Wine lovers at this year’s Millbrae Art & Wine Festival, August 30-31, will have the opportunity to sample wines from one of California’s smallest and most recently created wine-growing regions. Brassfield Estate Winery, the featured premium winery of the festival, is located in Lake County, where the High Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA) was designated in 2005.

Brassfield will offer four wines at the festival: syrah, zinfandel, pinot grigio and Serenity (a white blend). Representatives from the winery will be on hand at the festival to talk about the wines’ characteristics as well as the unique combination of volcanic and alluvial soils and the varied microclimates that make up the High Valley region. California history buffs will be interested in the story of the winery land, originally a cattle ranch and wildlife reserve bought by Jerry Brassfield in 1973.

“As a northern California winery, it’s important for us to get involved in community events, particularly those with long-running traditions like the Millbrae Art & Wine Festival,” says Melissa Brassfield, the winery’s director of charitable giving. “It’s also a great opportunity for people to sample our wines in a casual setting, and to learn about our unique High Valley winemaking region.”

An estate-grown and estate-bottled winery, Brassfield uses in-depth research to match varietals to optimal vineyard sites and employs sustainable agriculture practices. High Valley’s diverse soils and microclimates have made it possible for Brassfield to plant 16 varietals over its 250 acres of vineyards. Although the AVA is only one mile by five miles, the topography stretches from a valley floor of 1,800 feet to ridges rising above 3,000 feet. During the growing season there can be temperature swings of up to 40 to 50 degrees.

Brassfield’s winemaker Kevin Robinson handcrafts his wines to let each grape varietal come forward with ripe fruit characteristics, which are balanced with perfect acid structure, a full-bodied mouthfeel and silky tannins. In the last two years, the winery has won 250 awards at the country’s most prestigious wine competitions, including 49 double gold, critics gold and gold medals. www.brassfieldestate.com