Gold Country Wineries

This was a big year for Sacramento, and next year will be even bigger.

2012 saw Sacramento officially named “America’s Farm to Fork Capital” – a title well-earned over the past 200 years. The farms in the Sacramento region supply ingredients to the country’s best restaurants…and, of course, many of those restaurants are right here in California’s capital. And mark your calendars for September 2013 when Sacramento presents the inaugural Farm to Fork Festival.

This year we saw the addition of great restaurants and bars such as Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co. with its rustic California décor, inventive menu and – most importantly – Negroni cocktails on tap. Then there’s Oishii  Sushi Bar & Karaoke, where you can order a party platter of Nnigiri and take it to your own private karaoke room.

Or how about Downtown & Vine, which brings the best wineries in California right to downtown Sacramento, with a collection of Napa, Sonoma, California Delta, Gold Country and Foothill wines offering tastings right there. And just down K Street from there you’ll find the new KBar overflowing with folks enjoying late-night bites and great happy hour deals.

Let’s not forget the new Firestone Public House, which also opened to much fanfare in 2012 as it properly completed the vision of restoring the old Firestone Tire Shop into a vibrant downtown Sacramento dining and nightlife location.

And that’s just a handful of the new spots in town.

Tours in Sacramento have also seen a boom. Local Roots Food Tours and Grange Restaurant’s “Follow the Chef” program showcase Sacramento’s “farm-to-fork” prowess. Or if you prefer to see the city by bike, there’s always a casual historic city tour from Fast Eddie Bike Tours. For the more adventurous, Giro d’Oro Cycling will even guide you through all 30+ miles of the American River Parkway Bike Trail or on a cycling escape through the foothills.

Of course, not everything in Sacramento was new in 2012, the classics also stood their ground. Old Sacramento, our venerable waterfront district, is better than ever. In the Fall, Old Sacramento welcomed the National Tour Association’s Tourism Cares volunteer program to town as over 250 travel and tourism professionals picked up paintbrushes, hammers, shovels and saws to restore, repair and beautify the historic district. If you haven’t seen Old Sacramento for a while, you’ll want to get out there and reconnect with California’s Wild West past.

Speaking of Sacramento’s past, the city is on its way to recapturing its rightful place as the beer capital of the west. Prior to prohibition Sacramento was known as the “Milwaukee of the West” for its impressive collection of breweries. With plenty of water from two major rivers, the best land for growing hops and the post-Gold Rush influx of German immigrants with beer-making knowledge, 1800s Sacramento was the perfect place to make beer. Of course, prohibition put a damper on all that. But now, Sacramento is regaining its beer-making reputation as the city is home to numerous craft brewers such as Ruhstaller, River City Brewing, Track 7, American River Brewing, Rubicon, Hoppy Brewing and more. There’s even Two Rivers Cider which produces some of the finest hard cider available anywhere. So come on by for a beer or two.

2012 was also a great year for festivals in Sacramento: Gold Rush Days, Grape Escape, Beer Week, Restaurant Week, California Capital Airshow, the Launch Art & Design Festival, the Sacramento Music Festival and more kept us busy all year long.

In short, 2012 was a year filled with great food, locally produced beer, fine wines, some awesome bike rides, a lot of festivals and some Wild West fun. Not too shabby.

If you are interested in bringing setting up a group tour to Sacramento, email us at tourism@discovergold.org.

See you in 2013!

Today’s travelers are more connected than ever. Friends, work and information of all kinds are never further away than the tap of a touchscreen. And while smart phones, iPads and other technologies have made travelling easier and more enjoyable in many ways, sometimes you just want to disconnect and enjoy your surroundings. 

Sacramento offers travelers many opportunities to separate themselves from their everyday lives and electronic devices so they can enjoy all the great attractions Northern California has to offer.  From Sacramento recreation to wineries, you can put down the smartphone and enjoy yourself on your Northern California vacation.

