Wine industry analyst Jon Fredrickson speaking at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium last week at the Sacramento Convention Center, said California wine shipments were down 1.6 percent. The largest disparity in sales included international exports in which 3.2 million fewer cases were shipped overseas.

While Fredrickson argued that the decrease in California wine exports is due to the economy, his data and theories were being disputed only 50 miles away. The El Dorado Winery Association held its annual Bring out the Barrel event Saturday and Sunday to packed cellars and enthusiastic wine lovers.

“We learned something and had great wine,” said Glenda Lumsden of Placerville, Calif. Along with most attendees, Lumsden visited several El Dorado wineries during the day including David Girad Vineyards, Narrow Gate Vineyards, Sierra Vista Winery and Holly’s Hill Vineyards.

In its third year, Bring out the Barrel featured more than 20 El Dorado Wineries including Auriga Cellars, Busby Cellars, Colibri Ridge, Crystal Basin, Fenton Herriott, Fitzpatrick, David Girard, Gold Hill, Granite Springs, Holly’s Hill, Illuminare, Jodar, Latcham, Lava Cap, Madroña, Miraflores, Mount Aukum, Narrow Gate, ParaVi, Perry Creek, Sierra Vista and Single Leaf.

The event allows wine enthusiasts to sample from the barrel and have a sneak peak at what may be expected for upcoming vintage releases. It also allows for both the aficionado and novice to learn how their wine is created from the vitners or winemakers.

“Our style is more French-like,” explained Holly’s Hill Vineyards winemaker Josh Bendick. “We don’t use new oak. We let the fruit speak for themselves.”

Bendick, who discovered his love of wine making when he first was able to grow a chardonnay cutting in a dirt pot, produces a variety of red wines with vines originating from Château de Beaucastel in the Rhone wine region of France. The Patriarche, its signature wine, includes a blend of mouvèdre, syrah, grenache and counoise grapes that are uniquely combined before crushing.

“For the Patriarche, we crush and ferment the grapes together as a group before placing in the barrels,” Bendick said. “We add a little more later to fine-tune the wine. We wish we could do more this way.”

Holly’s Hill Vineyards demonstrated a common trend amongst most El Dorado wineries; a majority of their grapes were estate grown or from the immediate region. Lava Cap demonstrated this unique attribute to its visitors by sampling three different variations of zinfandel from grapes grown on its own vineyard.

Barrel tastings for its Zinfandel Reserve, Springhouse Zinfandel and Zinfandel Rocky Draw were each different despite being picked on adjacent acres. Because of the variations in sun exposure and soil, these three wines provided their own unique taste ranging from a slight vanilla flavor to a an aroma almost resembling bubble gum.

El Dorado wineries produce consistently great wine or as ParaVi Vineyards owner Tom Brown states “We have the terroir for it.”

By terroir, Brown refers to the French concept that combines climatology, geology and history all fused together to produce a great wine.

Brown founded ParaVi Vineyards (previously known as Primus) in 1999 when he purchased the run down apple orchard in Camino known for Marilyn Thomas’s apple pies. When its first vintages were released in 2004 they sold out in three weeks, and it has nearly been that way ever since.

“We don’t skimp. We don’t cut corners,” Brown said while enjoying a glass of his own Zinfandel. “People have a palette. They want something better.”

For first time visitors like Heather King of Martinez, Calif., a majority of the El Dorado wineries she visited were not names recognized on her local restaurant’s wine list. “I’m enjoying it, it’s nice to learn and not as expensive as Napa.”

Maybe the reason King and other wine drinkers don’t find these wine labels at a local Bev Mo or restaurant is due to high demand, these wines aren’t sold past their tasting rooms or wine society. Providing evidence that directly contradicts Fredrikson’s comments at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium.

"It's not an oversupply, it’s an under-demand. We went through a financial heart attack," Fredrikson told San Francisco Chronicle writer Jon Bonné. "We pushed the reset button in demand.”

Perhaps Northern Californians are “stealing” the wines for themselves, stripping any supply to send elsewhere.

As Brown so easily summarizes it, “Everyone up here makes great wine.”