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