The American River Parkway in Sacramento is one of the area’s finest way to get away from it all. With over 30 miles of paved trail that weaves through riparian forests and wetlands alongside its namesake river, riders on the bike trail won’t even feel like they’re in the city. Bike rentals are available at several shops in town and some Sacramento hotels even have rental bikes right in their lobbies. 

The American River also offers adventure seekers  great whitewater rafting opportunities. From a quick 3-hour trip to multi-day camping and rafting excursions, there are whitewater experiences for all skill levels. Many of these guided trips start in the Gold Country near the Gold Rush town of Coloma where you’d be lucky to get mobile service at all.  But you wouldn’t want to have your phone with you on the river anyhow. Rafting trips through rapids with names like Troublemaker, Satan’s Cesspool and Meat Grinder will leave you soaked and are not exactly phone-friendly.

For those looking to disconnect in a slightly more relaxed manner, there are over 200 wineries in the Sacramento region. Turn off the phone and enjoy the small wineries that dot the foothills of the Gold Country. After a few glasses of wine, you probably shouldn’t be responding to work emails anyhow. Wine tours and limo rentals are available from downtown Sacramento so you won’t even need your GPS.

Of course, after enjoying a day disconnected from your smartphone and enjoying these great Sacramento tourist attractions, you can return to all the modern day comforts and wi-fi capabilities of your Sacramento hotel. 

Click here to email us for more information about arranging your "disconnected" group tour.  

Getting there is half the fun, right?  Many lucky travelers have had a chance to experience the incredible new Terminal B at Sacramento International Airport.  But you may be surprised by the things you don’t know about traveling to and from Sacramento via SMF.  Here are some features, factoids and fun tips you should know about Sacramento International Airport.  

1. You can fly nonstop to Sacramento from 29 cities throughout the U.S. and Mexico including New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver, Houston, Dallas and Guadalajara.
    
2. Sacramento International Airport (SMF) has the best access to all of Northern California’s wine regions, from Napa to the Gold Country, with more than 200 wineries within a one-hour drive from the airport.  Check out Sacramento’s Regional Wine Guide website to plan your wine tour.
    
3. There’s a whisper dome just past the security checkpoint in the Terminal A concourse.
    
4. SMF is a tech-savvy traveler’s dream, with free WiFi and bunches of electrical and USB outlets in both terminals. In Terminal A, look for the laptop bars in the food court and special seating near the gates. Terminal B also offers laptop bars in the food court. Plus, every B gate features pod seating with individual electrical/USB outlets at each chair.  In fact, Sacramento International Airport was ranked as #5 most tech-friendly commercial airport in the country by PCWorld magazine.
    
5. Both terminals feature an extensive and permanent public art collection, with pieces by local, regional and national artists. Brian Goggin’s giant suitcase sculpture “Samson” in Terminal A baggage claim is a popular spot for photos. In Terminal B, a 56’ long red rabbit called “Leap” is suspended from the ceiling. The rabbit, designed by Lawrence Argent, is diving into a giant granite suitcase on the baggage claim floor.
    
6. Lawrence Argent buried a signed copy of his “I See What You Mean” blue bear sculpture under the “Leap” sculpture’s granite suitcase.
    
7. The least expensive transportation at the airport is the public Yolo Bus. It takes you from the airport to downtown Sacramento once an hour for only $2.00.  You can be let off steps from downtown Sacramento hotels and attractions.
    
8. All rental cars at SMF are located in a separate rental car terminal, which is a short shuttle ride from the airline terminals.
    
9. The Automated People Mover takes less than a minute to travel from the B concourse to the check-in/baggage claim in Terminal B.
    
10. SMF features award-winning concessions in both Terminals. Airport Revenue News honored SMF with the Best Airport Concessions Program design award for medium airports in 2012 and the Best Customer Service award for medium airports in 2011.
     
11. Terminal B is the first airport terminal to achieve LEED® Silver status in two new buildings constructed at the same time from the U.S. Green Building Council and is the largest airport terminal in the U.S. to achieve LEED Silver certification.
     
