Read the full article by Scott Thomas Anderson at Sacramento News & Review
Les Heinsen keeps his hand on the wheel of a Kubota RTV, his eyes casting ahead at the bronze blanket of fallen leaves that’s scattered under dense pines. The dirt path gets steeper. Heinsen steadies his foot on the gas. The acronym for what he’s driving — Rough Terrain Vehicle — says a lot about the condition of this mountain trail in El Dorado County.
It’s a little bumpy, but Heinsen never tires of its views.
The patch of timberline begins thinning, yet the metallic squeaks of the RTV’s suspension against a weather-struck roughness in the road only grow louder. Turning the bend, the hill opens out of a canopy of tangled branches to reveal green grass and wildflowers and a gray, ancient-looking oak tree. Heinsen moves through this picture until he reaches a brushy summit under the clouds.
He’s at 2,400-feet above sea level. He sees views across the vineyards for his winery, Element 79, and past its trellis rows, the vista becomes all-encompassing — nothing but fresh air and blue sky and the panoramic majesty of the Sierra Foothills.