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| Kid Sister “Mokelumne Glen” Kerner Lodi 2023 Trail Marker “Bartolomei Vineyard” Rosé of Carignan 2025 Trail Marker Gamay “Bay Tree Lane” Sonoma 2023 Trail Marker “Petites Joies” Trousseau Russian River 2023 Trail Marker “Quink” Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains 2021 |
| This week, we’re hosting Emily Virgil of Trail Marker Wines, who, with her husband Drew Huffine, is producing beautifully harmonious wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains and other cooler-climate sites in California. When we tasted with Emily last May, we were smitten by what she poured us, so much so that when she mentioned she’d be back in the Fall, we immediately asked if she’d host a Trail Marker tasting at the shop—that didn’t work out, but we’re thrilled now to have her finally at the shop to pour for you. These are resolutely non-hipster wines, lower-alcohol and acid-driven, with (save for one) kinda boring labels that belie the energy of what’s inside the bottle.
Raised in Los Angeles, Emily left to attend FIT in New York. While at FIT, she spent two years in Italy on an exchange program, during which she became obsessed with Italian wine. Once she graduated, she worked as a costume stylist in Hollywood for several years before meeting her now husband, Drew, on the cusp of his departure for a wine stage in New Zealand. When Drew returned, they moved to the Bay area to pursue their own wine project, and thus, in 2012, Trail Marker was born. Drew’s trajectory was different but similar to Emily’s. While pursuing his master’s degree in English (his thesis is on Robert Frost), he got a part-time gig at a wine retailer in Los Angeles (Colorado Wine Co., RIP) and soon serendipitously connected with winemaker Kent Humphrey, with whom he worked a harvest. In short order, Drew began an intensive series of stages with several producers, most notably a stint with Wells Guthrie at Copain and LIOCO, the latter of which he continues to work for as his day job as a winemaker. Emily and Drew were also fortunate to connect with the amazing Purdy Foxx, who has seemingly internalized every nook and cranny of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, and it’s thanks to Purdy that they have access to some of the most prized fruit on the mountains. Emily and Drew make well-balanced, nuanced wines, which is why they prize cooler-climate vineyard sites where fruit can ripen without verging into over-ripeness. The wines are aged either in neutral vessels or in older barrels (with the occasional use of a small percentage of new barrels), so you taste the integrity of the farming rather than oak. We’re starting with a wine from their “Kid Sister” project: reasonably priced, everyday wines with a cartoon-like label that telegraphs they’re meant for near-term, hedonistic gulping. This wine is made from kerner, an aromatic white grape that yields wines that can be a bit fleshy, but here, it’s not. Next, a light, dry rosé, all carignan, then an equally light gamay, whole-cluster-fermented for extra juiciness. To follow, a wine from the Russian River made from the Jura variety trousseau. Unfortunately for us, a conglomerate purchased the vineyard and grafted it over to pinot noir, so this is, alas, the last vintage of this wine. To finish, a pinot from the Quink vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains; the vines here suffer from a disease that radically reduces yield, so there’s not much meat on her, but what’s there is cherce. |