12. In July 2012, Travel and Leisure Magazine named Terminal B as one of the “coolest new airport terminals.”

 Visit www.smf.aero for more information.

Hello again. Well day two in Murphys started out a little cloudy and I don't mean the sky!  Actually the weather in the Gold Country was quite beautiful that morning.  We were lucky enough to stay at my friends brother's home up above Murphys and had a wonderful view of the hillsides!  Our first stop of the day was for breakfast in Murphys on Main Street.  We went to Grounds. It was a lovely place with inside and outside seating.  We enjoyed the morning outside with Bloody Mary's and Mimosa's.  The second day at Murphys (there is no apostrophe; you will read why when you click on the link) was saved to visit the outlying areas of the Gold Country.  At breakfast we mapped out the wineries we wanted to visit.  But before we left Main Street we stopped at one last winery, Frog's Tooth. They had some lovely wines and the staff was very nice!

Now we are off to visit the first Gold Country wineries off of Main Street, Ironstone Vineyards. 
Ironstone is a very large winery with a huge tasting room/deli, a museum and an amphitheatre where they hold concerts.  When you first enter Ironstone you see these amazing wine barrels planted with tulips and daffodils. It is so beautiful and I couldn't get over the amazing colors.  We were tasting a few wines when in walked a gold mine - really he was!  He showed us the gold he had taken from the river, but he wouldn't tell us where for fear we would want to start panning for gold.  He was a very interesting character with many stories. Ironstone has gold panning on their property. 

As we were  getting ready to leave, John Kautz (Kautz family owns Ironstone Vineyards) came in. I introduced myself and he offered to give us a tour of the jewelry shoppe/museum.  The museum is filled with historical artifacts. Here is John showing us some of the many historical pieces he has curated for the museum.  One he is especially proud of is the Gold Leaf specimen.  It is housed in a bank safe-type room for temperature and security reasons.   We then set off to visit some other wineries, Indian Rock and Coppermine.  Indian Rock is a small winery with a lovely pond to have a picnic around.  On Saturdays they BBQ for their winery guests.  Indian Rock had a lovely Barbera that made its way home with me!  Coppermine was next. They provided you with pub tables to do your tasting.  They also paired their wine with potato chips and chocolate. I could not have asked for a better combination!!  Last but not least we went to visit Twisted Oak Winery.  You drive up a twisted road with many roadside attractions along the way.   It is a fun drive through the vineyards and it overlooks the hills of the Gold Country. 

Here we tasted a few wines that were not in their tasting room on Main Street.  As we left the winery there is a large frog that looks like a rubber chicken. In our travels we saw a few of these large frogs and the story is that Calaveras County (where Murphys is located) is known for their jumping frog contests.  So here we are at our last stop with a frog that looks like a rubber chicken!

As we are leaving I stop to take one more picture and I feel like I am on top of the world or at least
"Queen of The Sierra."  
 

It was a wonderful two days in the Gold Country.  It is easily a day trip and you can stay at one of the Sacramento area hotels and enjoy one day visiting Sacramento, California, attractions, like Old Sacramento.  Or make a weekend of it and stay in one of the lovely and quaint Gold Country hotels!!  That is all for now.   I hope you enjoyed the tale of Murphys. Until next time, CHEERS!!

Hello all you lovers of wine!!  I know many of you have been to wineries in California and in asking around I found that several of my co-workers and friends have been to Murphys in Calaveras County.  Well, I had not until now!!  Murphys is in the Gold Country and is known as the Queen of Sierra. 

I am excited to get to talk about Murphys but I must start at the beginning.  My girlfriends and I left
Sacramento on Saturday morning.  We were in the car 10 minutes and made a stop at Lidos Bar & Grill in Carmichael. I told the girls we didn't get very far. in Lidos we planned our trip and within the hour we were on the road with The Sacramento Regional Wine Tasting Guide and Map and heading towards the Gold Country and the town of Murphys!  One of my friends grew up near Murphys and she loves wine so I knew I was in good hands! 

