Spring Fling Wine Tasting in Amador Valley, California

On 22May10 I drove east of my home in Folsom, CA towards the town of Plymouth to take part in the Spring Fling wine tasting event. This event is for the newer wineries in the west end of the Amador Valley, where there are many vineyards.

First stop was Sera Fina Cellars, which had a small ballon overhead to show the passing drivers where the place is located as it is a couple of hundred yards off the main road of Latrobe Road. A nice young couple run the vineyards. Tried some very good wine, although they don't grow their own grapes yet, the owner said he will plant vines in the front of the main building.

Next stop was Convergence Vineyards located about 5 miles east of Sera Fina. The house where the tasting room is located had a patio having a great view of the valley in front of it. There was a party of about 8 young women tasting wine. One of them told me that they were having a girls day out for one of the girls was getting married. Tasted their range of wines Covergence was providing. Very good all around.

Third stop was Tanis Vineyards which was the smallest of the wineries. In the front was a chicken coop where a rooster was yelling even though it was midday. The tasting room was out of the garage. A husban and wife team poured the wine for tasting. The husban explain in detail how the wine is grown and the processes of making them. Very informative. There was also a sample of flavored oils, although they actually don't make this but it does have their label on the bottles. I enjoyed the habanero-tequila oil as it was tasting and spicy-hot. I purchased a bottle.

Last stop was Nua Dair. The large room where the tasting room is located had the ceiling partially collapsed. The owner, behind the sampling table, said that the air conditioner failed and they were replacing it for a working one. They had a food sample of what the owner said was a South African dish called bebule, which was curried rice and ground meat. After tasting the wines here I headed home the end of a nice wine tasting day.

I purchased a bottle of wine from each of the vineyards in support. I'm not going to drink them myself so plan to give them away. I was pleasantly surprise how good the wines were in this part of California. Guess I was spoiled from the Napa wines. Will definently try to visit the other vineyards in the Amador Valley.

Photos can be seen at the Facebook site:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=58777&id=1507778102&l=cd8fca0506