Every Thanksgiving we head up to my in-laws who live in El Dorado County. It's always a relaxing trip, so I figured I could explore the area wineries during the down-time. Our plan for months prior was an all family drive out to Amador County on Friday, the Wednesday trip was a spur-of-the-moment drive that my brother-in-law and I did when nothing else was going on.
Wednesday (Apple Hill - El Dorado County)
Lava Cap Winery ($5 reserve tasting, wines $18-$30)
'09 Viognier Reserve, '09 "American River Red" Cuvée (Syrah/Merlot/Cab Franc/Zin), '07 Zinfandel Reserve, '07 "Rocky Draw" Zinfandel, '09 Syrah, '08 Petite Sirah.
A few years back we had our wedding near Placerville. Some friends from LA came up for the wedding and stayed at a Bed & Breakfast in Placerville. The owners of the B&B recommended that they check out Lava Cap. Our friends had a great time visiting the winery and recommended that we stop by sometime. Lava Cap has a great view off their deck and a warm/low-key tasting room. It was the day before Thanksgiving, so the tasting room was pretty busy. There were a total of fifteen wines to choose from, split between the regular list and the reserve list. I opted toward the reserve tasting but wasn't wowed by the wines. The flavors were all pretty basic. I enjoyed the Peitite Sirah most and the Zins were pretty good as well.
Experience: B- / Wine: C+
Boeger Winery (free tasting, wines $15-$19)
'09 "Boejerlais", '07 Cabernet Franc, '09 Barbera, '07 Zinfandel, '08 Zinfandel - Walker Ranch Vineyard, '08 Petite Sirah.
Like Lava Cap, Boeger is in the Apple Hill area near Placerville. Apple Hill is a popular tourist area in the fall, so the tasting room here was busy as well. Boeger's pretty well set up to handle large crowds - they have a very long counter and plenty of open space. The staff were efficient and helpful. The regular tasting list had eleven wines on it, we were able to choose six. I was excited to try the "Boejerlais" - their version of a Beaujolais - it was light and refreshing. Overall the wines were pretty good, a little more complex than the wines at Lava Cap. The Cab Franc and the Zins were slightly too hot. Dug the Petite Sirah.
Experience: B / Wine: B-
Cielo Estate (free tasting)
'09 Vermentino, NV Quatre Vignes (Syrah/Grenache/Counoise/Mourvedre), '06 Carignane, '09 Magnifique (Merlot/Cab Franc/Cab), '08 Zinfandel Reserve - Herbert Vineyard, '09 Petite Sirah Reserve - Herbert Vineyard.
Cielo is a brand new winery. They just took over the old Sogno vineyard during the spring. It's an easy drive to Cielo from my in-laws, so I was hopeful that the winery would be decent. The have a very airy tasting room, and have a number of trinkets for sale. We were the only visitors and the time, and Nicole was a very engaging and fun host. There were sixteen wines to chose five tastings from. Since the winery is so new, none of the grapes used in the wines are from the estate yet. They are sourcing from a number of locations around the state currently. I appreciated the fact that the made wines that were different from the normal varieties of Gold Country wines. Overall the wines were good, especially the red blends - and the prices were very reasonable.
Experience: B- / Wine: C+
Friday (Shenandoah Valley - Amador County)
Story Winery (free tasting, wines $14-$26)
'10 "Miss Rose", '09 Chenin Blanc, '08 "Quartz" Zinfandel, '07 "Picnic Hill" Zinfandel, '08 "Hilltop" Zinfandel, NV Almond Sparkling Wine.
It's definitely a red flag when a winery has both White Zin and Almond Champagne on their tasting list. Putting that aside, Story is a cool little winery. They have a nice deck on the hillside and an intimate tasting room. The staff were extremely helpful. I did not think highly of any of the wines. Most of the wines were clunky and simple. I did appreciate that they were using mission grapes to blend in a few of the wines as a nod to the history of California and the region - though those blends did not taste great. The zins were okay, the "Quartz" was the best of the lot.
Experience: B / Wine: C-
Cooper Vineyards (free tasting, wines $17-$32)
'10 Pinot Grigio, '10 Viognier, '10 Roussanne, '09 Barbera, '09 Barbera Riserva, '08 Alicante Bouschet, '08 Zinfandel, '08 Petite Sirah, '07 Syrah, '07 "Dicembre" (late harvest Alicante Bouchet), '10 "Pink" (Sauv Blanc/Pinot Grigio/Viognier).
Cooper was my favorite winery on this visit. They have an airy and well spaced out tasting room. They had piles of walnuts out for folks to take home that had been harvested that morning from the Cooper orchard. The white wines were not great. The Barberas were pretty good. We enjoyed the Alicante and the Zin quite a bit. I'd never heard of the Alicante grape before, so it was neat to try. The late harvest Alicante was good as well. The staff were all really friendly and excited to share what they knew about wine. I definitely got the feeling that Cooper is a winery that puts a lot of energy into making good quality wine and sharing it with people as though they are friends and family.
Experience: B+ / Wine: B+
Terra d'Oro Winery (free tasting, wines $10-$30)
Montevina '10 Sauvignon Blanc, '08 Barbera, '08 Sangiovese, '06 Forté (Sangiovese/Cab), '08 Aglianico, '09 Aglianico, '09 Teroldego, '08 Zinfandel, '07 SHR Zinfandel, '07 Deaver Old Vine Zinfandel, NV Zinfandel Port.
So far, Terra d'Oro is the most corporate winery I've experienced in the Gold Country area. They have a huge winemaking complex out front, and then a large warehouse-y tasting room in the back. The place lacks any true personality, everything is very superficial. They are more than gracious with their wines at the tasting. Both the Terra d'Oro wines, and the Montevina wines (their budget label) have long tasting lists that you are free to try anything on the lists. Most of the wine was decent, but not above that. The Anglianico was the most enjoyable to drink.
Experience: C- / Wine: C-
Helwig Vineyards & Winery (free tasting, wines $15-$35)
'10 Sauvignon Blanc, '10 Viognier, '10 Syrah Rosé, '09 "Round Up Red" (Syrah/Zin/Primotivo), '09 "East Block" Zinfandel, '09 "Sea of Grapes" Zinfandel, '09 Petite Sirah.
Helwig is a brand new winery. The ownership has had a vineyard in the area for a while, but only recently decided to purchase these grounds and build a full winery. The grounds of the winery are stunning. The buildings sit on top of a knoll, and have panoramic views of the Shenandoah Valley. The buildings and cave are smartly designed and have a subtle modern feel. The staff person we had was nice. The red wines were good, especially the "Round Up" and the "East Block."
Experience: B / Wine: B
Driving around in the foothills and popping into wineries for tastings is a great way to spend time with family. The scenery, especially in the fall is idyllic. For the most part the El Dorado and Amador County wineries are very personable. The wineries were well attended during the holiday week, and it was fun to chat with other visitors about which wineries to check out. We weren't knocked off our feet by the wines that we tried this time around, wines were a bit too clunky, or too hot - but it's still a wonderful experience. There are many more wineries to explore in the area, and we look forward to trying a lot more out during future holiday trips.
