Introduction

When zipping along Highway 50 to or from Lake Tahoe it is hard to imagine that the hills north and south of Placerville are full of wineries. With a few exceptions in the Camino area this whole region is full of wineries out in the sticks. El Dorado wineries are some of the least visited of any major California wine region. They are so excited to see tasters show up that they are like friendly Golden Retrievers with their tails wagging. Almost all the wineries are very small family owned and operated and without spectacular architecture.

We recommend GPS for getting around in these hills. Our iPhone app works well in the area if you download the region data while you are near Highway 50 or in Amador's wine region to the south. Deep in the hills cell service is spotty. Pleasant Valley has service but around Fairplay it isn't good.

Traveler services are in Placerville. The area lacks fine dining but there is a very nice restaurant in Fairplay that is open Thursday through Sunday - usually. Fine dining on the main street of Placerville comes and goes. There is a nice Italian restaurant about a mile north of Highway 50 on Highway 49.

- Jim Preston

Must See El Dorado Wineries - an introduction to the region.

• Boeger
  • Setting - a beautiful mountain setting.
  • Picnic site - an excellent picnic area next to a creek and pond under the fir trees.
• Lava Cap
  • View - rolling hills and the valley below.
  • Picnic - on the deck, enjoy the view.
  • Vineyards - vines are in shallow soil on top of lava. Makes for interesting wines.
• Toogood
  • Interior ambiance - tasting in a wine cave.
  • Landscaping - a waterfall wall entrance that is totally unique.
• Hollys Hill
  • View - an amazing view from the tasting room deck!
  • Picnic site - View!
• Windwalker
  • Interior - beautiful Frenchy interior and gift shop.
  • Picnic site - a large deck and picnic tables in a remote setting.

Off-The-Beaten-Track El Dorado Wineries

Consider all the wineries to be off-the-beaten-track and you won't go wrong. The following are more remote than most and very much worth visiting:

• Narrow Gate - hidden up in the pines. Taste in a working winery.
• Holly's Hill - mentioned above.
• Sierra Vista - nice mountain setting with a few of the Sierras.
• Busby - small and overlooked winery.
• Venezio - beside Highway 49 but rarely crowded.
• Gold Hill - drive back through the vineyard to a winery and picnic area with a wonderful view of the American River canyon.

Romantic El Dorado Wineries

A special ambiance for long quiet conversations and enjoying love. Usually we have a secluded outdoor scene in mind.

• Gold Hill - secluded and remote picnic area under oaks with a great view of the American River canyon.
• Boeger - tables in a grove next to a creek.
• Fitzpatrick - deck with very big view of the foothills.
• Hollys Hill - deck with a big view over the foothills.
• Lava Cap - deck with a view of the hills.
• Windwalker - secluded winery with deck under oaks and a small view.

Notes

Your tastes change frequently. Do wine ratings, gold medals, etc. really matter?

We have hundreds of winery interview videos in winery profiles. We shoot these at winery events because that is the cheapest way to gather content. It would be nice to go to each tasting room but this gets very expensive quickly. See our Compare Winery Features search engine for which wineries have videos in your target region.

We are adding our Discover California Wine Regions videos to the Recommended Wineries by Region pages.

California Wine Travel Planner