Region:  Mendocino County, California

Varietal:  54% Marsanne, 22% Roussanne, 12% Picpoul Blanc and 12% Viognier

Tasting notes:  Each varietal adds something interesting to this blend. Marsanne gives the wine roundness and weight, the roussanne gives it a sense of tropical fruits, the picpoul blanc a steely acid framework and the viognier a delicate wild-flower perfume. There’s enough viscosity to give the wine weight, without it being overbearing. This wine is both French in spirit, and Californian in style and fans of other white wines from the west coast should find it pleasantly familiar.

Producer:  The two vintner/winemakers behind this hidden gem of a White wine are none other than François Villard, a renowned winemaker from France’s Rhone Valley, and Donald Patz, founder of Patz & Hall Winery. After selling Patz & Hall in 2016, Donald decided against retirement and instead headed straight back into the vineyards. As collaborators, Donald and François visited the famed Alder Springs Vineyard in Mendocino County in early August 2017 to meet with owner, Stu Bewley and work out the beginning of a new wine project that became Terminim. It is a traditional Northern Rhône Valley styled blend of white Rhone varietals using the same techniques that François incorporates into his Domaine wines in France.

Vineyard and Winemaking:  Donald Patz has worked with the grapes from Alder Springs Vineyard since 1997. He brought François Villard to the site in August 2017 and they immediately begged Stuart Bewley for Marsanne/Roussanne and Syrah. The TERMINIM wines are equally an expression of the ongoing dialog between François and Donald regarding the complexities of the grapes and the making of the wines as well as the expression of this noble vineyard in the northern reaches of Mendocino County.