This classic Northern Rhône inspired wine opens with floral aromatics reminiscent of lavender, violets, cassis and lead pencil. On the palate, it presents focused dark stone fruit, light game and black and white pepper flavors and brisk balancing acidity. Medium bodied with a mineral laden texture, this Syrah pays homage to our heroes in Hermitage and Cornas. Cellar age or decanting will provide rewards should you open the wine over the next few years. It will pair effortlessly with fuller bodied seafood, pasta, fowl and meat. - WINEMAKER NOTES

92% Syrah, 8% Mourvèdre

It started off simply enough. Their original goal was to make a few barrels of wine that we would be proud to drink and serve to friends and family. Once they did so, it immediately became more complicated because the response was overwhelmingly positive. So here they are today, having created a wine label that reflects the types of wines they originally set out to make for themselves, but now make for you. This project has enabled them to pursue many things they love at the same time – making great wines at reasonable prices, conducting themselves with and collaborating with others who share their goal of social and environmental responsibility, engaging in philanthropy, and equestrian pursuits. They pursue all of these avenues surrounded by friends and loved ones and wine is inevitably involved. Key to their mission is supporting local growers and communities and the environment through sharing a percentage of their revenues with causes near and dear to their hearts.
Their aim is to produce elegant, nuanced, balanced, food friendly expressions of cool climate vineyard sites that don’t sacrifice flavor, complexity or intensity. For those wondering about the winery name, the withers is in four legged species the tallest point of the body. For horses, it is the place from which height is measured. They named the winery in the spirit of striving for heights in every aspect of their operation, and as a tribute to Mr.Burgess, the Irish Connemara pony who has been a member of their extended family for almost 15 years. The artwork on the label is an original illustration of Mr. Burgess drawn by a special young woman who has known their family and the horse since her childhood. He is a sensitive and beautiful animal willing to experiment with the many equestrian disciplines, having over time proven to be reliable and expert at every one.

They aim for the same concept in making wine; be unafraid of exploration and pursue heights of excellence across many disciplines, whether red, white or rosé and irrespective of varietal. What they seek in wine, friendships, music, and everything for which they have a passion is something to reach for, something that draws you in because it is not so obvious on its face, yet which intrigues you. Something that with patience yields an end result that builds from the first impression. Something familiar and evocative, yet which leaves you searching for descriptive words. Something soulful. In other words, they seek to produce qualities in their wines that we look for in every corner of their lives. So they embarked on the journey, determined, enthusiastic and hopeful.

This project has been 35 years in the making. Years filled with collecting, sampling, enjoying, learning, and sharing. What they are doing today wouldn’t be possible without help from close friends; extremely talented people about whom they care and who have shared their knowledge, expertise and time. They consider themselves very lucky to know such wonderful people, and to be working with them going forward. Combining a personal passion for wine with the hard work involved in making it for others to enjoy requires a healthy respect for the challenges to being successful and for the process itself. They have that respect, and believe that the most important element will always be working with vineyards which produce the high quality fruit from which every fine wine must come, then letting it speak for itself without attempting to alter its true character. They hope you will take an interest in what they are doing, share your true stories with them, and most of all, enjoy their wines with friends, colleagues, and loved ones!

As home to California’s highest altitude vineyards, El Dorado is also one of its oldest wine growing regions. When gold miners settled here in the late 1800s, many also planted vineyards and made wine to quench its local demand.

By 1870, El Dorado County, as part of the greater Sierra Foothills growing area, was among the largest wine producers in the state, behind only Los Angeles and Sonoma counties. The local wine industry enjoyed great success until just after the turn of the century when fortune-seekers moved elsewhere and its population diminished. With Prohibition, winemaking and grape growing was totally abandoned. But some of these vines still exist today and are the treasure chest of the Sierra Foothills as we know them.

El Dorado has a diverse terrain with elevations ranging from 1,200 to 3,500 feet, creating countless mesoclimates for its vineyards. This diversity allows success with a wide range of grapes including whites like Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as for reds, Grenache, Syrah, Tempranillo, Barbera and especially, Zinfandel.

Soils tend to be fine-grained volcanic rock, shale and decomposed granite. Summer days are hot but nights are cool and the area typically gets ample precipitation in the form or rain or snow in the winter.