Sutter Creek Trip | Amador Wineries | El Dorado Wineries

February 2004

This is our annual trek to the town of Sutter Creek and the nearby wineries in Amador and El Dorado Counties. Each year on Presidents’ Weekend, we organize a group of our friends to visit this beautiful wine country in the Sierra Foothills. Our group has reserved rooms at the Hanford House Inn in Sutter Creek. The Inn is our favorite Bed & Breakfast accommodation in this area. They have nine tastefully decorated rooms ranging in price from $110 to $225.

We leave the San Francisco Peninsula around 10:00 a.m. One can choose between two driving routes from the San Francisco area to Sutter Creek. Whether you choose to drive through Sacramento or through Stockton, driving time to get to Sutter Creek is about the same. We arrive in Sutter Creek at 12:30 just in time for lunch. We have lunch at the Caffé Via D’oro which is in the center of the Sutter Creek shopping area. This restaurant is consistently good and an excellent choice for lunch. We rate the Caffé Via d'Oro a 4.0 on our Five Point Rating Scale.

Following lunch we check into our rooms at the Hanford House Inn and then head out to taste wine at two wineries in the nearby Shenandoah Valley of Amador County. Our first stop is Karly, on Bell Road, which is off Shenandoah Road. Karly has a small tasting room and this weekend it is packed with visitors. It makes us wonder if this hidden wine country has been discovered. The Zinfandels produced by Karly are among the best. They make several Zins but the Sadie Upton label is a standout. They also make a Roussanne, a luscious white Rhone varietal, and a delicious Sauvignon Blanc. Karly is located on Bell Road off Shenandoah Rd.

Just down Bell Rd. from Karly is the Story Winery, another small winery. To our surprise this winery also has a huge crowd. Story is hosting a barrel tasting and a futures program. With the futures program, you pay for the wine now at a reduced price and receive the wine when it finishes bottle aging and is released by the winery. We taste three vineyard designated Zinfandels out of the barrel. We think the Picnic Hill Zinfandel is delicious and that it will be a great wine. We buy a case of this wine under the futures program. The Story winery is located in a beautiful setting with a picturesque view of the countryside.

For dinner, we choose the Zinfandels Restaurant which is about 100 feet walking distance from the Hanford House Inn. Our dinner party is big, 12 people, but the restaurant arranges a comfortable table for our group. As usual, Zinfandels serves up some excellent cuisine. The vegetarian special is a real treat as is the rack of lamb served with a delicious wine reduction sauce. The wine list has a good variety and is reasonably priced. The service is excellent and friendly. We rate the restaurant a 4.5 on our Five Point Rating Scale.

Day Two
Our party of 12 meets at 9:30 for breakfast in the Hanford House Inn’s relaxed breakfast room. Today’s breakfast is a delicious eggs benedict feast. A brisk walk following breakfast takes us along three main streets of Sutter Creek. The town has a good mix of stores for the interested shopper.

Then it’s off for a day of wine tasting in the Shenandoah Valley and the Fair Play area. Our first stop is the Villa Toscano winery about three miles out of the town of Plymouth. At 11:30 a.m. this winery is mobbed. The winery is beautifully designed in a Tuscan decor. The grounds are beautiful, but the wines are less impressive. We think the wines are a bit overpriced when compared to the wines made by surrounding wineries. We also get the feeling that there is a bit too much on the marketing side going on here. The winery feels more like in belongs in the Napa Valley and is out of character in the Gold Country.

We head to Terra Rouge and Easton Wines on Dickson Road off Shenandoah Road. This is a winery specializing in Rhone style wines (Terra Rouge label) as well as traditional California varietals (Easton label). In contrast to Villa Toscano, we are the only visitors in this tasting room. The staff of two gives us plenty of attention and a good deal of information about their wines. We love the Vin Gris, a very dry and fruity Rose. The Syrahs are excellent as well.

Our next stop is the Amador Foothill Winery on Steiner Road. This is a small winery that sits up on a hill with a great view of the valley. The wines are very good and an excellent value. They make three vineyard designated Zinfandels, a good Syrah and a very good Sangiovese. The Fume Blanc is outstanding and a steal at $10. We choose this winery for our picnic lunch. It is a great spot with a beautiful view. We munch on several cheese types and fruit while sipping the Amador Fume Blanc. What a life!

We have an appointment at Cedarville Vineyard for 2 p.m. Cedarville is located in the Fair Play AVA (wine appellation) in El Dorado County. This winery is open only by appointment. It is a two-person operation. Husband-wife team Jonathan Lachs and Susan Marks do everything but pick the grapes. They are pouring five wines for us today and we have to say that all are very delicious and excellent. In between tastes of the five wines, Jonathan gives us a tour of the winery and an in-depth explanation of his and Susan’s winemaking philosophy. It is easy to tell that winemaking here is their passion and it reflects in the quality of their wines. We highly recommend a visit to this winery.

It is almost 4 p.m. and we have one more winery to visit and that is the Latcham winery. They make several varietals that are all good value wines. We like the Barbera very much and the Gold Rush Red is a great bargain at $8.00 or so a bottle.

We have dinner reservations for the Imperial Hotel in Amador City, 2 miles from the Handford House Inn. This is our first visit to the Imperial Hotel restaurant. We have heard several good things about this restored 1879 hotel and restaurant. We all agree that our dinners are all very good but not quite as good as our Friday night meal at Zinfandels. The service is very good and the wine list is adequate and not overpriced. We rate the Imperial Hotel a 4.25 on our Five Point Rating Scale.

The next morning we awaken to a heavy downpour. We have a wonderful breakfast and everyone decides that we will head back home without a visit to any wineries. The rain looks like it will last all day and, besides, there is no room left in our car trunks for more wine. We all have had such a good time that we make reservations at the Hanford House Inn for next year on Presidents' weekend.