Northern California has long been a mecca for wine. By the end of the 2010s, Napa Valley was welcoming nearly 4 million tourists yearly (not including neighboring Sonoma), and even a global pandemic and eye-watering prices have done little to slow down enthusiasm for the region.
Yet for wine lovers whose taste in wine tourism runs more to the way things used to be — before mandatory reservations and $150 reserve tasting fees — who want to enjoy great wines in more comfortable settings at more reasonable prices, a trio of regions a bit further inland offer some of the best wine experiences California has to offer.
Lodi
Drinkers looking for something more akin to what they might be familiar with in Napa and Sonoma can find lots of dynamic wineries in Lodi. Long prized for its treasure trove of old-vine Zinfandel, the region is rapidly developing into quite the wine-centric destination.
Powerful red wines like the Reserve Syrah from Michael David Winery and the Vapor Trail Zinfandel from Oak Farm Vineyards showcase what Lodi can deliver, while one of the more distinct tasting experiences is at the recently opened CaliVines and CaliVirgin tasting room. CaliVirgin launched as an artisan olive oil producer in 2007, and recently added wine to its portfolio. Visitors can enjoy a side-by-side tasting of both products, and those traveling with children will appreciate the ability to share at least the olive oil portion with those underage.
A visit to the Lodi Wine Commission’s visitor center can be a great jumping-off point, and the accommodations at the adjacent Wine & Roses Hotel are well appointed and spacious. Dining options range from the British-inflected Oxford Kitchen to the more fine-dining styling of Towne House, while a number of wineries have substantial food offerings on hand as well.
Amador County
For those who enjoy a compact region with stunning scenery and a remarkable diversity of wines, Amador County in the Sierra Foothills has a wealth of options, most of which are tightly packed in the California Shenandoah Valley AVA near the town of Plymouth. Visitors would do well to consider a stay at the boutique hotel Rest and a meal at sister property Taste, though the Shenandoah Inn and Plymouth House Inn also make for an easy home base.
Amador is one of the other remaining strongholds of old vines in the state, mostly Zinfandel but with a smattering of other varieties as well, including Carignan and Mission. It’s lured several prominent names from Napa, with both Turley Wine Cellars and Rombauer Vineyards opening facilities in the region. But another winery well worth a visit is Amador Cellars, whose family-owned and -operated winery produces expressions of Zinfandel in several different styles, along with a delightful Sauvignon Blanc and a range of Italian varieties such as Fiano, Aglianico, and the other calling card of the region, Barbera.
Folks in search of even more unusual wine styles should check out Story Winery, where the current owner, David Dediachvili, has implemented the traditional winemaking technique of his native Georgia, aging some of the wines in qvevri, large clay pots. In particular, the “Simba’s Dream” Chardonnay showcases how that technique can build texture and savoriness in a wine, with the similarly-produced Zinfandel an excellent red option.
Venturing just outside Amador into the neighboring El Dorado County brings a rustic and rural environment that’s also provided a platform for younger winemakers, like Aaron Bryan at Conduit Wine. Bryan, a former analyst for the National Basketball Association, relocated to the foothills with his wife, wine industry veteran Amy Krahe, and their son, purchasing a small vineyard in the Fair Play AVA. From that and the surrounding vineyards they produce natural-style wines made with grapes such as Zinfandel, Syrah, Tempranillo, and Viognier, as well as a line of ciders (under the Tag + Jug Cider Co. label), some of which are blended with wine grapes. Bryan conducts all visitor tastings himself, and the couple have several lodging options, from a “glamping yurt” to camp sites.
North Yuba
Wine lovers who truly want to go off the beaten path in search of transcendent wine can venture to an even more remote part of the Sierra Foothills, the North Yuba AVA. There, a small cadre of winemakers work with vineyards that are sited on soils that a recent University of California-Davis geological survey revealed date back some 120 million years (much older than most of the surrounding region) and are shot through with limestone and other remnants of what was once an inland sea. The upshot is that many of the wines here have a brightness and freshness that stands out across varieties and producers. While few have tasting rooms with set hours, intrepid would-be visitors can usually arrange a tasting with some advance notice.
While in the area, a visit to Clos Saron is a must. Helmed by the elder sage of the region, Gideon Beinstock, and his wife, Saron Rice, tastings are as likely to delve into the meaning of art and existence as they are to discuss aging methods or suggested pairings.
Several of Beinstock’s former interns and apprentices have opened their own wineries nearby, foremost among them Aaron and Cara Mockrish of Frenchtown Farms, who produce low-intervention wines that frequently deliver profound tension and vivacity. Ellsworth Wines, helmed by Bryn and Jeff Ellsworth, has a similar sensibility. And keep an eye out for the newly launched Mantha Wine Co. from Samantha Bauer, who traded in running the acclaimed Bay Grape Napa wine shop to start her own wine label.
Accommodations and dining in the area are severely limited, making it well suited for a day trip from Sacramento, which can easily serve as a base of operations for any of these regions. As befits a capital city, hotels are plentiful, and flying in and out of Sacramento International Airport is generally low-stress and efficient. A rental car is generally of great use, though both Lodi and Amador have tour companies that can provide transport in and around the region with some advance notice.
Lastly, for those who enjoy combining outdoor recreation with wine tasting, there’s plenty of tempting options. The more mountainous regions offer abundant hiking and biking opportunities, while Lodi Lake and the connecting Mokelumne River are excellent for kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding, with rentals available from the Lodi Boathouse.
