Harvest Time

Wild Turkeys abound around the Sierra Foothills.

Thank god the first signs of Fall, finally!!! Last weekend I was not sold that it was Fall even though the temperature felt Fallish over the weekend and we did one of our favorite rituals, going to Apple Hill in Placerville, Ca. During the week it was in the high 90s, so as you can understand not convinced. The weather lady on the local news said it is supposed to rain this week and we are on a permanent cool down. I got so excited that I told Ben the weather is great and it is September so what do you think we are doing today? We are going Winery hunting! We live on the out skirts of the Sierras and there are pockets of Wineries all around. One large one is in Amador( I am working on a post about some new places to visit around there to) but going up towards Tahoe you have a good amount as well. Ben found one on a Google map that was actually not too far away, and a little hidden. So we drove down a windy road and through the woods and pulled into a steep drive way to find Pescatore Vineyard and Winery.

Pescatore Wines 

 is owned by the the Wegner Family with David Wegner at the wheel. David is also a serious fishermen splitting his time between the Winery and Baja California. The Winery also host several wine dinners where his latest catch are sometimes featured. The Winery is about ten minutes outside of Newcastle, CA and tucked away in a hillside with incredible views. David and his family planted the vineyard themselves in 1997 and had there first harvest four years later. 

Ben and I arrived at the Winery and saw a sign on the door that said to call a number and David would be right down. So we called and he came hiking down a large hill to meet us and opened the wine room. They had a party the night before and you could tell it was a fun one. David started to open bottles for us and the first was incredible. I am thinking, they must specialize in whites. Well, I keep tasting down the line all the way to his desert wine and I am in shock. Every single wine is great across the board. This never happens especially with small wine makers. Usually only one out of the selections of wines are standouts. Maybe two if they can afford a professional Winer Maker. David is the wine maker and he was a home wine maker for many years and took class at UC Davis to perfect his craft. Years later he took the plunge and decided to buy some land and plant a vineyard. Thank god he did!

The real kicker is he sells all his wines for the same price $13.00, with exception to the desert wine! I was in disbelief for sure. He says he has to compete with Trader Joes pricing and super markets with over whelming selections. The pricing makes it a stand out on the shelves over the more expensive ones no doubt. He says he rather set a very reasonable price and have return customers then sell his vintages comparable to everyone else in the region and not sell as much. 

So while most people walk out of local Wineries with one or two bottles his customer's walk out with CASES!!! Now he sells through the local Grocery Stores and at the winery. If you want to buy online he sells almost every thing with exception of his Whites, Rose' and Desert Wine, but if you call him he will ship you some. His Sauvignon Blanc is wonderful and like I said across the board everything was wonderful even the Rose' was stellar. Also he only uses his own grapes to make his Wines with exception to his Chardonnay that comes out of Sonoma. This is a can't miss place. So great!

next on the list to hit was 
PaZa

This is a very new winery. Just opened in July this year. Another wonderful small family operation. The winery is owned and operated by Pamela and Zane a husband and wife team. The winery is very sweet and has beautiful views as well. I was excited when I started to taste because the wines where great for a first run. The winery does not have a website yet and you cannot buy online either. Zane, is for sure focused on creating a quality wine first and then getting the online presence up and running later. If you are going up to Tahoe or want to do some wine tasting this is a great stop. They have a nice tasting set up where you can buy a bottle and just hang out in the Vineyard. 

If you want to check out the whole region you click on this link to the Placer County Visitors Bureau.

You can make a weekend getaway out of it with the cute old mining town of Auburn near by also Nevada City is not too far north either. Many Bed and Breakfasts around the area as well to stay at. In the link to the Placer County Visitors Bureau they have listings of places to stay as well.

Happy Monday All:)