The next day we were ready to begin our trek of the Madera Wine Trail.  First stop was the Fasi Estate Winery located on the very edge of the Sierra foothill country. Here surrounded by  acres of lush vineyards was the Fasi tasting room, extensive patio and the winery where we met Winemaker Greg Herzfeldt..  Here Greg showed us his Chardonnay and  a most interesting  Malbec. Then a wonderful lunch was served with first a chicken salad followed with a cheese inspired pasta.
Fasi Estate Winery  is located at 42415 Road 208 in Friant an easy 15 minute drive from Fresno on Highway 41.  The tasting room is open daily from 11 a.m to 5 p.m.
Toca Madera Winery is a relatively new winery surrounded by ten acres of vineyards.  Here we met Winemaker Shayne Vetter who explained that all the wines here are estate from their own vineyards.  Shayne currently is working with eleven varietals and we tasted both his Tempranillo as well as white wine blend of Viognier and Marsanne.  Shayne generally gives his red wines 20 months in barrels and then a year of bottle aging as well.
Toca Madera has a comfortable Tasting Room open on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.  The Tasting Room besides premium vintages offers a collection of works by local artists.   The Winery is located at 36140 Avenue 9 in Madera.
A very short distance from Toca Madera is Birdstone Winery.  Birdstone offers a collection of wines that include a Tinta Madera  Port.  Other varietals include Malbec, Dolcetto, Tempranillo, Chardonnay, Charbono and Alicante Bouschet, all from Madera wine country vineyards.  We tasted the Alicante Bouschet which offered  truly premium flavors and texture and we were equally impressed with the Autumn Hunt 2013 Malbec.  Owner of Birdstone is Tony Kirk.
Birdstone Winery  has a large tasting room and hosts weddings as well.  It is located at 9400 Road 36 in Madera and is open Friday thru Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On arrival at San Joaquin Wine Company  we were greeted by Stephen Schafer, owner and CEO.   Stephen is a fourth generation farmer who decided in 2005 that he should be making wine besides growing grapes for other wineries.  His family arrived from Germany when his great grandfather could no longer face the political upheaval occurring in that country.
The San Joaquin tasting room is large and outside a patio which was getting ready to host a large wedding banquet later that day.  At the Tasting Bar we were attended by Jazmin Vaca who was most charming and knowledgeable about the wines which includes six different labels including premium Moody Press and Green Eyes.   Ninety percent of San Joaquin wines are from Madera grapes and all are bottled at the Madera winery using both screw caps and cork, depending upon which label.  Winemaker is Eric Natalie.
San Joaquin Wine Company is located at 21821 Avenue 16 in Madera and the Tasting Room is open seven days a week.  For hours call 559 673-0066.
This visit we did not get to the two Madera wineries that are famous for their dessert wines,  Ficklin Vineyards and Quady Winery.  Ficklin was founded in the 1940s and established vineyards with authentic Portuguese varietals used in making their world famous Port wines.
Quady Winery has worked with chefs both in the U.S. and other countries in producing world class dessert wines.  Both of these wineries we had the opportunity to visit on an earlier trip to the Madera wine country.
At present there are nine wineries represented on the Madera Wine Trail, all members of the Madera Vintners Association.  Each year the Association and its member wineries host three Wine Trail weekends, in February, May and November.  Tasting Rooms on the Trail are open year round and more information can be obtained  by calling  800 613-0709, on the web at www.maderawinetrail.com.  Current president of the Vintners Association is Erica Magarian, general manager at Fasi Estate Winery.
Our visit, including trekking the Wine Trail, was arranged in wonderful fashion by Wendy Eachus, Executive Administrator, for the Madera Vintners Association and Madera Wine Trail.
One thing we noticed everywhere was the friendly attitude of the people we met and their eagerness to show us both their beautiful countryside as well as their rich history in making premium wines.