Shenandoah Valley Wineries | Sutter Creek

Presidents' Weekend Wine Country Getaway – Sutter Creek – Shenandoah Valley and Fair Play Wineries - February 2006

Each year in February, we visit this very scenic and historic wine country of the Sierra Foothills. This is usually quiet and uncrowded wine country but the month of February can be a busy time in the Gold Country. Many of the wineries plan special events for Valentine’s Day and Presidents' Weekend, bringing more tourists than usual. Our home base is the Hanford House Bed & Breakfast in the town of Sutter Creek. Not only is Sutter Creek the best town in the Gold Country, but it is the gateway to many fine wineries and other points of interest in the area.

The most wonderful thing about visiting wineries here is that they are mostly small and family owned producing less than 5000 cases of wine per year. You are likely to find the owners and winemakers working the tasting room, engaging visitors with interesting information about their wines.

The predominant grape here is Zinfandel, much of it having been planted during the Gold Rush days. Syrah, Petite Syrah, Sangiovese, Barbera also abound.  But, there are also many lesser known varieties that grow well in this climate and you are likely to find bottlings such as Verdelho or Alicante Bouchet and other unusual varietals at some of the wineries.

Saturday in Wine Country

We arrive in Sutter Creek at noon and join our friends at the Hanford House. The weather is a chilly 42 degrees and the climate outlook for the holiday weekend looks very iffy.   Our first stop is Susan’s Place Wine Bar and Eatery on Eureka Street. It’s within walking distance from the Hanford House, like just about everything else is in Sutter Creek. We have eaten at Susan’s place in the past and were disappointed with the service and atmosphere. This time around, it is quite the opposite of what we expected. Susan’s has a terrific lunch menu with a variety of choices. The wine list is extensive featuring many of the local wineries. Janelle has the grilled chicken sandwich and Joe orders the Calamari steak Panini.  We give Susan’s a rating of 4.5 for a very delicious lunch and warm and friendly service.

We settle into the Hanford House, unpack and then embark with our friends on an afternoon of wine tasting.  We will concentrate on the Shenandoah Valley today, which is only a 20-minute drive from Sutter Creek.

Bray Vineyards

Our first winery is Bray Vineyards, located off Shenandoah Road about 2 miles from Plymouth. Bray produces 5000 cases of wine from 20 acres of vineyards surrounding the winery. The olive and oak trees in the midst of the rolling hills of vineyards make for a delightful and pleasing view. The specialty at Bray is Zinfandel and Sangiovese, but they also produce several other varietals. We like the Sangiovese and it happens to be on sale for $10 per bottle at a case price. As is the situation with many of these small wineries, they often have sales to clear space in their small cellars for the next vintage. We snap up a case of the Sangiovese, that by coincidence we saw for $15 a bottle at a local market in Plymouth.

Story Winery

Karly Winery

Heading back on Bell Road we visit Karly Winery. Karly is a mandatory stop for us on each visit to the Shenandoah Valley. Karly makes big Zinfandels that are jammy and full of berry flavors. Our favorites Zins are the Karly Warrior Fire and the Sadie Upton. One of the most interesting wines is Karly's 2004 Chateau Blanc. It is a unique blend of five different Rhone varietals. The wine is very flavorful and quite delicious. For $20 the price might seem a bit steep, but once tasted it becomes a very good buy.

Amador Cellars

Saturday Night Dinner

The Mine House, a B&B in Amador City, has recently reopned its restaurant. Our two favorite restaurants in Sutter Creek have recenlty closed, so we decide to try the newly-opened Mine House. The staff at Hanford House recommends it based on comments from their guests. We have a party of ten and the Mine House offers to pick us up in a limousine for a small fee. Since we have a couple of designated drivers in our group of ten, we pass on this offer.

The restaurant at the Mine House is an old Victorian house, decorated nicely giving one a sense of the Gold Rush days. Maybe it's because we have a large party, but the service is very slow. There are long waits between courses. The entrees get a mixed review from our group. We rate the Mine house a 3 on our Five-Point rating scale.  We will try again next year and see if the Mine House has ironed out the kinks.

