Spend a Relaxing Day Visiting the Amador Wineries

The wineries of Amador County offer a relaxing day of wine tasting in a rural foothill setting. The wineries are about forty-five minutes southeast of Sacramento located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California. There are over 40 wineries in Amador County with most of them in the beautiful and historic Shenandoah Valley in Plymouth, California.

The Amador County wineries are a pleasant alternative to the wineries of the Napa Valley. The wines are less expensive and the tasting rooms less crowded. The wineries are family-owned and operated and offer a casual and friendly environment with complimentary wine tasting. The short distance between wineries is also a plus, especially if you want to spend the entire day there and take in as many wineries as possible.

The region is known for its Zinfandel wines but many other varietals are produced as well. Some of the vineyards are more than 125 years old. Vineyards in the area were first planted right after the Gold Rush with many them still in use today.

The first winery you will come to in the Shenandoah Valley, driving on Shenandoah Road coming from Plymouth, will be Young’s Vineyard on the right. The winery has beautiful setting with a large pond and offers relaxing grounds to enjoy a picnic. The staff here is friendly and the wine is very good. They offer several wines including; Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Syrah, Sangiovese and Barbera. The owner of Young’s Vineyard is also an artist. She creates the designs on their wine bottle labels.

After stopping at Youngs turn right on Shenandoah School Road. Down this road is where you will find Montevina Winery. Montevina offers full-flavored red wines, with the Zinfandel and Barbera popular favorites. They have a large tasting room with a gift shop enclosed. While here try sampling their peach salsa. I always purchase a jar to take with me. The winery also has a covered picnic area adjacent to the tasting room.

Continue on Shenandoah School Road and you will come back to Shenandoah Road. Cross the road and it turns into Steiner Road, where you will come across Deaver Vineyards and Charles Spinetta Winery. Deaver is one of the most popular wineries in the area and features award winning Zinfandels. The winery is a great place for a picnic with large grounds, a well-keep green grass lawn, and a beautiful lake. They had several picnic tables under the trees right on the edge of the lake. Charles Spinetta Winery has a wonderful art gallery upstairs from the tasting room. The gallery offers 3,000 square foot of wildlife artwork. The winery has several varieties of wine including; Zinfandel, Petite Syrah, and Barbera. They also offer Orange Muscat and several other sweet wines. The wine bottles labels also feature wildlife artwork.

Stay on Steiner Road until you loop back to Shenandoah Road again and turn left. Just up the way on Shenandoah Road off to the right side is Sobon Estate. Sobon is a family owned winery that has been designated as a California State Historic Landmark. The winery is known for its historical vineyards and old vine Zinfandel. They offer Rhone varietals, vineyard designated Zinfandels, and tasting room-only dessert wines. Sobon also has a unique wine museum which is beneath the tasting room.

Come back down Shenandoah Road and turn right onto Bell Road. Take the road all the way to the end and you will reach Story Winery. Story has fantastic views of the valley and also offers several picnic tables in the shade of large trees. The winery has a small tasting room with a large wood deck surrounding it. They also offer barrel tasting down the hill from the parking lot in one of their large buildings. Story has a variety of Zinfandels and champagnes. The last time I visited Story they accommodated the crowd by having champagne tasting on the outside deck while the wine tasting was inside in the tasting room.

Go back to Shenandoah Road and turn right, down the road on the left you will see Villa Toscano Winery. They have beautiful grounds with statues and a fountain that is in the style of a Tuscan winery. The winery offers a large tasting room complete with barrel tasting. The gift shop is one of the largest in Amador and has many unique items such an old grandmother’s clock. Villa Toscano has award-winning vintages of Zinfandel and Syrah and is the only winery in the area that offers food including; soup, salads, sandwiches and pizza.

Spend the day visiting the wineries of Amador County and you will enjoy a day of tasting great wines in the beautiful and relaxing setting of the Sierra Foothills. The friendliness of the owners and staff at the wineries along with less expensive cost of the wines make the Amador wineries well worth the visit.