For Thursday, October 1, 1998 Drummer Column, Gibbs, 714 words
Golden opportunities
Sure, Benicia is located next to the world-famous Napa Wine Country. Sure, we can drive up there in no time and take the tasting tours. Sure, the wine is good and cost no more than it does in the grocery stores.
However, as anyone who has made the tour in the last couple of years can attest, the Napa Valley wineries cater more to tourists than to locals who like to replenish their wine collections first-hand. Most of the wineries in the valley proper want to sell you a souvenir glass. Tourists love these glasses. They buy them by the handfuls. The sales help offset the overhead of pouring free premium wines all day every day to an endless crowd of travelers, but they don't help us.
Also, the selections have dwindled. Crowded wineries have taken to offering only a handful of labels for tasting on a given day. I'm guessing they choose from the wine that is most in stock. And why is it most in stock?
I wrote a piece three Augusts ago about driving beyond the Napa Valley to the Alexander Valley, where the pace is slower and the kitchenware is free. Now, I want to describe another friendly, generous, fine wine-tasting region. It's a bit further away, but worth the drive. Some say there is no such place as El Dorado. They call it a myth. But I have seen it. I have been to El Dorado.
El Dorado wineries are plentiful and close together. They are interlinked on winding forest roads on both sides of Highway 50 just east of Placerville. We came across them several years ago while river rafting.
TANGENT: BHS teachers Kathy Watson, Teresa Finn, Greg Lunsford, Chris Otto, Melanie Voss, Susan Gibbs, secretary-in-chief Maria Bates, Farmar Principal Jane West, and all their spouses when rafting last Saturday. Remember Saturday? It was that dark, cold day of drizzle and elephant clouds. Miraculously, just as we launched, the rain stopped, the clouds blew away, and the sun came out. We had a bright, beautiful float down through the canyon. At the end of our trip, after the boats were rolled up, it began to rain again and darkness fell. We had rafted through the eye. The river gods were smiling.
TANGENT Connected: Early on in that trip, as we were standing next to the river preparing to launch, as the rain came zipping down at a slant in the wind, we paused and wondered this: "Perhaps we should skip the rafting trip altogether and go wine tasting." This was followed with enthusiastic affirmations. For a moment, it could have gone either way. Then we launched.
Here's what we missed. Just up the street from where we launched is the Gold Hill Winery, a huge, friendly place with a banquet hall and a long tasters' menu. From here we could have secured a map that would have connected us to the other El Dorado County wineries. The rest would be history…math, science, English, business.
Let me suggest a weekend. Step one: reserve quarters for two nights at either a hotel in the Placerville area or a campsite in Coloma gold country along the American River.
Step two: Begin your tour by exiting Highway 50 at Schnell School Road and turning north to follow Carson Road east. First stop will be Boeger, a red-wine lover's delight, renowned for its Merlot and zinfandel. The cellar dates back to 1857. Lava Cap is next with famous fumé blanc. Then comes Madrona with gold medal zinfandel that's sold out for the season. Driving south you will come across the first of our two all-time favorite places: Sierra Vista, a family winery that names its varietals after the kids. Lynelle is a favorite. Their spectacular view of the Sierras is also their label.
Our other favorite place is the Charles B. Mitchell, up under the trees. We like it because Charles is often there pouring wine. Just as often, he is motioning guests into the back where they can taste from his oak barrels. Charles adds extra flavor to his fine wine by his presence.
Wineries I didn't have room to detail are Granite Springs, Single Leaf, Fitzpatrick, Latcham, Perry Creek, Windwalker, Jodar, and Eldorado, and Venezio. Foothill wineries are truly a Californian's El Dorado.
Website to visit: http://www.eldoradowines.org/ and http://www.el-dorado.ca.us/~vinetime/