The drive at this time of year was absolutely beautiful; all the hillsides were green and they looked like green velvet blankets!  We arrived in Murphy's in about 90 minutes.  We drove down Main Street in Murphys where you see several wine tasting rooms, quaint shops and restaurants and Gold Country Hotels.  We parked and began the day with our first winery, Twisted Oak.  They served us some lovely wines. Most of the reds were of the Spanish varietal.  We were told that the owner was talking about one of his wines and stated that it pairs with chicken. He said, "it's so good it would pair with a rubber chicken!" (We didn't actually have any rubber chickens to eat.)

Our next stop was Newsome-Harlow Wines. The first wine we tasted was their Sauvignon Blanc, one of my favorite varietals. It was lovely and several bottles were enjoyed at the tasting room and will be enjoyed at home.  Newsome-Harlow has several other delicious  wines. One red I really enjoyed was named Train Wreck, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah! There is a wonderful outside patio and we were told that on sunny warm days it is the place to be.  We were also treated to their restaurant The Kitchen, it is adjacent to the tasting room and is open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays. The other days it is used for their wine club. All these wineries we are visiting are on Main Street in Murphys, so we are taking a nice stroll looking at the quaint shops, restaurants and the unique Gold Country hotels available for your enjoyment.

Now we get to eat dinner. There are a lot of nice restaurants to choose from, we chose Mineral because my girlfriend is a
vegetarian and she knew the chef. Here we are enjoying our dinner, I chose the Mineral Burger which was delicious. We brought in a Barbera that we purchased from Hatcher and had a lovely dinner with old and new friends 

That is the end of Day One in Murphys. I hope you enjoyed reading about Main Street in Murphys, Queen of the Sierra. The next day we visit some of the Gold Country wineries that surround Murphys! You will see at the end of Day Two why I thought I was Queen of the Sierra!!

The SCVB is constantly signing on new partners that can be beneficial to your group.  We are able to work with our partners to give your groups the best possible experiences in Sacramento for the best price.  We would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to a few of our new partners.

• Gold Country Wine Tours takes visitors on an unforgettable wine tour through the beautiful Gold Country.  The Sierra Foothills of Amador County offer some of the most beautiful sites and oldest vineyards in Northern California.  These vineyards offer a great wine tasting experience, less commercialized and less congested than Napa or Sonoma.

• Earthtrek Expeditions outfits adventurous travelers for rafting trips on the American River.  Established in 1977, Earthtrek has been providing professional and quality services to rafters for the last 30 years.  Eartrek’s base is located less than one hour from downtown Sacramento and is a perfect fit for our more adventurous groups.

• Sacramento Children’s Museum opened its doors for the first time this month to excited children and grateful parents.  This stimulating and educational center is designed for children from birth to age 8.  The Sacramento Children’s Museum believes that “play” is part of a child’s “work.”  The SCVB is excited to have this new museum as a partner and a possible destination for your groups with younger children.

Our relationships with our partners allow us to be able to get you the best deal – at no cost to you. Please email us at tourism@discovergold.org to learn more about how the SCVB can organize the best possible visit to any of our new partners. 