Sunday in Wine Country

The breakfast at the Hanford House is always delicious, along with great coffee and other goodies. This Sunday, the cook misses the mark with an overbaked cinnamon French toast casserole. We are also subjected to a few comments about making too much noise when we came back from our dinner at the Mine House the previous night. It makes all of us feel very uncomfortable.

After breakfast, we walk the three business blocks of Main Street, and then along some of the side streets. It is very cold but invigorating and a good way to work off our breakfast. The sun is peeking through the clouds and we hope we might have some sun later in the day.

It is 11:00 am and time to start our trip into wine country. Our plan is to have a picnic lunch at one of the wineries. We pick up our picnic goodies at the Pokerville Market in Plymouth and head out to the Fair Play wine appellation. It’s about a 30-minute drive into El Dorado County and the first winery, Mt. Aukum Vineyards.  The altitude in this area is 2000 feet. We find the signs to the winery and turn up Tower Road and climb another 600 feet to the winery. The views are fantastic on this clear cold day. It is 37 degrees and there is snow on the ground from a surprise snowfall the day before.

Mt. Aukum Vineyards

Mt. Aukum Winery recently opened this new faciltity featuring one of the most amazing views you will ever find in the wine country. Three cousins own the winery, one handling the winemaking, and the other two the business end of the winery. At the present time they buy their grapes from vineyards in the Fair Play area and other locations in California. They also have five estate vineyards at this high altitude loaction, which will bear full fruit in a few years. Our tastings reveal that these young wine owners are off to a very good start. The Syrahs and Zinfandels are beautifully balanced. We look forward to visiting again and think the winery has a great future ahead.

Latcham Winery

We head back on Mount Aukum Road, then left onto Omo Ranch Road to our next stop, the Latcham Winery. Latcham is having a fantastic sale on many of their wines. The Cabernet Franc, Barbera, and Zinfandel are all on sale for $10 a bottle and an extra 10% off a purchase of a case, and 20% if you purchase two or more cases. The best of the lot is the Barbera, a fantastic food-friendly wine. Latcham has many wines to taste and many appetizers are prepared to feast the hungry crowds of wine tasters.

Cedarville Vineyard

From Latcham, we head through the tiny town of Fair Play and along Fair Play Road. We have scheduled an appointment at Cedarville Vineyard, an all-time favorite winery of ours. We always enjoy the wonderful Cedarville wines and talking with the owners and winemakers, the husband-wife team of Jonathon Lachs and Susan Marks. Both Jonathon and Susan are very gracious and accommodating. It is always fun to taste each of their wines and hear their approach to producing each varietal and vintage.  We begin our tasting with the only white wine produced at Cedarville, the 2004 Viognier.  The Viognier has always been good but this particular vintage is the best yet. It is very lush and fruity. We then taste the reds,  the Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. They also make a delicious and very popular Grenache, but unfortunately they are sold out. We find each of their wines delicious and full of character.

The weather has turned even colder, around the mid 30’s and rain or snow is imminent. Jonathon and Susan offer to set up a picnic table in the winery and we take them up on it. We feast on our deli delights with a glass of the Cedarville Viognier.

If you would like to visit Cedarville Vineyard, call ahead, because they are only open to visitors by appointment.

It’s back to the Hanford House and as we drive through Fair Play snowflakes begin to fall, a most unusual setting in the wine country.  For dinner, we decide not to eat at a restaurant but nibble on various appetizers and sample wines from our winery visits. The Handford House provides us with the use of their comfortable lounge area in their conference room. Here we enjoy much camaraderie and quite a bit of wine.

Monday in Wine Country

Breakfast at the Hanford House today is creamy scrambled eggs mixed with diced prosciutto and asparagus. This meal is delicious and makes up for the previous day. It is the type of breakfast we are accustomed to at the Hanford House. The weather is absolutely beautiful, crisp, clear and not a cloud in the sky. Before heading home, we drive along several hidden country roads that offer spectacular views of green meadows and rolling hills of vineyards.