Jeff Stai of Twisted Oak Tweetered me Friday night that it was snowing in the Murphys area. Jeff knew that I want Sierra Foothills wine regions photos and videos with snow at the wineries and in the vineyards for our Wine Questers Discover Wine Regions series.

Saturday AM we packed the cameras and drove a bit more than two hours to the Gold Rush era town of Murphys in the Sierra Foothills. Sure enough there was snow and we got our shots in town and at Ironstone and Twisted Oak wineries. By afternoon most of the snow was gone.

A storm was forecast for Sunday and we decided to spend the night and see if we could shoot a snowstorm. So we hit a few tasting rooms and restaurants.

We didn’t just do dinner, we wandered the main street of Murphys trying a little at each fine dining restaurant. I have many favs here but Mineral is at the top. This high-end veggitarian is where meat eaters hang out.

I can’t describe any of the courses we had but stunning comes close. The chef carefully prepares each plate and then entertained us with his description of the course.

Katya and I split the meal to save calories and money. The six course meal was hardly filling but wonderfully entertaining.

A year ago I would be the only patron in the restaurant and there was plenty of time for the chef to BS with me. Now it is reservations only but we talked our way to the counter.

The veggie meal was hardly filling so we finished the evening at Notos up the main street with a bowl of raviolis. Notos is another Murphys treat and the owner, Lorenzo, spends time with his customers – and his fresh sauces.

As I post this mid day Sunday the rain is starting to turn to snow in Murphys. We’re hanging out at a coffee bar and waiting to see what happens. Photography requires so much patience!

Thumb typing on this iPhone requires patience but my technique is improving. The 19 tasting rooms along the main street just opened but we see no tasters walking along with their event glasses. I’m sure they will rally to the cause.

- jim

I tried really hard not to stay over in Murphys last Friday night.  I only needed some fall colors for our upcoming video series on California wine regions so I could have blown through the region in a couple of hours and arrived home to have dinner with Katya.

After some photography I made the mistake of stopping into Ironstone’s tasting room.  The friendly staff tempted me by disclosing that the next day, Saturday, they would have a parking lot wine sale with great prices.  This was part of the local holiday event that included 13 Murphys tasting rooms open until 9 PM on Friday night along with food in the tasting rooms and a parade.

I tasted at Ironstone and then drove up the hill to Twisted Oak to taste and buy a little wine.  Again I was told I should stick around for the events.  The weather was terrific and I couldn’t resist.  After booking a room at the Murphys Hotel I drove out through the hills to Stevenot’s remote tasting room and enjoyed their fine hospitality and incredible ambiance.

Back in town I had a wild boar sausage and stone ground mustard lunch with wine at the old bar in the Murphys Hotel then out on the street to sniff around the tasting rooms with my video camera.  To prepare for a bit more wine tasting in the evening I hiked up Main Street to Noto’s, an Italian restaurant, and chef Lorenzo prepared me a to-die-for ravioli plate with thick meat sauce and accompanied by a local Zin.

By now it was dark and Main Street in this quaint old Gold Rush town was full of people.  I had missed the parade while I stuffed myself with ravioli but the tasting rooms were packed, warm, cozy, social, and most had tasty munchies.  After trying to help Twisted Oak’s Jeff Stai with an electrical outage to his holiday tree I was compensated with his tasting room’s truffles.  (We failed to fix the problem but the truffles were great with red wine!)

Chatom Vineyard owner Gay Callan informed me that the next day, Saturday, her winery would have special food for their holiday open house.  I’m always delighted to be at Chatom for an event.  The various munchies are tasty and interesting and the wines are full of nose and flavors.  The winemaker was pouring reds in the barrel room, the staff is always very friendly, and Gay was darting about being the perfect hostess.

Saturday was a warm fall day in the Sierra Foothills with some color left on the trees and vines.  It was all too tempting to call Katya and tell her I was “weathered in” and couldn’t leave Murphys until Sunday.  Other wineries had food and of course wonderful Calaveras wines to taste out in the sun and often with great views.

I responsibly called Katya and told her I was leaving Chatom, the only winery visit of the day, and heading directly home with over 4 cases of wine.  Two and a half hours later I was home after crossing the foggy Central Valley.

The hills are turning green.  The sky is winter blue but the weather in California is shirt sleeve warm.  Gas prices have dropped to $1.75 a gallon at Chevron so that helps bring down the travel costs.  Also, lodging prices have dropped to less than $100 for decent hotels.  It is a GREAT TIME for a wine tasting road trip!

