Winemaking at a Higher Level

The small, inviting wineries of El Dorado County offer a direct connection to the art and science of fine winemaking.

Coveted medals line tasting room walls and laudatory media ratings crop up with each season. But recognition has not affected the atmosphere. You can still converse with the owners and winemakers in tasting rooms throughout the region as though you were dropping in on a neighbor.

The El Dorado Winery Association represents 20 small family-owned and operated wineries offering an outstanding selection of handcrafted wines. Both artistically inspired and research oriented, El Dorado winemakers each have their own personality and style. Some trained for years at the world’s most prestigious universities and wineries. Some devoted their lives to studying this blessed spot on Earth. Each is certain that El Dorado’s mountainous terrain is the right place to grow their vines.

Nooks and crannies at 2,800 to 3,600 feet have created hundreds of tiny microclimates that provide a broad range of temperatures, exposures and soils. When well matched, the topography provides an ideal location for the world’s finest wine grapes, hailing from Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhone, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The challenge is to choose carefully when matching the varietal to the planting spot. El Dorado winemakers, from area pioneers to new arrivals, continue to hone their practice of “right grape, right place.”

Special winery events are planned throughout the year, including barrel tastings, winemaker dinners and wine club affairs from the educational to the gloriously hedonistic. Every spring, all 20 wineries join together to put on the annual Passport Weekend. Wine lovers are treated to a weekend of library and barrel tastings, gourmet food pairings, art and entertainment.

For more information, the El Dorado Winery Association has an action-packed website that contains links to each individual winery, plus a photo gallery, newsroom, recipes to pair with El Dorado wines, and visitor information. Visit eldoradowines.org or call us at (800) 306-3956.