Garlic Roasted Leg of Lamb

87 points -- Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine

The winemaking philosophy of American Roots Winery is to approach each new harvest as an opportunity to showcase the best varietals and regions of the vintage. They rely on their palate and experience to choose vineyard sources producing the optimal varietal characteristics in a given year. While Mother Nature makes climate and grape quality are unpredictable, they are able to select the finest the vintage has to offer. This style is analogous to a fine chef examining the farmer's market for the freshest ingredients before deciding that night's menu.

Husband and wife, Julie and Jeff Murrell team up to make this wonderful wine. Here are their biographies.

Julie Murrell, Winemaker- Winemaking is my lifelong passion. From the time I was a child I participated in our family tradition of making wine each harvest. These happy memories inspired me to continue this tradition as a career. After obtaining my degree in Chemistry from Sonoma State University I worked as a Research Enologist at Robert Mondavi Woodbridge and a Lab Technician at Sonoma-Cutrer. I found a permanent home at The Hess Collection Winery in Napa. Over the last seven years I have worked my way up from Lab Technician to Assistant Winemaker. I have been fortunate to work with a talented team of winemaking mentors to develop my winemaking abilities. American Roots Winery showcases this winemaking talent.

Jeff Murrell, Winemaker- American Roots Winery is a culmination of my love for my Mom and my wife Julie. My mother's love, strength, and optimism thoughout her battles with breast cancer inspired me to utiize my abilities to make a difference in the world. My passion for science propelled me toward cancer research. I completed my Ph.D. in Bio-Organic Chemistry from UC Davis. Suprisingly, it would be winemaking rather than chemistry that would afford me the best opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those affected by breast cancer.

I was fortunate to meet my beautiful wife while we were earning our BS degrees in Chemistry from Sonoma State University. Julie introduced me to winemaking when she took me to her family's harvest winemaking. Her passion for winemaking kindled a fire in me that grows stronger everyday. After a brief stint teaching Biochemistry at Sonoma State University I accepted the enologist position at V. Sattui Winery. There I helped earn "Winery of the Year" awards from the California State fair and Critic's Challenge. I am currently working as the Director of Research for StaVin Inc. in addition to my role at American Roots Winery.