Modesto columnist runs down who’s behind this award-winning Central Valley winery
Solitary Cellars is located at 14439 North Friant Road just a few miles outside of Fresno. Solitary Cellars won the 2024 Fresno Bee Best of Central California-Best Winery Award. They are open for wine tasting or just relaxing from noon-5 p.m. daily. The winery has partnered with the San Joaquin River Parkway Conservation Trust which controls 76 acres of riverfront property and is open to the public for hiking, fishing, bicycling or tasting the award-wining wines.
Greg Bergersen co-founded the label, Solitary Cellars, with partner Rick Quesada. They met when they were both correctional officers at the Valley State Prison in Madera County. Their careers in corrections set up their prison theme for their brand. Both have retired and now their new jobs are producing 1,500 cases of wine annually to satisfy the 1,400 members in their “Chain Gang” wine club.
Solitary Cellars buys fruit from Monterey, Lake, San Joaquin and Amador counties. Greg and Rick maintain solid relationships with their growers which equates to consistent quality wines and 90+ scores. In fact, this January is a 90+ red wine flight with the regular $15 fee which is waived with a bottle purchase. The Wine Enthusiast magazine reviewed and scored the following wines: the 2022 “East Block” Old Vine Zinfandel 92 points, the 2021 “Les Grilletes” Red Wine Blend 90 points, the 2022 Syrah 92 points and the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon 92 points.
The red wine flight has nine choices and the white and sparkling wine flight has five. Their “Two for Tuesday Complimentary Wine Tasting” is a super deal. Weekends feature live music. Solitary Cellars also won the 2024 Best Wine Selection, the Best Wine Bar and the Best Charcuterie. Cheers to Solitary Cellars!
Wine events to consider
If you crave Zinfandel, the ZinEX 2025 Tasting will be held at the CIA Copia in Napa on Feb. 1 from 1:30-4 p.m. Tickets are available at zinfandel.org. The 15th annual International White Wine Festival is Feb. 15-16 in Anderson Valley. Go to avwines.com for more information. The Paso Robles Blend-Fest on the Coast is Feb. 20-23, check out pasowine.com/events. Behind the Cellar Door in Amador Wine Country will be March 22-23, go to amadorwine.com. The El Dorado Wine Festival is April 26-27 with 20 El Dorado County wineries participating. Early bird pricing ends Jan 31. Find tickets at eldoradowines.org. The 26th annual Pinot Noir Festival in Anderson Valley is May 15-17 and early tickets can be purchased now at avwines.com. The Paso Robles Wine Festival is May 15-18. For information and tickets go to pasowine.com/events.
What’s on our table
I bought four Australian reds from the local Grocery Outlet, all in the $5-6 range. The Beefsteak Club and the Hesketh Family were both 2019’s Shiraz (Syrah) from the Limestone Coast. The 2020 Heathcote Shiraz was from Victoria and the 2021 Bleasdale was a Blend of Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvèdre. All four were good/solid daily wines especially when you consider the price. If you prefer bold, spicy wines with dark fruit flavors stick with the three 100% Shiraz wines. The Potts Family Bleasdale Blend with 67% Shiraz, 23% Grenache and 10% Mourvèdre was my choice with bright red fruit flavors and a long smooth finish. Cheers to Aussie wines for using screw caps. Easy to open and excellent closures for left over wine. Cheers!
Questions? Comments? Find me on Facebook or at rgwinton@yahoo.com.
This story was originally published January 7, 2025 at 10:00 AM.