- jim

Back in June my wife Katya and I were wandering the main street of the Sierra Foothills wine town of Murphys during their passport event and met a very sociable family – the Tanners.  Dick Tanner informed us that they were in the process of opening a tasting room in town.  During that weekend I noticed that just about everyone seemed to know the Tanners and stopped to chat with them.  We kept bumping into them.  Maybe they lived on the streets of Murphys.

The Tanners have been Calaveras County winegrape growers for years and supplied other wineries in the region.  They recently began making wine for public sale and opened their tasting room.

This past weekend was the local holiday event in Murphys and the tasting rooms were open until 9 in the evening on Friday.  Main Street was closed off and people were everywhere enjoying the parade, wines, and socializing.  I dropped into the Tanner tasting room to see what was happening and it was crowded and lively.  Locals kept coming in to say hi to the Tanners behind the tasting bar.  I haven’t seen that at any other tasting bar anywhere.

Dick Tanner gave me a solid tour of their wines and I loved every one of them.  I also loved the context; the friendliness and social life in their tasting room along with the tasty treats to munch on.

So drop in and say hi.  Everyone else in town does.

Our map for the Murphys – Calaveras wine region.

I will mention that they have one white, very dry, called Vermentino.  I found their 06 Syrah to be a classic full nose and flavor treat.  A little softer where the Petite Verdot, their Melange de Mere blend, and Petite Sirah but still with full nose and flavor with finishes that stay with you a while.

- jim

I just returned from a three day video shoot of three Sierra Foothills regions; El Dorado, Amador, and Murphys / Calaveras.  I travel and visit hundreds of tasting rooms a year and only buy wines that I find unusually interesting to taste.  As always I’m not going to tell you what you will taste in whatever context you drink wine but if you are looking for a taste adventure try these outstanding wines.

Tanner – Murphys / Calaveras region.  The Tanners have been growers for decades but are recent to winemaking.  They opened a tasting room in Murphys last summer.  I’m very impressed with all their wines but these stand out:

• Vermentino – A rare white grape and VERY dry.  Almost no flavor but interesting taste anyway.  Nice surprise of a wine.
• 2006 Syrah
• 2006 Petit Verdot

Twisted Oak – Murphys / Calaveras region.  This hilltop winery has great views and is very friendly.  The long driveway is, well, entertaining, and will be featured in our upcoming video on the region.

• 2005 Murgatroyd
• 2006 The Spaniard
• 2005 Tanner Vineyard Syrah
• 2006 Pig Stai Calaveras County port

Amador Cellars – Amador region.  This little winery in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley just east of Highway 49 is home to an interesting range of wines.  The winemaker experimented with some older style techniques and the result are the following three robust wines.  Amador makes softer wines that are popular now but for those of us who want plenty of flavor and nose then try these!

• 2004 Syrah
• 2004 Zinfandel
• 2006 Zinfandel
• 2005 Rapscallion – Zin – Syrah blend with oak and taste adventure in a cute little 1 liter jug!

Chatom Vineyards – Murphys / Calaveras region.  Chatom is woman owned and operated with an intimate tasting room and events in their barrel room.  Nice landscaping, very friendly staff, owner pours, and arbor covered picnic area make Chatom one of our favorite destinations.

• 2006 Chardonnay
• 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2004 Zinfandel

Stevenot – Murphys / Calaveras region.  I tasted a few wines at the ranch, their remote and wonderfully romantic tasting room.  This tasting room is in an old house in a deep valley with the winery’s old barns nearby.  They have a picnic area under a grape arbor. $72 for a case of their Red Rover stainless steel aged Chardonnay so I bought a case.  Their other wines are good but I can’t buy everything.  We are always running out of Chard so I stocked up.

Ironstone – Murphys / Calaveras region.  Besides a stunningly beautiful site with great landscaping and one of our Gold Star Picnic Areas, Ironstone has some fine wines at very reasonable prices.  Their Cabs tend to be rather tasteless for me but Merlot, Syrah, and Cab Franc are wonderful.  They had an incredible case sale on Saturday of their export brands so I picked up a couple of cases of Chard for $30 a case.  (We’ve paid as low as $18 a case for decent wine at times.) This Chard is oaky and buttery which goes well with some of our evening appetizer dinners.  Ironstone often has great deals at events.  I would have bought far more if we had any space left at home for storage.

- jim