Elegant refined wines are all that Auriga Wine Cellars pours. They also finish the tasting flight with a dessert wine that only has 16.5% alcohol so not a lot of sugar aftertaste but plenty of flavor. As if that wasn't reason enough to try it, it is fortified with...
Wine
More of El Dorado – blossoming wine region
A few days in this blossoming wine region clearly was not enough. The weather in El Dorado county is fantastic, the people are friendly, the wine is amazingly delicious and almost always has soft silky tannins. Then, there's the food. If I've said this before, I'll...
Mt. Konocti Winery
Don't let its industrial setting with picnic tables outside dissuade you from trying their wine. Several locals recommended this winery and there's always a reason for talk like that. They are one of the few wineries that is taking advantage of the wonderfully...
Shed Horn
Some of the most well-crafted wines come from winemakers who got their experience while employed by other wineries before branching out to create a label of their own, representing a personal style or creative outlet. Shed Horn is a great example of this bootstrapping...
Grape Stomp Festival Stains Feet
Contestants stand on red grapes within a half barrel while a mucker (no, not a typo) ensures all the juice flows into a measuring can and filters out skins, seeds, or stems that could block the flow. The juice excised is measured and winners announced with the most clear juice.
Rosa D’Oro Vineyards
All the best Italian varietals are available at the Rosa D'Oro Vineyards tasting room in downtown Kelseyville right in front of those cool antique street lights. If you are a fan of these famed grapes, make sure you stop at this family winery for a tasting. Their...
Chacewater Winery and Olive Mill
Chacewater Winery and Olive Mill is one of those resourceful wineries that also makes olive oil and olive oil products. Pop in on any day they are open, and they’ll be happy to give you a tour of the winemaking facility as well as their olive oil milling equipment....
Gregory Graham
When too many locals rave about a winery, you have to get yourself there to figure out why. Maybe, not you but I do. That's what makes me a wine investigator. Gregory Graham Estate Winery is one of those famed places with a rock star winemaker rep and following. Not...
Noggle
Noggle is another great example of how quality rules over quantity. They don't make a lot of wine and only specialize in a few varietals. But, they've admirably chosen varietals that thrive here. The day I was there they were only pouring Cabernet Sauvignon from two...
Brassfield
I don't know where the Brassfields got their panache, but their beautifully rustic tasting room and gardens, set beneath layers of colored mountains sure tell a story. If these local walnut wooded walls could talk, they'd speak of a sickly child whose life was saved...