Barnum Vineyard is a small family run farm and winery in the Sierra Foothills producing red bucket's award winning wines. We have 69 acres on our homestead vineyard, along with seven sheep, six pigs and an ever changing cast of chickens. Our vines are some of the oldest in El Dorado county and flourish in our well drained soil made up of decomposed granite.
Our first harvest in 2012 was a family and friends affair with everyone pitching in to help gather our grapes into red buckets including our then 2 year old and 4 year old boys. The red bucket tradition continues each year with friends, including our brigade wine club memebers, coming from near and far to help with the harvest.
Drawing on the skills, knowledge and experience of local farmers and winemakers, we let the grapes do most of the talking and don't believe in an overly fussy approach to winemaking. We think it best to let the flavors that are naturally present in the grapes and our soils to shine. We hope that you will enjoy drinking them as much as we have enjoyed making them. Cheers!
Our 2012 Barbera was a silver medal winner in the micro winery category at the California State Fair. This Italian varietal is flourishing in our well drained decomposed granite soil at the homestead. The wine has blackberry and dark cherry notes and is made with grapes from our homestead vineyard. We enjoy drinking it with spicy Italian dishes or lamb chops from our sheep. Check out our other wines here.
Join our family in the foothills for wine tastings, harvest events and sheep shearing calamities by joining the red bucket brigade. Members will receive wine in October, December, March and May and will receive a 20% discount on all bottles and merchandise. Check out the different wine club brigade options. Hope to see you soon. In the meantime cheers!
Christopher is the grape/wine grower behind red bucket wines. His philosophy is to let the grapes shine and allow each vintage to tell the story of its growing year--each with its own unique character. His background as an engineer has helped him learn the ropes from such masters as Bill Naylor, a local vineyard manager, and Marco Cappelli, a winemaker with years of experience in the foothills and Napa. To learn more about the work we do, check out the farm and crew.
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