Ann Kraemer, who grows wine grapes for a living, and whose green thumb has earned the respect of winemakers throughout California, is the sixth subject in this series on women in wine in the Sacramento area.
Ann Kraemer (Photo courtesy of Ann Kraemer)
Ann Kraemer, Owner, Shake Ridge Ranch/Yorba Wines, Sutter Creek, Amador County
Ann Kraemer grew up in the citrus groves of Southern California. She expected to follow her father in cultivating oranges, so she earned a degree in pomology at the University of California, Davis. But as the sustainability of the citrus business in Southern California grew shaky in the wake of rising water costs, she shifted her attention to grapes to keep her hands in dirt.
After managing vineyards for such marquee Napa Valley wineries as Swanson Vineyards and Domaine Chandon, she hung out her shingle as an independent consulting vineyardist, helping establish and maintain vineyards in California, Oregon and Chile.
Meanwhile, she was saving money and scouting land for her own vineyard. In 2001, she and her father teamed up to buy an old and faded ranch just east of Sutter Creek in Amador County. Today, she tends 46 acres of wine grapes on one of the more unlikely spreads in the state, planted to 12 varieties. By her experience and the trust she engendered in the trade through her smart stewardship, winemakers from throughout California will drive hours to gather fruit from her Shake Ridge Ranch; 36 winemakers are on board to buy this year’s harvest. At any given time, about a dozen wines bearing “Shake Ridge Ranch” on their label will be on the wine list of Napa Valley’s most acclaimed restaurant, The French Laundry.
What possessed you to gamble on such a remote and isolated area not recognized for wine grapes?
I felt that Amador County had enough of a track record for growing grapes in Shenandoah Valley. That was good enough, but I also felt this spot would be even better, being higher, cooler, on a ridge. I applied quality-management stuff I knew, and it priced out OK as long as the fruit was good, and then it ended up being really good. The land cost at the time was worth the gamble, and it’s such pretty property. I figured if I can’t do grapes I can do something else with it.
You are coming off three consecutive years of extraordinary challenges in the growing of grapes in Northern California; how are things looking this year?
In 2020 there were the fires. It felt like the whole state was on fire. And Covid started. Ten of my 30 growers backed out (of contracts), but I was able to resell their fruit at a lesser price. I ended up selling everything but 10 tons. In 2021 was the Caldor Fire (in neighboring El Dorado County). Smoke came down really heavy. There was no spring rain, it was the fourth year of the drought. Our yields were down by about half; we lost money. In 2022 we had frost twice; yields were down 60 percent. This year we had all that rain, and we’re getting really nice growth, a little too much, but I’m feeling pretty dang comfortable.
What grape variety has most surprised you at Shake Ridge Ranch?
Tempranillo. I got pushed into planting it. I thought the area was way too warm for Tempranillo. It’s a low-acid grape, and the higher-quality areas for Tempranillo in Spain are cooler. It took me awhile to learn how to farm it. You can’t have big berries and big crops. I just love the richness of the wine. The (Italian grape) Greco di Tufo is the funnest to grow. I didn’t think we could get white wine here because of the heat, but it’s been a surprise, a white wine I enjoy so much. We have just seven-tenths of an acre, so I am lucky if it hits 80 cases.
To find where my book “The Signature Wines of Superior California” can be found, please visit my website SignatureWines.us.