Drive out on Highway 46 for a bit and you will find tucked away Rocky Creek Cellars. Rocky Creek is a homey little tasting room with the charm of a rustic cabin. The folks that run this place, like most of the wineries and tasting rooms in the area, are a family, so you can tell a certain amount of personal flair and attention has been put into everything right down to the tasty crackers they serve with their flights.
Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery is known for their Pinot's, but I was very impressed with their Chardonnay's. We really liked the Zinfandel they were pouring as well.
Located in Alpine, CA at an altitude of 3,000 feet is Rock Canyon Vineyards. Hot summer days and cool nights contribute the some wonderful handcrafted and unfiltered wines with delightful unique earthy falvor. Think of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel and some red blends.
Beautiful vineyard and land. Frey produces organic and biodynamic wines- and is the oldest organic winery in the country. The Frey family, 10 out of 12 children run the vineyard and live on the 90 acres. The wine was tasty. I haven't had a lot of organic wines but I liked the organic Zin and biodynamic Petite Syrah.
Painting by Agata Zaborowski women enjoying wine
In this time of multimillion-dollar vineyard estates and celebrity winemaking consultants, when it seems that financial backing has replaced skill as the key to success in enology, it is rare that a simple idea can give birth to wines that stand out for flavor and balance, rather than pedigree alone. Waterstone Winery was formed in 2000 with the simple concept of creating luxury wines at affordable prices. Bringing together previously established relationships with Napa Valley growers and vintners, the winery set out to develop balanced wines of varietal character through intelligent sourcing. Preferring to focus on the wine itself rather than the accumulation of land and facilities, Waterstone owns no vineyards, nor does it own the facility where its wines are made. Dedicated winemaking, strong relationships with top growers and long-term grape contracts are the keys to Waterstone’s quality and success.
With 25 years of farming experience in the region, we take a ground up approach to quality, integrating it into every aspect of wine production, from our six SIP Certified sustainable vineyards to our premium hospitality offerings. Vina Robles Vineyards & Winery is built upon the core values of sustainability, hospitality, and quality.
Labyrinth WInery is a premium producer of Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir and Big French / Spanish Reds from Paso Robles. The team at Labyrinth believes that world-class wines need to be accompanied by world-class service. In addition to a comfortable and welcoming environment to taste the wines poured, you will fine a sincere endeavor to make your visit special so that you feel like a long lost friend. At Labyrinth Winery Eddie and Stephanie Schwatz "craft wines that make your palate sing." *
Hours:
Mon Closed
Tues Closed
Wed 3:00pm to 8:00pm
Thur 3:00pm to 8:00pm
Fri 3:00pm to 8:00pm
Sat 12:00am to 8:00pm
Sun 12:00am to 6:00pm
"Bodies in the sand, tropical drink melting in your hand We'll be falling in love to the rhythm of a steel drum band Down in Kokomo... That's where you want to go to get away from it all, down in Kokomo" Actually, this winery doesn't have anything to do with The Beach Boys and their song, but this winery. definitely does have good wines. Actually, Kokomo pays homage to the winemaker's (Erik Miller) origins, Kokomo, Indiana. Kokomo Winery consistently win awards for their wines, most notably their rose.
Ray Schnorr and Jeannine O'Brien, owners, farmers, and winemakers, began their journey with a simple landscaping idea—planting 10 Zinfandel vines alongside their home in Rancho Bernardo. They sourced the plants from Sonoma County, stored them in a hotel during a trade show in San Francisco, and planted them in the spring of 2004. A year later, as the vines thrived, the question arose: “What are you going to do with those grapes?” What started as a casual interest in wine evolved into a full-blown passion for winemaking. After acquiring the necessary equipment, building refrigerated storage, and eventually purchasing land for a vineyard, their amateur label, "Slippery Slope," was born.
During this time, Ray immersed himself in winemaking, taking classes at a local community college and online courses from UC Davis. He became active in the local home winemaking community, earning recognition and accolades in county and state winemaking competitions. Jeannine, too, became a winemaker, producing a gold medal-winning vintage. More recently, she passed the rigorous exam to become a Level 1 Sommelier in the Court of Masters.
In 2007, they acquired their property in Highland Valley and began construction on their winery and vineyard in 2009. Acknowledging the region’s rich history of grape growing, which spans over a century, they named their estate Highland Valley Vineyards and designed the winery in a 1920s craftsman style.
Their approach blends traditional winemaking techniques with modern technologies to craft wines of distinction and character. They specialize in producing bold red wines with full body, balanced fruit, and a rich finish. To complement their estate-grown grapes, they source fruit from San Diego (South Coast), Mexico, Paso Robles (Central Coast), Amador County (Sierra Foothills), Lodi, and Dry Creek Valley (Sonoma County).
As winemakers and farmers, Ray and Jeannine now oversee the full journey from earth to bottle, practicing sustainable farming to enhance fruit quality while minimizing environmental impact.
Lone Buffalo Vineyards, launched in 2007 in Auburn, CA is the culmination of owner and winemaker Phil Maddux’s thirty-five year passion for wine making. The buffalo's power and resilience in the face of encroaching civilization symbolizes hope and renewal for humanity and harmony among all people. Here in the Sierra foothills, Lone Buffalo Vineyards symbolizes this same hope and renewal with its contribution to the re-emergence of the wine-making tradition in Placer County.
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