A Last Hoorah in Fairplay

And I'm back!

 Please forgive the lack of posts this past weekend, my Saturday was filled with drinking wine and my Sunday was spent wishing I hadn't. That's not true. I never curse the wine, only my inability to stop drinking it.  :)

Luckily I have friends who share my love for all things vino, and one just happened to be having a bachelorette party that involved a day of wine tasting and a dinner theater show - all via a limo with a designated driver, which as Harold Hill would put it, is trouble with capital T.

Tony, our dapper chauffeur from Brooklyn, took us from the sweltering heat of the valley to the rolling green hills of Fairplay in El Dorado County, a lesser known yet very fun place to taste. Despite the brain cells I undoubtedly lost during this excursion, I'll give a quick rundown of the tasting highlights of the day. Hopefully something here will strike your fancy and convince you to head up there, you won't be sorry.

1) Perry Creek: Beautiful, unpretentious exterior that feels more like coming home than going away. The tasting room is cozy and well-lit, with loads of retail space for the requisite bedazzled shirts, aprons and even baby onesies for the winos-in-training. The staff didn't miss a beat when our group walked in - one sporting a sash and toting her own polka-dotted glass - and we were tasting in seconds. I'm not sure I tasted a wine there I didn't love, but the highlights for me were:
  - 2008 Estate Chardonnay: Nice and crisp, full of citrus, apple and pineapple flavors, rounds out smooth.
  - 2006 ZinMan Zin: Their most popular line. This Zin was on the sweet side, with more fruit and vanilla than I was expecting. It tasted more like a Barbera to me, so I tried the 2007 Estate Barbera right after and found that the ZinMan was like a kicked-up, brighter version of the Barbera I preferred the former over the latter.

2) Fitzpatrick: I love this place. Nothing fancy by any means, but it's family owned, Irish-themed and has the best view anywhere around. The oldest winery in Fairplay, you truly feel like you're stepping into another time and place here, where wine is made and enjoyed not for the money or the publicity, but because it is in these people's blood. They serve a small selection of lunch fare which they make on site and present with pride. Try the hummus, which is very garlicky and homemade. In honor of the bachelorette, they gave her a bottle of wine of her choice which we enjoyed on their wooden deck overlooking the hills and valleys that surround the winery. On Fridays they have pizza night where the owner makes wood fired pizzas on the oven located right on the deck. I haven't made it there for that yet, but hope to soon.
     Wines here are hit and miss for me, but my favorite is their 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. Rich and deep with chocolate and dark berry flavors, and a bite on the finish. The best part is that most of their wines are less than $20.

3) Iverson: Another small, family-owned winery, with a fantastic selection of wines. They don't produce a lot - less than 3,000 cases a year - but what they do produce is very high quality. Highlights for me were the 2007 Barbera, 2007 Merlot and the Raspberry sparkling wine. There is also the Fifty-Fifty, which is a blend of Zin and Barbera which is a more mellow version of both. Next to the tasting room is a nice patio and deck that is a great place to grab a bottle and relax.

4) Windwalker: This was my first trip to Windwalker and I can say that I'm glad to have met it's acquaintance. A towering stone wall and wrought iron gate at the beginning of the winding driveway gives away no sign of the charming tasting room and spacious wooden deck hidden in the trees atop the hill. The light and airy tasting room and friendly staff made for a nice tasting experience. I wish I could give more detailed feedback on the wines, but 1) this was late in the day..enough said, and 2) I was so interested in tasting their Barbera that I had to buy the last bottle they had and split it with another interested party just to get a taste. And oh, was it worth it. The 2007 Copper Vineyard Barbera bright and "coconutty" - I believe the professional description is "toasted vanilla" but I made up my own, as usual - and had body that just didn't quit. We enjoyed our little glasses on the deck and had that not been the last bottle in the place I might still be there drinking it.

The night continued at Morton's where we raided a friend's wine locker and shared a Far Niente Chardonnay and a 2006 Lamborn Zinfandel. Both were fantastic...and not because we stole them. :)

Finally, at the dinner theater show, I let the server choose a Zin for us and he brought out a 2004 Quivira Dry Creek Valley Zin. I'm going to be honest, I could have been drinking Rossi at that point and thought it was wine made my Jesus himself. Yet somehow the remainder of the bottle ended up in my purse and I plan on finishing it off tonight, so I'll have to let you know how it holds up after a couple days.

I paid the price for this day of sinful consumption, but it was worth every drop. I hope this makes at least one person think about heading up to Fairplay and supporting local wineries. Thanks for reading (...if anyone actually is)!