When my wife asked where I was taking her for her birthday, I wanted to do something special and romantic. We've done Miami, New York, San Francisco, so I was really pondering the next trip. Then it hit me: Let's go drinking! Yes, wine country it is! But Napa is just so...Napa. Over crowded, over priced, and over done. Sonoma, the other wine country is preferred as our destination for some premium vino consumption. As the getaway got closer, news broke of a fire in the Santa Rosa area, not far from our Hotel, the Hyatt Sonoma Wine County. At this point, the trip was 2 weeks away and we had Vegas to enjoy with first. My wife began to worry, but I told her, "Let's relax and enjoy our stay at The Delano first, and we'll check in on the progress by Friday, and if they have the fire in the 50-75% containment, we'll be fine."

That Saturday, we awake to the sad news, the fire was only 10% contained. Not good and getting worse. The fire was growing faster than anyone could predict, destroying homes and businesses and livelihoods. We called the Hyatt and even through the hotel stated they were open and fully operational, we heard reports of the smoke that was a big issue, and several vineyards had closed as employees need to take care of their personal property and everyone was pitching in the help others in the community. By the time we got home Sunday, it was obvious that we needed to change plans. A relative recommended Amador County, east of Sacramento,  as an alternative. Amador County, never even heard of the place. By this point, the fire was on its way to being the largest in California history, so we made last minute changes and headed 150 miles to the east to Amador County.

Wednesday morning, we board the flight for Sacramento, and found ourselves in the midst of about 20 firefighters from Australia who flew in to help with the fires. That was absolutely amazing that these guys even knew of the fire, let alone they flew half up the globe to help fellow firefighters here in America, the land of plenty. Next time a politician talks about other countries not paying their dues, I'll remind him of the guys from Victoria who came up to help California. As we reach the Central Coast border, we look out the window and realize the San Francisco fog that was blocking our view of the ground below was actually smoke from the Santa Rosa fires.Scary at the immense size of it all.

We land in Sacramento and heading through the baggage claim to get our car, we are met with one of the weirder airport art installations: A 30ft tall pile up of lost luggage. Interesting to say the least, this was amusing and a nice way to start things off here. We pick up the car, head out to Amador and quickly find ourselves in the tiny town of Plymouth at the Shenandoah Inn. And by tiny, I mean their main street doesn't even have a stop light!

Wow, this was true rural living by California standards. So we check into the room, and Lee, the owner, is just about the nicest guy you'll ever meet. He stops from his current work of hanging Christmas lights outside to check us in. He also informs us that guests of the inn get free wine tasting at 9 wineries in the area. Jackpot! Needless to say, this was my favorite new spot to visit and I began drooling thinking of the wines we were going to taste. We take the bags to the room and began our wine adventure. We check the list of wineries Lee offered, cross reference Google maps, and plot a course for the 3 wineries for the first day. We have 3 hours of daylight left, so let's go!

Day 1

Turley Vineyards is scheduled as our first stop, if you can call the fact that its the closest to us as scheduling. We arrive to find we had the place all to ourselves, which means a good chance to enjoy the wine and hear some great stories about Amador from the hostess. And stories she had. Turley is the premiere Old Vine Zin producer in the area. She informs us that there is not real standard for "Old Vine". Generally, it can be from 35 to 105 years old. But they have the oldest in the area at around 75 years. And since they have been producing the vines for so long, they have a surplus of old vines that they turn into decorative artwork (see above). The interior is done in old pine lodge style. Lots of wood, an old National cash register from the early days of the valley, and tons of old vine knick knacks. But back to the wine. We start with all reds, a petite Syrah, then Zinfandel, then old vine Zinfandel, all of them wonderful and the conversation was a blast. Laura told us all about life in Plymouth, although she lives over in a little area called Enterprise. Then a few people pull up in the driveway and come in for tatsing. We sit, or stand and chat with them. Visitors from Sacramento. They leave and another couple comes in with their dog Charlie. A cute little playful pup. I think to myself, this has been an absolutely wonderful first 30 mins to the trip. If it continues, I may not make it back home. I pick up a bottle of the Duarte Zinfandel, a beautiful bouquet, lovely sweetness to it, and a bold taste grabs me. We pack up, say goodbye, and head to the second location.

Next on the list in Kamère Vineyards. Same thing, it's just us, the fun loving hostess Hayley, 2 other people, and some really good wines. Karmère Vineyards has an interesting story of the parents who owned the house that is now the tasting room. And quite a room it is. A huge vaulted ceiling with massive beam support makes a interesting architectural statement, while a huge mantle full of award winning wines with their ribbons lets you know these guys are for real. Then I begin to notice the spooky images on the walls. Kind of a gothic cartoony, "Nightmare before Christmas" meets "Dia de las Muertes" thing. OK, interesting, but let's get back to the wines. I see Barbera on the list, and Hayley informs us that Amador is primarily Barbera country. I have a taste, nice, but the Zinfandel is really catching my palette today.  Then Hayley informs us that the Zinfandel I prefer, is actually her wine. What? Yes, the father names all the wines after family members, and the Hayley belongs to her. Well it also belongs to us now as we pick up another bottle for dinner tonight. And where should we dine? Hayley suggests Taste, the premier restaurant in town. A town with no stoplight. But I inform her that we tried to make reservations for tonight but they were booked, so that will be Thursday night dinner. So she then suggests The Imperial Hotel as second choice. A quick review reveals the hotel certified haunted by Gold Rush Ghosts. Oh yeah we gotta check this place out!

But to sweeten the pot for us, Hayley gives us a BevMo 5-cent deal. So with the Zin, we pick up a bottle of bubbly to make it a real celebration when we get back to the room. Yeehaa! Cool, the Proseco was light and refreshing, with hints of apple and honey. Nancy loved it, and Hayley even poured a second glass and joined us sharing more interesting family stories. Next thing we know it's 5:00p and time to close shop. Oh boy that was fast! But Hayley tells us to head up the road, 2 minutes as the crows flies, to Renwood, as they're open until 6:00pm. OK, Renwood it is then.

Renwood Winery has yet another distinct design to it. Modern lines and a clean design, I suddenly get the sense that these guys are doing very well financially. Each winery so far has stood out with it's own unique stamp on its design. And design as in architecturally unique, as well as interior design, each winery comes across not as some barrel room from the decades ago, but a well thought out reflection of the family characteristics of its owners. This location has a cool design of repurposed wood from around the vineyard evidenced by the unique tasting room ceiling of wine barrel ribs. For a wine country that I never even heard of, these vineyards a reflection of success of their wonderful wines and a thriving viticulture industry.

The first we catch after entry through the Renwood doors is a deli cooler. Perfect, we were getting hungry for munchies, not quite dinner ready yet, but cheese and crackers would be perfect. Of the pre-packed goodies available, we select a pack of taralli. Taralli are these little cracker like swirls with a sweet taste to them. Perfect with these Zinfandels and Barberas. We start up to the tasting bar and go through a series of wines. We get 4 tastings, so I jump right into a Zinfandel, awesome. Then step it up to an Old Vine Zin, wonderful! Next is the Tempranillo, I'll be taking this home thank you, and finish with the Barbera, and I'll take this also...uh oh... 3 wineries and 5 bottles already? Well, one for pre-dinner celebration. One for dinner tonight, and that leaves 3 to take home. I should have just enough space in the luggage.