Wine Tasting at Drytown, Convergence, Nine Gables
Amador County is home to over thirty wineries. Yesterday, Jared and I went wine tasting with a couple of friends, and we only got to three of them. The weather was spring-like with crisp clear air. This was my first trip to Amador and the landscape is beautiful.
Our first stop was Convergence Vineyards, which was hosting a “soups ‘n’ sips” tasting. One of the soups was cheeseburger soup, a first for me!
After sampling their sparkling wine, white wine, red wine, and a port, we left with the 2006 Mourvedre and 2007 Gnarly Vine Zinfandel. I really liked the light berry and smoke flavor of the Mourvedre. Jared was so impressed with their reds that he chose the Zinfandel even though it wasn’t available for tasting.
Next we stumbled upon Drytown Cellars. We had so much fun here chatting with the owner, Allen Kreutzer, and discovering a new varietal, Malvasia Bianca.
I really liked how the tasting room was not a tasting room at all, but a counter with stools inside the winery. We tasted many white wines, a couple reds, and a dessert wine. We left with the 2008 Malvasia Bianca, which has an amazing floral flavor.
Allen also suggested we try what he calls “the baby maker” - Kirigin Cellars Vino de Mocca - a California grape wine with coffee, orange and cocoa. Jared and I bought some of this as well, but we’ll stash it away for later.
Our last stop was Nine Gables Vineyard, and by this time my poor tongue was quite burnt out on sampling so many great wines. We tried a few wines, and I was immediately impressed with the almond flavored sparkling wine. In addition to the sparkling wine, we also bought a bottle of the 2006 Merlot.
I didn’t get any pictures at Nine Gables, but I suppose that is just a good reason to return.
