Murphys, CA ~ Steve & Liz Millier, owners of Milliaire Winery and Black Sheep Winery in Murphys, CA, are pleased to introduce a new event to the wine calendar in the Sierra foothills – the Fête de la Fleur, or the Festival of the Flower, Saturday, June 20th, from noon to 4:00 pm at the wineries.

$20 per person for non wine club members and $10 per person for Milliaire and Black Sheep Wine Club members. Price includes special Fete area, a commemorative wineglass, glass of wine and appetizer plate.

At Black Sheep, music will be by local favorite Magnolia Rhythm. At Milliaire, music will be provided by The Waterfall Jazz Project.

Evocative of the prestigious annual Fête de la Fleur held in Bordeaux, France for over 40 years, the festival is timed to coincide with the traditional first flowering of the grapevines. In earlier times, the first appearance of the delicate white flowers gave promise of another harvest in 100 days, and to give thanks the people celebrated.

“We’re looking to make this an annual event,” Liz Millier says. “We hope to see all our old friends, and we hope to make many new ones.”

Since 1983, Milliaire Winery has established itself as an elite maker of wine. Excelling in Zinfandel and other Bordeaux style wines, Milliaire’s recently-offered sparkling wine has been very well received. This year, Milliaire received a double gold at the San Francisco Wine Competition for their 2013 Amador County Primotivo “Jeunesse”. Last year, Milliaire took received a gold medal at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition for their 2011 Calaveras County Old Vine Zinfandel, and another gold medal for 2011 Clockspring Zinfandel at the California State Fair.

From their first vintage in 1984 to today, Black Sheep Winery is renown for big, bold Zinfandels, but has also been on the forefront of introducing Rhone varietals to the Sierra foothills, including Cinsault, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and a Port-style dessert wine. Current awards include a Gold medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition for their 2010 Calaveras County Zinfandel.

Milliaire Winery and Black Sheep Winery are located on the eastern side of Main Street in Murphys, CA. Black Sheep 209.728.2157 and Milliaire 209.728.1658