The Independent Restaurant and Bar is the spot in downtown Placerville for fine wine, creatively inspirational cocktails, and a delicious steak or tender herb-roasted chicken. Actually, there's plenty on the menu that looks inviting. It's also worth another trip just...
El Dorado
Synapse
Head to the Synapse tasting room in downtown Placerville to try wonderfully well-crafted wines by a female scientist gone winemaker. I guess you could tell the scientist part by the name alone. But, the balanced and well-crafted wines are a sign of a winemaker with a...
Renegade
Whenever you are passing through the Sierra Foothills and want to try some wines that are deliciously different, check out Renegade. Their Tempranillo had a wonderful vanilla smell, probably due to the barrels used. Their barrels once helped hard liquors come into...
Bricks Eats and Drinks
Best place in downtown Placerville for a HUGE delicious salad is Bricks Eats and Drinks. This one was a cobb salad with blackened chicken. It also has wonderful local wines, a full bar, mouthwatering hamburgers and sandwiches (that have gluten free options), and...
Lava Cap Winery
What does it tell ya that a family of geologists chose a special site in El Dorado County to grow their grapes? Well, we all know that better vines grow on better soils. But you may not know that volcanic soils exist in the Sierra Foothills. You may also not know that...
Cary House Ghost Stories
No town can wow you with ghost stories quite like Placerville. Sure, ghosts are everywhere. And I've stayed in my share of hotels in this beautiful state that admitted to being haunted. But none has been studied by experts as much as the Cary House. No ghosts...
Holly’s Hill Vineyards
Feel like taking a warm tree-lined drive through the gold country? Plug Holly's Hill Vineyards into your GPS and you'll be able to taste some golden delicious Rhone blends while feasting on a beautiful redwood treetop panoramic view. Their Patriarche Blanc blends...
Sierra Vista Winery
A brilliant representation of Chardonnay is at Sierra Vista Winery. One of the first wineries to start producing wine in El Dorado County, Sierra Vista's leader, John MacCready planted grapes on their own roots. The risk in doing this is that his roots may be...
Golden Leaves Winery
Wine tasting in El Dorado County is a uniquely refreshing experience for those accustomed to Napa and Sonoma. I've only been here 20 hours but I'm hoping that the tasting room experience is a sign of what the community is like. So far, the once popular gold rush town...
Placerville
A little bit north of all the other Sierra Foothill wine regions (Amador and Calaveras) lies El Dorado County where the Shenandoah, Fair Play, El Dorado, and Sierra Foothills AVAs show off their juice. The county's biggest city for restaurants and places to stay is...