California Wine Country

The California Wine Country in Napa and Sonoma suffered during the recent fires. Now they are suffering from a lack of people visiting the wineries. The fire is over and the wineries are open. October is still the best time to visit our beautiful wine country. With fewer crowds the experience will be even better. If you were ever thinking of going now is the time.

California Wine Country

Once again, here is my yearly pitch for visiting the California Wine Country in October. First of all, Spring and Fall are the best times to visit. The crowds are smaller but more important is the weather is at it's best. In the summer the inland heat sucks the marine layer off the coast cooling down the cities on the coast. Mark Twain said it best when he said "The coldest winter I ever spent was a Summer in San Francisco".

Come visit the California Wine Country, see the fall colors, see the crush and enjoy a less crowded atmosphere.

Now is the perfect time to visit every wine region in California.

Amador Wine Country

My favorite times of the year to visit the wine country are Spring and Fall. In the Spring the temperatures are warming up and the vines are starting to bud. It's not too hot or cold and great for eating a lunch with a bottle of wine outside. In the fall the temperatures are cooling down and the harvest season is underway. If you want to see how wine is made that is the time as the crush is in full swing.

Last week my son and I went to the Amador Wine Country to pick up my wine club bottles and to also try a few wineries we hadn't been to before. There is a lot to be said for the foothill wineries. The rolling hills are beautiful and this time of year are still lush and green, the crowds are less than in Napa or Sonoma and most wineries don't charge to taste.

We picked up wines at Villa Toscano, iL Gioiello, Cooper and Dillian. If you want to picnic all have outdoor seating. If you want to buy a hot meal then I would suggest Villa Toscano. I would also suggest opening up a bottle of their wine to go with lunch.

We also stopped at the Scott Harvey tasting room. I have been going to Amador for over 30 years and Scott has been around well before that. When I first met Scott he was the wine maker at Santino Winery which is now Renwood. Scott was trained in Germany and produces great late harvest wines. He also makes great Zins and white varietals.  This time I purchased some late harvest Riesling.

If you are in the Sacramento area I would suggest making the short trip to either El Dorado or Amador county to taste their wines. This is a great time to go.

Pops' Travel Guide, California Grappa

I know there are not a lot of you out there that like Grappa. I happen to be one that does so indulge me. My son and I made the trek up to the Amador Wineries in Northern California to pick up our wine club selections. The Amador Wineries are about a 45 minute drive from our house. We usually drive up, go to the 4 wineries I am a club member of, have lunch and then drive home. It's a nice relaxing day in a beautiful part of California with the rolling hills full of vineyards. The best part is it's hardly ever crowded and the scenery and wine quality matches that of the more familiar areas in California. It's like going back in time to Napa when you didn't have to pay to taste and there were no crowds. Spring is coming soon and you might want to consider this option.

Now to the main point of this post. While I was driving from winery to winery I remembered that I was out of Grappa. For those of you that don't know what Grappa is, it's made by taking the leftover mash from the wine process and distilling it. My cousin Roberto in Italy makes his own and that's where I fell in love with it. There is one winery in Amador, that I know of, that makes and sells Grappa. If you know and love Grappa you will know that Grappa can have different tastes depending on what grapes the mash came from. We went to the Vino Nocheto Winery to buy the Grappa. There they had a Barbera and Sangiovese and I bought both. You can also get Moscato and Zinfandel.

Now Grappa is not for everyone and most of my friends think I'm crazy for drinking it but if you are like me and love Grappa then Vino Nocheto is a great option. If you live in the area and want to buy some, California law won't let you taste at the winery, then make the trip to Amador County and spend a day in the area. If you live too far away you can find locations that sell it online.

The address is 11011 Shenandoah Road, Plymouth, CA 95669 and they are open most days 11am to 4pm.   Amador County is just southeast of Sacramento off of Highway 49 in the gold country.

Travel with Pops, Napa and Sonoma Wine Country

For those of you looking to travel to the California Coast, October is the perfect time to go. The weather is perfect as it is before the rainy season and the temperature is mild. It is also my favorite time to visit the wine country in Napa and Sonoma.

Usually October is also when the harvest is going strong but this year with our drought and hot summer the harvest was a little earlier. Don't let that stop you, this is still a good time of year to visit the wineries. If you can I would go mid-week. The crowds are a lot less and you will find it easier to get to the tasting bar and to find a table at a restaurant.

For a day trip I like to make my way up through the Sonoma county wineries, cut across when you hit Santa Rosa and then work my way down Napa Valley. The wineries are up to you but some of my favorites are Kenwood and Chateau St. Jean in Sonoma County; and Grgich  Hills and for sparkling wine Chandon in Napa Valley. Look at a wine map and pick your own.

You still have time. The weather should be great into early November.