We’ve always advocated visiting the smaller, lesser known wine destinations in California as a way of discovering unique wines and wineries. Napa and Sonoma are the big dogs and don’t need my advocacy in the least – but other areas offer a more personal, lower key experience. We’re in good company here as the WSJ’s “Tastings” writers Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher also preach the same approach.
Visit us at http://eaglesnestwinery.com Click here!
Amador County east of Sacramento is such a place, as is Murphys Calaveras County to the southeast. We have visited both these areas doing research on land use policies and Boutique wineries. It is a delightful place and we enjoyed talking to Jerry and Pam Notestine, the owners of Nine Gables Winery.
Visit us at Eagles Nest Cottage and we’ll share a story about the Notestine’s large Feng Shui mirror on their tasting room porch. We’re also fans of the Lodi wine country one hour south of Sacramento – We’ve posted blogs and videos on Lodi elsewhere.
I must admit visiting these wine regions is both a joy and a disappointment.
San Diego County where we are located, is nationally renowned for it’s lack of vision and business advocacy. Back in mid-2009 the County demanded that a preacher secure a $100,000 Major Use Permit to hold a weekly evening bible study at his home – you can only imagine what the County demands of small wineries. When you look at these tiny wineries (look at the photos shared below) operating in harmony with their surroundings, you have to ask yourself – Why not in San Diego County?
Joy And Surprise
By Rick Kushman rkushman@sacbee.com
May 15, 2009 12:43:45 AM
A tractor comes up Shenandoah Rd. past a vineyard in Amador wine country.
What struck me during a tour of Amador County wineries was the beauty of the soft hills, the varied and lush sense of wine country, the mix of vineyards and pasture.
There were classic vistas of vineyards lining hillsides, accenting the curves of the landscape. Sometimes I was in cozy nooks, rolling down a road between an ancient oak and a weathered fence with a couple of horses behind it.
My friend Scott was equally surprised. He didn’t expect the wineries to be so close together, or the variety of wines or the quality to be so consistently good.
“I’m really surprised by the diversity here,” he said early into the afternoon. “We’ve had fruity wines, a few peppery ones, some that seemed thicker and full-bodied, and some that were lighter and more elegant. There are people up here that know what they’re doing.”
Also in the “surprise” category were the wine prices. “I’m amazed at how many really good wines are in the $20 category,” he said. “That’s like the starting point in Napa.”
Scott did expect the tastings to be free. That’s something everyone expects there.
What fit under Scott’s heading of “hoped for” were places like C.G. di Arie on Shenandoah School Road. The wine is varied and good, the winery is owned by Chaim Gur-Arieh, the man who developed Cap’n Crunch cereal — reason enough to love the guy — and the tasting room is in a house by a brook.
What you see when you walk up is a brightly painted garage door. (Actually, this is the tasting room. The winery is a state-of-the-art facility a few miles away just across the El Dorado County line.)
Even more down the eccentric trail is Dobra Zemlja on Steiner Road, where they taste in a cave and the atmosphere at the tasting bar feels like a party, possibly because they have Kikas zinfandel, a port-style fortified wine with 20 percent alcohol.
But the styles of tasting rooms are as assorted as the styles of wine. For instance, Jeff Runquist Wines on Shenandoah Road has a bright, airy, modern building — the wood still smells new — but the same country friendliness inside.
Plus, we kept meeting owners and winemakers. At Terre Rouge and Easton Wines, Scott found his most impressive portfolio of wines. He particularly loved the syrahs. Me, too.
While we were tasting, Doug Bellamy, the tasting room manager, dragged us into one of the regular food/wine pairing exhibitions he runs with Jane O’Riordan, a chef, cookbook author and one of the owners.
Or at Dillian Wines on Steiner Road, the cheery guy pouring behind the bar was Tom Dillian — the young Tom, winemaker and tasting room manager, not to be confused with his father, Tom, the head winemaker. “We’re just a family making wine,” Tom-the-younger told us.
“That’s how it is up here,” Tom said. “Most of us are family places, and we all do a lot of things at the winery. We’re all rooting for each other, too. I love that my neighbors make good wine.”
At nearly the end of the day, and nearly the end of the valley, we were a bit unneighborly, getting to Sobon maybe five minutes before they were closing. We asked tentatively if we could quickly sample a couple of their renowned zins.
A man and a woman had started to straighten the tasting room. No problem, they said. No hurry. They were casual and amiable. It could have been noon. They showed Scott some memorabilia from the winery’s long history and offered stories with the tastes.
At one point, I looked at Scott. “Old-school hospitality,” I said.
“That’s what it is,” he said. “It makes the wine taste better.”
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