Wine Line: Taste the wines along Hwy. 49

Sutter Creek is a cool Gold Rush-era town. It’s a very quiet (OK, maybe a barking dog) and laid-back Mother Lode village. It wasn’t like that a few years ago when Main Street was Highway 49. The traffic was terrible and loud. Crossing Main Street then was a risky undertaking, but today, with the bypass, it’s a piece of cake.

Sutter Creek is a perfect wine-walk destination. I love walking and tasting wine, especially when there are many restaurants to choose from. I suggest you phone in sick, (allergies used to work for me), and visit on a Thursday or Friday when the only one there will be you and that barking dog.

Eight tasting rooms on Main Street open at 11 a.m. It’s wise to have breakfast on the drive up or at the Element restaurant in Sutter Creek. They serve outstanding breakfasts and on weekends, brunch. You won’t have trouble parking and if you take a picnic, there are tables by the creek behind the city buildings next to the baseball field. The Sutter Hotel is a good pick for a late lunch or you can ask your tasting room host for a recommendation.

Miller Wine Works is on one end of Main and a good place to start because it’s in the cheese shop. Pay a bit more and have five wines with cheese pairings.

Yorba is on the opposite end of Main Street. Make sure you taste their handcrafted wines with grapes coming from the highly regarded Shake Ridge Ranch. Bella Grace and Scott Harvey wines are excellent producers and both also have tasting rooms in the Shenandoah Valley. All the tasting rooms charge a nominal fee which is waived with purchase.

Enjoy your day off (allergies be gone) and if you don’t want to go home early, you can always visit the Jackson Rancheria. Good luck. You can find out more at www.wineon49.com.

Rosés recommended

A common mistake people make with rosés is they drink them too cold. My refrigerator is set at 37 degrees. Serve rosé in the 45-50 degree range, like white wines. Let the wine sit for 20 minutes before serving and it will open up to let you smell those aromas of fresh strawberries and rose petals. Two American rosés worth finding are the 2015 Mercer Rosé (Grenache) from Washington and the 2015 California Lazy Creek Vineyards Anderson Valley (pinot noir) Two French rosés are the 2015 La Vigne du Roy Costieres de Nimes and the 2015 E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone. Cheers!

This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 11:12 AM with the headline "Wine Line: Taste the wines along Hwy. 49."