One of the impressive wines on a tour of western El Dorado County wineries was a David Girard Vineyards 2002 California Viognier/Roussanne.

Two dozen wineries are scattered about the hills and hollows of western El Dorado County, from Mount Aukum in the south to Pilot Hill in the north, from Shingle Springs on the west to Camino on the east.

We moseyed about the area the other day, wandering from Pleasant Valley to Coloma, stopping at either new wineries or places we hadn't visited in years.

David Girard Vineyards

Pedigree: Walnut Creek attorney David Girard specializes in education issues, a calling that takes him to school districts throughout Northern California. That's how he discovered and subsequently bought 80 acres of rolling woodland along Cold Springs Road northwest of Placerville.

This was in the mid-1990s, when Robert Mondavi Winery was seeking growers willing to cultivate merlot. Girard began to clear brush and plant merlot, 20 acres of it in an area not particularly recognized for the varietal.

Nevertheless, it sold, and Girard found the business so promising he decided to get into winemaking himself. Last fall, he, his vineyard manager, celebrated Apple Hill fruit grower Ron Mansfield, and his winemaker, Mari Wells, formerly of Chathom Vineyards outside Murphys in Calaveras County, oversaw the first full crush at David Girard Vineyards, a handsome Tuscan-inspired structure surrounded by steep vineyards, a wedding pavilion, picnic area, stream and pond.

Why El Dorado: Though Girard initially was agreeable to planting any variety that would sell, he's since become convinced that the decomposed granite soils, sunny setting and elevation (1,200 feet) of his ranch is ideal for the sorts of grapes that have established France's Rhone Valley as a fine-wine region - syrah, grenache, mourvedre, viognier, marsanne and the like.

"The chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon market is tough to crack," Girard says in giving another reason for emphasizing Rhone varieties.

Focus: Girard's vineyard is now up to 40 acres. Not only is the additional acreage planted largely to Rhone Valley varieties, he's begun to graft his original plot of merlot to the same kinds of grapes.

"I'm not a big oak guy," Girard says when talking of his stylistic goals. In addition to the judicious use of oak barrels, he's keen on the finesse that intricate blending can produce in a wine, thus his interest in planting such obscure varieties as grenache blanc and vermentino. "I like the creativity of that," Girard says of blending decisions.

Don't miss: As a group, Girard's wines are notable for their expressive aromatics, clear fruit flavors, restrained oakiness and balance. Fruit from two prized El Dorado County vineyards - Wylie and Fenaughty - went into the David Girard Vineyards 2003 El Dorado Syrah ($28), which through its vibrant floral smell, juicy berry flavors, silken texture and persistent finish shows just why Girard, Mansfield and Wells are downright giddy about the prospects of Rhone Valley varieties in the foothills. And while the cabernet sauvignon market may be tough for foothill wineries to crack, the David Girard Vineyards 2001 El Dorado Cabernet Sauvignon ($25) shows why the varietal shouldn't be written off entirely. Aged in a mix of new and old French and American oak barrels - another strain of the blending that Girard relishes - the wine is as fresh, bright and friendly as a bowl of spring cherries, just waiting to be joyously savored.

Also especially impressive were the peachy and spicy David Girard Vineyards 2002 California Viognier/Roussanne ($18) and a barrel sample of a vivacious and complex 2004 mourvedre that won't be bottled and released until later this summer.

The particulars: David Girard Vineyards, 741 Cold Springs Road, Placerville, is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; (530) 295-1833.