Why unusual varietals like Schiopelot and Torrontés thrive in this Sacramento-area wine region

El Dorado County wineries are best known for familiar favorite reds, including zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon and petite sirah. Yet the growing region around Placerville, Fair Play and Somerset is uniquely suited for scarcely-seen varietals that casual drinkers may never have tried.

Five miles northeast of Somerset, Miraflores Winery’s Primitivo grapes are cloned from the same vines as its zinfandel, but grown and processed separately to bring out their minute differences. Plymouth winery Andis Wines grows Schioppettino, a northeastern Italian variety rarely seen outside the country, to be combined with Cinsaut for a light red “Schiopelot.”

Lewis Grace Winery saw its 2023 Torrontés (a tropical fruit-forward Argentinian white) win gold at last year’s San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Its neighbor, Madroña Vineyards, used a hilly vineyard to grow grapes for its 2019 Nebbiolo, a bold, tannic Italian red rarely seen outside the Piedmont region. As with most area wines, bottles of these rare birds fall somewhere between $25 and $40.

Two wineries lean into rare varieties the most: Boeger Winery, the regional giant that will celebrate its 53rd anniversary this year, and nearby Starfield Vineyards & Winery, which father-son duo Tom and Rob Sinton founded in 2011.

Drinkers will find the medium-bodied red Charbono at Boeger, along with a Rioja-inspired hybrid blend of Tempranillo and Graciano they call Milagro. Starfield has bottles of Vermentino (a light-bodied white), Marsanne (“lively and refreshing with a touch of creaminess,” according to its website) and southern Italy’s Aglianico, sometimes called “the Barolo of the south.”

The El Dorado AVA ranges from 1,200 to 3,500 feet above sea level, with most grapes grown at around 2,000 to 2,800 feet, Rob Sinton said. They’re produced in the foothills’ volcanic, acidic soils left behind after the formation of the Sierra Nevada range pushed the most fertile dirt down into Napa and Lodi.

Those geographic factors, combined with shifting winds and cooler nighttime temperatures during the summer, result in wines that can lack some depth of color but have vibrant noses, Sinton said.

“There’s very little comparison for fresh, bright and intense aromatic wines in California,” Sinton said. “I think El Dorado probably has the lock on that, in my opinion.”

El Dorado County growers can easily run small-scale grape experiments thanks to region’s wealth of microclimates, said Chuck Mansfield, general manager at his family’s Goldbud Farms in Apple Hill. A hillside slope’s direction and steepness impact the grapes more the higher one goes, Mansfield said.

With vineyards spanning the El Dorado AVA’s full range of elevations and hillsides in all directions, Goldbud can test what might work without devoting too much space or resources. Paso Robles winery Tablas Creek Vineyard helped Goldbud start growing Vaccarèse and Terret noir, dark red Rhone grapes that have become rare even in France; the two businesses may be the only ones in California growing them today.

While Goldbud Farms sells some grapes to El Dorado County wineries such as Lava Cap and Holly’s Hill, more than half go to producers in the North Bay. Goldbud Farms’ Barsotti vineyard can get as cold as a foggy day on the Sonoma coast, Mansfield said.

“People think that we’re in the interior of the state and we’re going to be a hot region. That really couldn’t be further from the truth,” Mansfield said. “And so we’re able to execute on a lot of these really unique white varieties and lighter reds.”

What I’m Eating

Colorful paper lanterns, Dodgers paraphernalia and a print of Frida Kahlo decorate Pupuseria La Familiar, Ruben Rugerio and Elva Polanco’s Salvadoran-Mexican restaurant in south Sacramento. Located next to a liquor store in a Florin Road strip mall, it’s short of frills but long on charm - and hours.

Pupuseria La Familiar is open for huevos rancheros breakfasts through chicken fajita dinners, plus catering gigs off-site. Customers order at the orange counter before settling in at one of the five tables, soon to be joined by a complimentary plate of tortilla chips, beans and salsa.

The 17 varieties of pupusas ($4-$5 depending on filling) are made with dense, chewy masa and grilled on a flat-top until their cheesy interior liquefies. My favorite was the nopales, studded with slippery cactus meat and served with red salsa and the ubiquitous Salvadoran pickled slaw curtido.

Pupuseria La Familiar also has seven soup season-appropriate options, starting with caldo de res ($16). Purple-tinted beef shanks stood out from the surrounding cabbage, potatoes, carrots and zucchini in the Mexican soup’s pleasantly vegetal broth.

The plato de carne asada Salvadoreña ($19) combination plate is the rare Pupuseria La Familiar dish accompanied by more than plastic cutlery. A steak knife slices through a thin, marinated strip of beef, plated alongside rice, refried beans, a salad, a slab of queso fresco and a snarled swirl of tangy chorizo.

Pupuseria La Familiar

Address: 8164 Florin Road, Suite D, Sacramento

Hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Sunday

Phone: 916-386-0982

Website: pupuseria-lafamiliar.com

Drinks: Sodas, Mexican beers and aguas frescas

Vegetarian options: Pupusa fillings including spinach, cactus, mushrooms and potatoes, along with a few larger plates

Noise level: Loud

Outdoor seating: None

Openings & Closings

▪ Billy Ngo and Tyler Bond’s much-awaited contemporary Asian restaurant, Chu Mai, opened Monday at 1829 17th St. The name pays tribute to Ngo’s late mother Mai Chu, with items such as a rotating fish crudo and filet mignon in bò kho (a spicy Vietnamese soup) jus.

▪ Tomo Noodles & Dumplings is in its soft opening phase at 3230 Arena Blvd. in North Natomas’ Market West shopping center. The snack shop and restaurant has a build-your-own instant ramen bar, plus shumai, boba drinks and a dessert case.

▪ Pho Anh Dao will close its Citrus Heights restaurant on Sunday at 6029 Greenback Lane, owner Tifani Nai Pien announced in a Facebook post. A south Sacramento location in Little Saigon remains open at 6830 Stockton Blvd, Suite 165.