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		Music: Asobi Seksu Blue Lamp Lounge May 31 Tues 8:30pm Haven't heard of Asobi Seksu? Don't miss your chance to see this New York City-based band here in Sacramento! Using a textured and effects-heavy vocal and guitar sound, Asobi Seksu creates dreamy, pleasing pop music. Find out more>
		Music: Hot Lunch Concert Series: Musical Charis Fremont Park June 2-Sept 1 Thursdays 11:30am-1pm The Hot Lunch series kicks off this week and carries on through summer, so grab your lunch (consider the Hot Lunch special from Hot Italian!) and head over for an afternoon of free music in the park. This week features Musical Charis. Find out more>
		Theatre: Broadway Sacramento's Mary Poppins Community Center Theater June 2-June 19 Tues/Wed/Fri 8pm; Thurs & Sat 2pm & 8pm; Sun 2pm *Additional 7:30pm showing on 6/5 The world's most famous nanny arrives in Sacramento. Combining the best of the original stories by P. L. Travers and the beloved Walt Disney film, the Tony Award-winning Mary Poppins is everything you'd hope for in a Broadway musical-and more. Find out more>
		Festivals: Doggy Dash & Bark at the Park Festival William Land Park June 4 Sat 7:30am-1:30pm Come for the 2K or 5K walk and stay for the SPCA's Bark at the Park Festival, where you can enter your canine pal in the Pup Show, high-flying disc contest, or the ever-popular pug races! Find out more>
		Festivals: Sacramento Entertainment Fair Studio 24, Inc. June 4 Sat 10am-4pm This is an extremely interactive event with live performances by entertainment groups, demonstrations of filmmaking with equipment and actors, teleprompter and green screen, voiceover recording in studio, and much more. Keep an eye out for the Sacramento365.com table & come say hi! Find out more>
		Festivals: Sacramento Pride Capitol Mall Greens June 4 Sat 10am-6pm *Dance Pavilion open until 8pm The parade kicks off the event with the festival after, featuring entertainment from Miss Coco Peru, Raquela, Jovi Radtke, and other live personalities, a high-energy dance pavilion, Kid's Zone and Carnival, hundreds of exhibitors and food vendors, and more. Find out more>
		Festivals: Art Happens... Sacramento Arts Complex June 4 Sat 11am-9pm "Art Happens..." shows the art of wine, beer, coffee, visuals, music, and more. Enjoy tastings from local wineries and breweries, musical performances, art on display and for sale, and various booths with art experiences for adults and children alike. Find out more>
		Food & Wine: Raley's Grape Escape Cesar Chavez Park June 4 Sat 4pm-7pm Grape Escape brings the most delicious products from eight counties together at one all-inclusive event to celebrate the region's award winning wine country and highly-touted local cuisine. Featuring more than 100 gold country wineries and restaurants including wine and food tastings, a chef's cooking competition, and live music and art displays. Find out more>
		Music: Pops in the Park: Tom Rigney & Flambeau McKinley Park June 4 Sat 6pm-9pm Pops in the Park is a free, family-friendly concert series held every Saturday in June at various parks. Bring a picnic and enjoy the sounds of Tom Rigney & Flambeau-a hot roots music band playing Cajun, zydeco, blues, and New Orleans music. Find out more>
		Sports & Rec: Seersucker Ride Meets at Revolution Wines June 5 Sun Meet 11am; Ride Noon Dress in your seersucker best and join on a leisurely community ride through Sacramento. The Seersucker Ride traverses from Revolution Wines, over to Land Park to enjoy a picnic, live music, and games, and then heads out to the Crocker Art Museum before finishing at de Vere's Irish Pub. Find out more>

 
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The Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau just released the revised Sacramento Regional Wine Tasting Guide & Map. 

