In the hurly burly of today's wine world Caifornia's Central Valley often escapes  attention. In fact  Madera wine country is now touted as 'the wine industry's best kept secret'.  Actually this region just north of Fresno has been growing grapes, not for just years but centuries.  Today it is home to  a whole group of family wineries under the banner of Madera Vintners Association which in turn offers the Madera Wine Trail.  This Writer toured this area some years ago  and then decided it was time to make a return visit.
So last weekend found us on a trek of the Madera Wine Trail and we enjoyed very minute of it.
The 21st century has seen remarkable changes to the Madera wine country.  While the tradition of vineyards and growing grapes extends back some one hundred and fifty years new concepts and ideas have resulted in vast changes both in the vineyards and with wineries that have moved to producing wines that fit the local terroir best.
The Madera Vintners Association includes wineries like Papagni with an eighty year history  and  Quady Winery with an international reputation, others like Fasi Estate Winery and San Joaquin Wine Company are of this century. The changes have come about from recognition that Madera County has its own micro climate thanks to location between the San Joaquin River and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  This made possible the designation of Madera as an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in 1985 and one of the oldest in the State.  Then followed with the establishment of the Madera Wine Trail in 2001.
This Trail now follows a route that takes one to the nine wineries located in the region.  Most of these wineries are family owned and operated and their wines show careful attention to both the varietals planted in their vineyards and the quality of wines from varietals that have proven successful over decades.
All of this was revealed to us when we visited some of these wineries, tasted their wines, talked to the winemakers and learned their concepts and techniques.
Our introduction to this new Madera wine country was the California Wine Month Celebration which took place in late September at the historic Papagni Winery.  Over three hundred people were in attendance at this event which included booths set up by individual wineries as well as restaurants, catering firms and products like olive oil and chocolate.  The crush was still on at Papagni and we watched as a truck load of freshly picked Muscat grapes arrived at the winery.  The Winery was founded by Demetrio Papagni, an immigrant from Italy, and recognized the outstanding land and climate of Madera for making wine.  The result is that Papagni continues to receive awards  for its outstanding vintages.
Papagni Wines  is located at 9505 Road 30 1/2, Madera, Ca. and its handsome Tasting Room is open Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.