Auburn Wine Tasting and Art – Memorial Day 2016

Wine Tasting in Auburn California is always a pleasure! Located at the intersection of hwy 80 & Hwy 49, Auburn California is an Historic Gold Rush town and the County seat of Placer county. We spotted the Wine tasting and Art event on a small flyer a few days before the event.  We didn’t have anything special planned for Memorial Day weekend. Auburn is just a short drive from our house and we’re always up for Wine Tasting! So off we went.

View From The Art Gallery of Auburn Court House
View From The Art Gallery of Auburn Court House

The event was hosted by the Auburn Old Town Gallery, they roped off and transformed  their parking lot. There were two wineries set up outside and one inside. You could purchase tasting tickets, glass of wine tickets and food tickets.  For $10  each we got 3 tasting tickets and a food ticket.  We were pleasantly surprised that the tasting ticket was per winery, not per taste. Each winery had a selection of at least four wines. We tasted the first two wineries that were outside we browsed the artist demonstrating Stained Glass making, wood working and calligraphy then decided to eat. Max’s Restaurant of Auburn was catering the event. Pulled Pork Sandwich, Coleslaw, Crustinis topped with a tomato compote and a gooey brownie (which went perfect with the Barbera). A rather generous lunch at such a small venue.

The Auburn Old Town Gallery is a co-op  and represents 60 artists. Each artist has a specific area on a wall or floor space. I’m not the biggest Art enthusiast, but I did enjoy seeing so many different styles and medias all together. We struck up a conversation of an artist using water color to paint a scene from Yosemite (one of our favorite vacation spots) she had just gotten back from Yosemite and we were scheduled to go a couple of weeks later.

The food and the art were enjoyable but my focus was the wine. We stuck to the reds. Ciotti, Popie, Bonitata Boutique Wine were represented. Bonitata Boutique Wine is located just up the road from the Art Gallery in a stone building that was built 1874 and also houses a museum. They were pouring a nice selection of Reds Barbara, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and a Barbara and Charbono blend called ‘Silhouette’.  Popie Wines is located right on the main drag, in Loomis on Taylor Road, in the Historic Blue Goose Fruit Shed. They were pouring Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. Ciotti Cellars From what I could gather the winery is is in the middle of a move – check the website it looks like they are located in or near High Hand Fruit Shed in Loomis and are headed to Lincoln – check the website and call before you go. I know they’re planning a grand opening at their new location. Ciotti was pouring Barbara, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Zinfandel.

Great Thought!
Great Thought!

All of the wines were VERY drinkable and a great representation of the area, the reds were deep and rich. While I’m partial to Zinfandels – the Barbaras, Cabernet Sauvignons, Cabernet Francs and Syrah’s were very good! I have to hand it to Bonitata Boutique Wine for their ‘Silhouette’ (Barbara and Charbono blend) stood out. It has a nice fruit forward flavor of Raspberry and Cherry with a very strong Plum and spice middle and a nice pallet cleansing finish of leather and tobacco. I went home with his last 3 bottles of ‘Silhouette’ that he had at the event, in case he sells out before I can make it to the winery for more.

Old Town Auburn is a wonderful venue for any outing. The Gold Rush era feel is still alive in the old buildings, they’re just housing different businesses. There’s plenty of eateries, boutique shops, art galleries, antique shops, and wine tasting!  Many people escape to Auburn in the summer, to secape the heat of the Sacramento Valley and on foggy winter days, it’s elevation is just above the fog line. A dreary foggy day in Sacramento can easily be a sunny day in Auburn. A warning to the handicapped and ladies with heals – there’s lots of hills, some stairs and the sidewalks aren’t in the best shape.

Good Wine, Good Food and an wonderful surroundings – that’s #NorCalWineLife

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