Recently we visited the Placer Wine Trail area and 3 wineries, in the Sierra Foothills AVA of Northern California. This wine region has a rich history dating back to wine grapes first planted by immigrant miners during California’s Gold Rush. Read history. Today, there are 20 family-owned wineries nestled in the rolling Sierra foothills. These growers and winemakers are marking a resurgence with great wines and a tasting experience that is welcoming, unpretentious, and very affordable.
Vina Castellano Winery, Bell Rd., Auburn
This charming tasting room is inside a cave providing a cool respite from the brutal late summer Nor Cal heat. As soon as we opened the large wooden doors with the brass bull’s horn handles, we were welcomed in by a group of fellow tasters encouraging us to join their fun. The cave tasting room is filled with plenty of table and sofa seating with warm lighting throughout, creating an old-world style atmosphere to taste their wines focused on Spanish varietals.
Each taster was able to choose 4 pours to try from a menu of 10 available wines. The generous 2-ounce pours were then labeled and brought out to us to taste and share, compare thoughts and choose our favorites. My favorites this day were their Temperanillo, and their two blends ‘abuelita’ and ‘abuelito’, (grandma and grandpa), featuring different blends and proportions of their red grape varieties.
Dono dal Ciello Winery, or simply ‘Dono’ as the locals call it. Wise Rd, Newcastle.
This fun tasting room is inside an air-conditioned metal barn, filled with people, and a handful of dogs. Here the tasting experience is casual, with the added perk of live music. Tasters can have a 1ounce pour from six wines on the tasting menu, poured by the friendly servers behind the bar. If you don’t want to stand at the bar, there are many tables or sofas to enjoy your taste. A lively 3 piece country band had the crowd dancing, tapping their feet, and singing along to ‘Country Roads’, the John Denver classic known by everyone in the winery, young and old.
Our favorites were the Viognet and their Zins, particularly their limited production Reserve Zinfandel.
Wise Villa Winery, Wise Rd,Lincoln.
The most refined winery visited this day with a gated entrance and a Tuscan-styled bistro for wine tasting AND dining at the same time. Our 3:30 pm tasting included 5 pours, chosen from either their White & Reds or All Reds tasting options. I chose the all red tasting. It was very convenient to be able to order food and have it served while we enjoyed our pours which were served on a wood plank of pre-measured cups that could be poured into our one tasting glass, and the service was very friendly., Of the wines I tasted, the Barbera was my favorite and the only wine that I opted to buy. However, when I opened a bottle of this Barbera a week later, I found it tasted overly alcoholic and acetic, despite being stored properly from the time of purchase through the trip home. This is what we call “4 pm wine” — tasted good at 4 pm after a day of tasting, but not so good otherwise.
