Wineries

Wineries

Renaissance Vineyard & Winery

During the Gold Rush, the wine region of Yuba became famous throughout the United States. Fortune Magazine recognized this fact in its 1933 issue describing the wine regions of the U.S. A group of French settlers, who founded nearby Frenchtown, were making Cognac-style brandy during this period. Marysville, thirty miles from Renaissance, boasted the largest winery in the state. A man named L.B. Clark had planted 50,000 vines on his 600-acre Rancho Virginia at Collins Lake, only 5 miles from Renaissance.

Renwood Winery

Renwood is Destination Zin! Our wines start with separately fermented small lots of fruit, hand-picked from gnarled old head-trained vines dating back to the 19th century. These elderly vines produce a scant crop but the quality is excellent and exhibits the classic markers of Amador Zinfandel, dusty berry and spice. Renwood Winery produces limited production Zinfandel, Rhone and Italian varietal wines exclusively for our tasting room.

Sierra Vista Winery

Another out of the way Sierra foothill winery. A bit of a drive to get there but worth it. The view of the Crystal Range especially when there is snow on the mountains is beautiful and the fall view when the grape vines have turned color is awesome also. The tasting room is small and simple and personal. The winery's signature wine is the Fleur de Montagne. This is a Rhone blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault.

Silver Fox Vineyards

Silver Fox Vineyards, established in 1989, is owned and operated by Karen and Marvin Silver. Dedicated to quality, Silver Fox makes premium hand-crafted wines. The owners personally farm 2 1/2 acres of vineyards. In addition, two other growers in the nearby Sierra Foothills farm grapes. Silver Fox is located near Yosemite National Park, at an elevation of 3000 feet, where the warm days and cool nights help the grapes develop the complex and intense flavors needed to produce their gold medal winning wines.

Szabo Vineyards

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.

Toogood Estate Wine Caves

Hidden from view off a narrow two-lane road in the heart of Fair Play, this winery takes advantage of the rocky outcroppings and protected valleys indigenous to the area. Toogood Estate Winery is unique in the Sierra Foothills because it has wine caves. There were many wines to choose from and the staff made the visit fun. They mixed in educating us about the wines and their process with jokes and kept things fun.

Truckee River Winery

Truckee River Winery was established 23 years ago with the vision of sourcing quality grapes, bringing the fruit to Truckee in order to take advantage of the high elevation and cold temperatures to naturally cool the fermentation and slow down the barrel aging process. Thus becoming the highest and coldest winery. Truckee River Winery's focus from the beginning has been to produce handcrafted wines with great structure and finesse. Their award winning Pinot Noir is the winemaker's,Russ Jones, pride and joy.

Ursa Vineyards

Ursa Vineyards is a collaborative effort between the husband and wife team - Greg Stokes and Deborah Elissagaray. Greg has 25 years experience with vineyards and wine making, Deborah 18 years in wine making. Both were part of the wine making team at David Bruce for years. This small foothill winery produces no more than 2500 cases annually, allowing exceptional attention to be paid in both the vineyard and the cellar. All fruit is fermented in small fermenters and worked by hand. A minimal amount of handling ensures the preservation of the fruit character of the varietal being made. Ursa Vineyards focus is petite sirah from various vineyards in California, but they also produce merlot, syrah and a unique varietal from the Pyrenees, tannat. Open Saturday & Sunday, 11am - 5pm

Westbrook Wine Farm

Westbrook Wine Farm the vineyard and winery are located on a mountainous forty acre site at an elevation of 1440 feet in the central Sierra Nevada range of eastern Madera County, California. Close to the hamlet of O'Neals and not far from Bass Lake, the town of Oakhurst and the Southern entrance to Yosemite National Park.

Windwalker Vineyard

Good wines, good service, and nice atmosphere. They have a fantastic assortment of reds, including some interesting ports. Go here for a picnic! They have a great patio and deck. If you call ahead with a big party, they will do their best to make sure you have fun.

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