoener, who recently visited Sacramento to pour his current lineup for local wine professionals. "Maybe the most important thing is: first, balance; then intensity. Other than that, it's wide open."

Schoener, a self-taught winemaker who counts Napa Valley figurehead John Kongsgaard as a mentor, sources some of Scholium Project's key grapes around the Sacramento area. Scholium Project itself is based near Fairfield.

"The conditions are excellent and mimic the Napa Valley," said Schoener, who also gets grapes from the Clarksburg area.

Scholium Project crafts a youthful yet ripe and melon-driven verdelho dubbed Naucratis, with grapes from Lost Slough Vineyard near Interstate 5 and Twin Cities Road. Twelve varieties are grown at this 70-acre vineyard, including a confoundingly creamy gewürztraminer that Scholium Project bottles as Riquewihr, that sits below sea level.

"There are many factors that individually wouldn't work, but it all adds up to make it a good vineyard," said Schoener. "The soils are shallow, the vine spacing's wide so the plant density's low. So that's not good. But it all comes together somehow in the right balance."

Schoener found another key site for verdelho, a white wine grape native to Portugal, in a far northeastern corner of Lodi. The 20-acre vineyard is run by the Bokisch family, who have found that the grapes thrive in hot conditions.

"Nobody understands what's going on in that corner," said Schoener. "It's the rockiest vineyard I've worked with anywhere, but its potential for quality is A-plus, as much as I've worked with anywhere. It's a jaw-dropping hillside vineyard with exposed rocks."

Scholium Project wines sell at retail from about $20 to more than $75 for a decadently rich and nutty chardonnay bottled as The Sylphs. Look for select Scholium Project wines locally at the Wine Consultant in Citrus Heights, at the natural foods co-ops in Sacramento and Davis, and online at www.scholiumwines.com.

The wines are like meals in a glass. Consider Scholium Project's 2008 Gardens of Babylon, a petite sirah-based blend with a whopping 16.2 percent alcohol and so tannic it's like sucking on a mound of grape skins.

The term "food friendly" might as well be a mantra for wineries when making their sales pitch, but how much does Schoener consider food and wine pairings during the winemaking process?

"Not at all," said Schoener. "I think about it later. That doesn't mean it's not a concern, but half of my wines, I wouldn't consume more than one bottle a month. They're too overpowering, and that's fine with me. I'm not making wines for people to drink every day. I want to make striking wines and then see how it fits into a meal."

"It's not that we don't go for nuance or that our wines are extreme," added Schoener. "But in Northern California growing conditions, that's what the vineyards offer. In Lost Slough, that's an example of where the fruit gets ripe three weeks before we pick it. It's not about alcohol, but about flavors and aromas. There's no doubt these wines are intense, but they're not extreme."

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