A Cheer(s) Filled Sunday in Placer County Wine Country

Yesterday my husband an I decided to embrace the warm weather and take a country drive through the wine country of Placer County. We went through our flyers and pulled the proper one out and map out the three wineries that we wished to visit . There are 18 vintners in and around Placer County, many of those have tasting rooms, and some even share like over at Wise Villa, which we visited a few weeks ago. Today we decided to visit three of the smaller vintners/tasting rooms. We always love the smaller boutique wineries as they are more personable, and more times than not we truly enjoy the wine and the experience so much better. Sunday did not disappoint.

The three we mapped out where Secret Ravine Vineyard and Winery in Loomis, CA. , Pescatore Vineyards & Winery in New Castle, CA., and Green Family Winery in Auburn, CA. Nestled in the country side of the Foothills, full of curvy roads, open spaces and breathtaking views sits these wonderful wineries/tasting rooms all along the Placer Grown Wine trail.  First stop was Secret Ravine as it was the closest to our apartment.

We drove up, first customers of the day and was greeted by the wife/owner of the winery who was outside working in the garden near the family home that sits close by, and warmly welcomed into the cute tasting room filled with the wines, a few products for sale, as well as a small tasting bar.There was no tasting fee, and for a couple on a tiny budget that is always a plus. We sampled around 6-7 wines, and quite a few stood out to us. But the Rattlesnake Red 2007 was one of my favs and I can walk to the local wine store close by and purchase it any time, so wrote my notes and added my stars and then we were on our way with a promise to be back. I am sure the gracious hostess will once again make us feel very welcome and I know next time we will make a purchase, but with two other wineries to visit, and a tiny budget for a bottle or two, we decided to wait. 

The tasting room.

A line up of wonderful wines. Great price points, and certainly on our list of "would like to haves".

Always love to see when the grapes are grown by the vintner.

Next up was Pescatore. As we entered into the winery/vineyard/family property, we were already a bit awe struck at the view and eagerly headed into the tasting room to see what wines awaited us....

The view as we drove in.

As the wine maker is up at his family home near by, you must call the number on the sign for him to come on down.

In the meantime you can enjoy the view from the balcony.

Could not resist a photo op. Outfit is a grey and black mini houndstooth print pencil skirt, paired with black poplin top, red patent shoes and clutch. The jewelry is red rose shaped beads for the necklace, with matching ring, and black metalic bow with red floral pendent earrings.

Part of the wonderful line up to be sampled.

Once inside the beautiful tasting room, complete with the sounds of Italian music floating in the air, and the warm breeze coming in from the open balcony doors, we were treated by the wine maker himself to a wonderful array of wine and he was gracious enough to bring out a cheese and cracker plate and later, by a friend of his an olive, pesto and bread plate. It was a wonderful surprise and so very welcomed as well since it is always good to eat when tasting wine. We had wonderful conversation, a few laughs and a warm since that we were welcomed anytime...to become part of the wine family!

Each wine was better than the next, but all were very good. I added stars to all the selections but in the end we choose a bottle of the Zinato Zinfandel Rosato (13.00) as we knew it would be the perfect warm weather wine to have once the high temps start hitting Northern California . But I am equally sure as I was with Secret Ravine that we will be back often to not only try new releases, but to take more bottles home to add to our supply.

On a side note If you live in Northern California and are looking for something fun to do, they are participating in a fund raiser for the Lincoln Youth Center. On Saturday, May 14th  for $20.00 PP you can visit three local wineries and have a taste of the Mediterranean as well as of course tastes of wonderful wines ..including Secret Ravine, Pescatore and another winery that we would like to one day visit , Rancho Roble in Lincoln, California. You can contact **Pescatore for details I am sure. ( **see link in second paragraph)

The last and final stop was to the Green Family Vineyards and Winery. This was one we had wanted to visit when we first moved back to California and this area, but the day we tried it was closed. This time we were lucky. I did not get many photos as there was another couple that showed up, but inside the tasting room, hosted by Charlie the wine maker himself, we once again sampled a wonderful selection of enjoyable wines. My list grew of wines that we would like to have, but settled on a Syrah by the name of Old Curmudegeon, rather like a part of Charlie I am sure on some level and on the simple label it states : "Vintage Red Dessert Wine Of Placer County, Calif." " Neither fined , flitered or fiddled with" . We were told that though typically it is a port wine that we would have at the end of meal and normally have on a cool Winters night, this would be great mixed with sparkling soda for a refreshing Spring or Summer spritzer. Plus the price was right!!

A friendly welcome at the end of a dirt road leading into the private property and winery.

Grapes on site.

The unassuming tasting room, and near by a door bell on a post with a sign to push it and vintner would be right down from his residence.

So that was a cheer(s) filled Sunday in and about the Placer County Wine Country. I am positive that we will be visiting these wineries and so many more in the region time and time again.