big VINEYARD

As I was running errands in Esparto, Pam asked me to drop off some samples from Capay Vineyard barrels to be checked at RH Phillips lab, a large winery (1600 acres of grapes) on the other side of the hill here in Yolo County. A local family started Phillips in the 80's and built it into one of the state's more prosperous wineries. In 2000 they sold it to Canada's largest wine company, Vincor International Inc., and it has since been sold to Constellation. The founding family has started another business, Crew Wine Company based in Sacramento. For more info on the family's history, see: http://www.azcentral.com/home/wine/articles/0623winemakers0623.html.

For more about the Phillips winery and its succession of owners: http://www.rhphillips-hogue.com; http://www.vincorusa.com; http://www.cwinesus.com .