Upon my return from my two week vacation in Southern California I decided to end it with a trip to some surrounding Sacramento Wineries.  I wanted to show a friend some different areas to taste wine so we took the new Sacramento Wine Tasting Guide & Map and decided to check out Amador County!  It was a beautiful Sunday for wine tasting.  We followed the directions on the map to get to Amador County; the directions took us through some beautiful rolling hills and farmland and we drove into the town of Plymouth.  The first winery we stopped at was Wilderotter Vineyards, a small quaint winery.  They are known for their Sauvignon Blanc, as they should be; it was delicious, so we purchased a bottle.  Next we went to Bella Piazza a beautiful winery, larger then the first.  It was their wine club pick up day so they were serving free lunch to their wine club members. 
From there we went to Vino Noceto winery and that is where the fun began, not that is was not fun before, but we ran into some friends from Sacramento. That is him in his cowboy hat and gold caddy!!  
Outside of Vino Noceto winery sits a fun statue which doesn't have a lot to do with wine but it is a conversation piece. It came from Doggy Diner which the owners of the winery purchased for minimal dollars and have been offered several thousands for it, but will not sell it.  The wines were great and we enjoyed their 2008 Nutz, a Sangiovese blend under the label Tutti i Giorni, meaning "everyday" in Italian. It too was exquiste, and was purchased by us! Our next stop was Andis Winery, which is right across the street from Vino Noceto.  You can't miss this winery as the building is brand new and state-of-the-art.  They offer some lovely wines and for all those beer lovers, they have an IPA on tap....and they keg a Petite Sirah so you can buy a pint of beer or a glass of wine and sit outside, as we did with lunch and good conversation.  The grounds are lovely and there are vineyards everywhere you turn! 

Now we are off to our last stop: Cooper Vineyards, another small lovely winery. We arrived as they were about to close, but we arrived in time to taste one of the best Barbera's we had all day!  The highlight of this last stop was meeting the owner of the the vineyards, Mr. Dick Cooper, and some of his family members.   We ended the day on a high note. But wait, there was one more stop which just happened to appear without even planning for it. 

On the way home we put in our home address in the GPS and, low and behold, it took us to Poor Reds. My friend had never been to this well-known establishment which is known for a drink called the "Gold Cadillac." 

All in all a wonderful day...a Sunday, Funday to remember!  There are many more wineries in Amador County and it warrants a trip back to check out the others.  My recommendation is to plan out an area on the map and enjoy that particular group of wineries, bring a lunch and a designated driver.  It is beautiful country and great for some surrounding Sacramento outdoor activities and enjoying some different wineries in California!

I hope you found this helpful in your wine tasting adventures in the Sacramento area. 

I plan to visit Calaveras County for the next blog!! 

Until then.....cheers!!

Until recently the adjective 'cowtown' made Sacramentans cringe. It unfairly reduced our bounty of gold country wineries, outdoor recreation and sports, and cosmopolitan city living to … commodity cows and draft animals. Well, we invite you to join our revolution, to rightly respect our agricultural neighbors for nourishing and fueling our daily lives.

With 320 days of sunshine a year, the Sacramento region is a jewel with urban and rural facets. Area chefs (professional and amateur) are quick to recognize local growers who bring high-quality vegetables, fruits, meats, beers and wines to their dining rooms. Locals and visitors alike, whet your appetites as you consider your next culinary experience in California’s capital.

Rather than equip you with a laundry list of good eats, let me highlight the gourmet ghettos and allow you to discover tasty treasures for yourself:

·         Savor Old Sacramento’s fine dining scene even if you didn’t bring your Sunday best.

Dine on the riverfront or in a number of restored, historic buildings.

·         Bound by 11^th and 16^th streets, near K & L streets, enjoy a variety of cuisines near the Sacramento Convention Center and the State Capitol. Anchors include The Park Downtown (15^th & L), The Firestone (16^th & L), and The Elliott Building (16^th Street, between J & K).

·         L Street & Capitol Avenue between 18^th & 21^st streets are the veins of Midtown's Handle District.  

·         The Sutter District surrounds Sutter’s Fort, but its artery is 28^th Street, between J and N.

·         Explore Midtown along J Street, bound by 18^th and 28^th streets, and R Street between 14th & 15th.
Note: MARRS, on 20^th Street between J & K, is not as distant as we once thought.

·         Tower Café reigns at the heart of the ethnic food enclave on Broadway, between Riverside Blvd. and 26^th Street. Thanks to Capital Public Radio, the local NPR affiliate, for this preview.

·         Luxury defines Financial District dining on Capitol Mall, bound by 4^th and 7^th streets.

On the verge of a food coma as you daydream about a decadent meal? Book accommodations and ask for VIP treatment at these Sacramento Gold Card hotels.