A boutique winery that is located in the Sierra Foothills that uses tradititonal proceww that the diVittorio family has used since their immigrated to America in 1904. A small on-site still is used to produce the distillate that is the brandy composing the port wines and soon to come California Calvados. The wines and brandy are aged in oak barrels in the stable environment of a cave for at least 2 years before bottling.
Cinnabar Winery is a family-owned establishment that embraces winemaking as a harmonious blend of science and nature's magic. Nestled in the Santa Cruz Mountains, their vibrant Saratoga and Gilroy Tasting Rooms serve as the heart of the winery, where they collaborate with local growers to transform California's finest grapes into distinctive and approachable wines.
History
Founded in 1983 by the late Tom Mudd, Cinnabar initially planted vineyards and constructed a majestic winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Following Tom's passing, the estate changed hands in 2007, and Cinnabar relocated to its new home in downtown Saratoga.
In 2019, Ron Mosley, the original vineyard manager, took ownership, completing a remarkable full-circle journey. Ron is dedicated to honoring Cinnabar's legacy while steering the business toward an exciting future. Cinnabar's philosophy remains rooted in the joy of creating serious wine with a sense of fun.
Excellent Zinfandel and equally excellent Zinfandel Port. I believe they also make a Zin chocolate sauce for those of you with a sweet tooth. Now they're a bit off the beaten path but completely worth visiting. It's rare that you get the combination of excellent people and wine like this while also avoiding the tourist crush that is much of Napa. I highly recommend calling them up and experiencing it yourself. I know I'll be back the next time I'm headed that way.
The Dry Creek wineries produce a wider variety of wines and styles of wines than the traditional PN and Zin crowd along the Russian River. The Amphor tasting room location is in the same parking lot as 10 other wineries tasting rooms - right off Dry Creek Road. Stop at this location and you will be able to taste wines from Amphora, Collier Falls, Dashe, Forth, Philip Staley, Peterson, Lago di Merlo, Kokomo, Mietz and Papapietro.
Louis M. Martini is one of the old wineries known for their Cabernets. They have a nice patio area where you can bring a picnic while doing your wine tasting. When we walked in the tasting room, we walked up to the counter and selected the $15 tasting of three cabernets. We were give the first pour at the counter and were told we could go into large patio area and sit at one of the tables where our tasting could continue. Meanwhile, we setup our picnic and enjoyed our tastings with our picnic. The sever was very informative and came back with the next pour on our tasting menu when we were ready. The pours were generous and we were also given pours of the Meritage and Monte Rosso in the $20 tasting menu as well. It great place to bring a picnic to have your wine tasting in their nice patio area. Would definitely recommend.
Vines were plentiful in 1867 in Placer County. As gold was depleted the miners switched to planting vineyards and orchards to make a living. Secret Ravine's property at one time produced Zinfandel and Tokay grapes. In later years the vines were removed and cows grazed the area. In the late 1900’s the property was used for the raising and training of horses, consequently the need for the large barn (now the winery). In 1998 one acre of the property was once again returned to the production of wine grapes. Currently Secret Ravine has 3.5 acres producing, Zinfandel, Syrah, Sangiovese, Barbera and Sauvignon Blanc. Hours are Sat. and Sun. from 12:00pm to 5:00pm.
The winery: Service was great. Wine tasting was nice, definitely do that. Lots to choose from and the chips are really good. The wines were nice as well. We took the tour which was pretty cool. The tour guide was very nice and knowledgeable. He took us on a tour of the winery, told us a little about the surrounding area and the process how the wine is made.
Dropped in here without an appointment, but our hostess kindly welcomed our group of four. The winery emphasizes on the Rhone varietals, including a serious syrah and grenache. They also make a pretty tasty zinfandel as well.
A cozy tasting room and they were even dog friendly! Wine was delicious and owners were really friendly and great to talk to. The tasting was $6 - not bad at all when you compare them to Napa, but a little different when you compare them to all the wineries in Grass Valley who don't charge for tastings. This is more of a place you spend the evening with a good glass of wine rather than a "learn about each type of wine in detail" because there were lots of people in the tasting room and they didn't have a lot of time to explain every wine to us. However, on a recent weekend visit, a Sunday it was far more relaxed.
Image Randy Caparoso
Stopped by in the Fall to do a little tasting on our way up to the hot springs. I first went to this winery about 13 years ago and was a member for years. They have excellent red wines and fun harvest parties - complete with grape stomping! It's a quaint winery away from the crowds in Napa and couple of my favorites were the 2003 Cabernet Bosche and Zinfandel.
