This past Saturday, we gathered with a friend and I grabbed a bottle from our wine rack on the way out the door. I knew this was going to be a good wine, as I had favorable memories of it from the El Dorado Passport event in April. One of the best wines I've had […]
There is a wild fire along the border of El Dorado and Amador counties. Deaver Vineyards has posted some troubling images of the golden glow in the smoke visible from their tasting room. Here’s a link to a local news story. The radio report I heard says 1300 acres have been burned and 5 houses have […]
You’ve arrived in El Dorado County and you’ve stopped at a few wineries to taste and buy some wine. Now you’re feeling a little peckish. Where can you grab a bite to eat? When we first started going up to Gold Country for the wine, finding a place to eat was the biggest challenge for […]
This post was originally posted on June 22, 2012. Last weekend’s jaunt up to El Dorado for the Pleasant Valley Wine Makers’ Rocks & Rhone event reminded me that Summer tasting has some specific requirements! It is almost officially Summer and I’m sure your mind is wandering in the neighborhood of “where can we go […]
The second day of the 2014 El Dorado Passport event started out over cast and chilly, but by the time we left the hotel, the sun was shining and the temperature was warming up. It is a beautiful drive from El Dorado Hills to our first winery of the day, Skinner Vineyard & Winery. The […]
My tasting companion and I started our Passport 2014 at Gold Hill Vineyards. I like starting here for a couple of reasons. First, I think they are one of the first wineries you can get to as you drive up from the Bay Area. Second, the drive from Highway 50 to the winery is beautiful […]
And so another El Dorado Passport slips into history. This one was a good one. With 32 participating wineries, it was one of the larger Passports in recent memory. There were a hand full of wineries that were participating for the first time, along with some old regulars. Passport is the premier wine tasting event […]
It is that time of year again: Passport 2014 is right around the corner! This year’s Passport will be on the weekends of April 5 & 6 and April 12 & 13. With over 30 participating wineries, this year promises to be one of the best Passport events yet. If you aren’t familiar, the El […]
A couple of days ago I made a mustard/wasabi encrusted pork roast. I wanted to serve it with a Grenache. For some reason (glug, glug), we had no Granache in the house. Shock! So I rummaged around in the racks and cases of wine until I found a wine that I thought might pair well. […]
I’ll come right out and say it: this is a perty darn good wine. The Skinner family has deep roots in the Sierra Foothills. The winery hit the ground running when they opened a couple years ago with some nice reds. They continue to improve with every new release. Sharing it’s name with the original […]
