Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from the second edition of the popular guidebook “Wineries of the Sierra Foothills: Risk-Takers & Rule-Breakers” available now on Amazon. All sales support Tahoe Weekly.
Greg Boeger’s family is grounded in the wine business. He is the grandson of Anton Nichelini, a Swiss-Italian immigrant who planted one of Napa’s early vineyards 120 years ago. Anton came to California during the Gold Rush and put his shovel to work in pursuit of grape growing instead of mining. A century later in 1972, grandson Greg purchased a former Gold Rush-era vineyard and winery in El Dorado County and founded the county’s first modern winery.
The path from Napa to El Dorado is a familiar one to many vineyard owners and winemakers in the Sierra Foothills. Greg had worked harvests at the Nichelini Winery in Napa. His cousins asked him to join the business after he got his bachelor and master of arts in agricultural economics and viticulture at UC Davis. Greg already had started looking for his own property but even in the early 1970s, prices for Napa and Sonoma land were high.
“There were plenty of vineyards and wineries there, but no one was really interested in helping someone get started,” Greg recalled.
An article in the Sacramento Bee about the experimental vineyards that were being planted in El Dorado County piqued Greg’s interest. He bought the historic Fossati Ranch that was located on land colorfully called The Immigrant Ravine. Vegetables and fruits of all types had been grown there by Swiss, Italian, French and German immigrants and sold to workers in the Gold Rush camps. The Fossati Winery, located on the site, was a thriving vineyard and winery until prohibition in the 1920s. But there was still the original winery and a small, producing vineyard on the Fossati ranch.
Greg and his family have worked hard to build Boeger Winery to the booming business it is today. The first tasting room, opened in 1974, was in the historic building that was the family home and winery of the Fossati-Lombardo homesteaders. It was built from stones found when the vineyards were cleared in the 1860s. When you go to taste today, you’ll walk by this 1860’s building and see the Federal stamp on the door that served as the license to produce sacramental wine during Prohibition.
Today’s modern 1,500-square-foot tasting room, built in 2001, is a showcase for more than 15 wines made from 30 different varieties from the five vineyards now farmed by the Boeger family.
“When we came to this area, there were no established vineyards to speak of, and there was not really a history of what had done well in the old vineyards that survived. Zinfandel, Mission and Muscat were grown for the miners,” Greg said. “I am still trying to find out what grows best in these various microclimates and terroir of our steep and hilly vineyards. There is a place for any variety you want to grow due to the variations in slope, exposure and elevation.”
Boeger plants its vines in small blocks that conform to the hillsides without use of terracing. Barbera is the variety that’s planted on the majority of their acreage. Italian and Spanish varietals are highlighted, too, and of course Zinfandel is an El Dorado County star. Greg was one of the first California producers of a varietal Merlot, then almost unheard of. From overhead, the land looks like a herringboned fabric; just the place for Greg to focus attention on the vineyards and grape growing.
The next generation of Boeger family members includes Justin Boeger, who assumed the role of winemaker in 2000. With his 1998 UC Davis degree in fermentation science, a lifetime of on-the-job training and internships in two prestigious wineries in the Franconian region of Germany, he is well prepared for assuring that Boeger Winery has not only a place in history but also in the future.
Justin has introduced several new wines and winemaking techniques to Boeger Winery. One result is a popular Pinot Noir. Justin’s skill is in making well-balanced wines that you can drink now and also cellar for later enjoyment.
Boeger is open daily for tastings by reservations with outdoor seating available. | (530) 622-8094, boegerwinery.com
