Staff Writer- Staff Writer
El Dorado County Wineries: Buying Wine Locally
Updated: Apr 15
For wine lovers who live between El Dorado Hills and South Lake Tahoe and who like to buy locally, El Dorado County is fortunately home to many excellent wines and great tasting experiences.
As in other parts of California, a lot of El Dorado County wineries rely on direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales.
Nancy Light, spokesperson for the Wine Institute told Emily Hamann of the Sacramento Business Journal, "The vast majority of California’s 3,900 wineries are small, family businesses that depend on tasting room visitors and derive significant revenue from DTC sales."
Here is a partial list of El Dorado County wineries along with direct links to each winery's visitor information and shopping page (if available).
Some tasting rooms are only available by reservation. Other wineries encourage visitors to drop in.
Boeger Winery
Bom Vinho!
Bumgarner Winery
Busby Cellars
Chateau Davell
Christopher Cellars
Crystal Basin Cellars
E16 Winery
Element 79 Vineyards
Fenton Herriott Vineyards
Hart 2 Hart Vineyards
Holly's Hill Vineyards
Kehret Vineyards
Lewis Grace Winery
Madroña Vineyards
Mediterranean Vineyards
Miraflores Winery
Narrow Gate Vineyards
Nello Olivo Winery
Via Romano Vineyards
The El Dorado County AVAs
The El Dorado American Viticultural Area (AVA) was established in 1983. The Sierra Foothills AVA, which is within the El Dorado AVA, was established in late 1987.
In turn, the Fair Play AVA is contained within the Sierra Foothills AVA. Fair Play was established in early 2001.
The Wines of El Dorado County
El Dorado County wine country is special in that it is made up mainly of mountain vineyards that are hundreds to thousands of feet above the surrounding Sacramento Valley — in the Sierra foothills.
There are over forty different wineries in El Dorado wine country. Each one offers visitors something unique and worth making a trip for.
The region grows some of the most sought-after grapes in the world, from areas including:
Bordeaux
The Rhône
Germany
Italy
Spain
When combined with the area’s unique climate and geography, these grapes are used to grow a wide range of varietals that produce flavors unique to the region.
Visiting El Dorado Wine Country
Here is a map to help you out.
