Nevada City Winery’s Mark Foster

By Linda J. Bottjer

Mark Foster of Nevada City WInery surrounded by his wines. (Nevada City Winery)As Dickens once wrote it was the best of times and the worst of them too.

A crisp day resplendent with bright autumnal colors drew me up to Nevada City where the acclaimed winery of the same name and its winemaker, Mark Foster awaited.

Friends, strangers and even a former boss of Foster had all hailed his alchemistic skills in transforming grape juice into potions capable of making Bacchus weep with joy.

However, the gods had deemed I be blessed with a head cold.  The type of ailment that made everything I ate taste like boiled cardboard and every beverage be as bland as the water it was boiled in.

Mark was gracious as I sneezed, sniffled and hacked my way through our conversation.  Since tasting the wine was a no go I decided instead to find out what made him a winemaker.

Where many have come to the grape through family connections or geographic location Foster was a zoologist used to desert treks instead of vineyard rambles.  The mystique of combining art and science together with a microbiologist friend’s move to Napa County lead him to explore the wonders of viticulture. His career began as a cellar rat/assistant winemaker at the Smothers Remick Ridge Winery in Sonoma.

Not everyone understood his shift in careers including officials at the University of California/Davis where he enrolled for classes.

“At first they were a bit reluctant to admit me since I already had two Masters Degrees,” he remembers with a laugh. Soon he added a third this time in Enology.

Studying and working with like-minded devotees fired up his enthusiasm.  However, living in Napa was presenting few true wine challenges. He and his late wife Fran preferred to live in peripheral areas where their efforts delivered more impact.

By the late 80s he was honing his craft at Madrona Vineyards near Placerville.

Nevada City WInery located in a former foundry garage. (Nevada CIty WInery)Several years later they moved to another part of the Sierra Foothills AVA as Mark took over the winemaker’s position at the Nevada City Winery.  Here a different type of challenge existed.  The winery grew no grapes.  Instead they relied on area grape growers who were indiscriminate with their product. 

“There was no experimentation with clones,” remember Foster.

Within five years of listening to consumers and working with growers, Syrah and Zin along with Barbera grapes and others were delivered to and processed at the former 1860s foundry building.

Two decades later and Nevada City Winery continually racks ups awards at 85 percent of the prestigious events their wines are entered into such as the California State Fair. In 2010 and 2009 their 2007 vintages of Cab Franc and Barbera respectively captured the best in the state. 

Foster admits being like a shark in his continuous quest to find interesting grapes.  His latest obsession is the black Dolchetto grape typical of the Piedmont region of Italy. 

He feels his true talent can be found in pulling the color, body and flavor from a variety of wines.  Like paints on a palette he dips, swirls and blends from various vintages like a French impressionist. The Gallic influence continues with blending tanks named Babette and Mimi and the dominant use of French oak barrels. Foster considers the oak’s toastiness to act as a frame around a picture in its ability to add subtleness to the wine’s back notes.

The 2007 Cépage, a Bordeaux blend is such an example. Merlot is half the blend with almost equal amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Franc added as 7 percent Petit Verdot and the merest touch of Mourvedre completes the mélange.

Like the artist he is, Foster sent me home with a bottle of the 2008 Barbera to be enjoyed when all my senses had returned.

It danced delightfully to a snappy rhythm that paired toast and the slight char of oak.  Deepened summer fruits warmed by delicate tannins kept the taste bold but never overbearing.

The best of times had returned.

What to Know:

Nevada City Winery

321 Spring Street

Nevada City, CA   95959

530.265.9463 / 800.203.9463

Tasting room open Sunday – Thursday 12-5

Friday and Saturday 12-6



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[lederm]

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