A Weekend of Zin

Every year the Blankenheim clan does a trip through the different Amador County vineyards. The event is generally sponsored by the Amador Vintners Association and I have never been able to make the event. I was super excited to be free this time around! This year's weekend was titled "Behind the Cellar Door: A Weekend of Zin". For $50 you get to go to any of the participating vineyards. It was really a great time - Mike's uncle rented two big vans and we had two designated drivers, so everyone was able to enjoy the wine. We had a total of 20 people in our party.

Our first stop was Convergence Vineyards - this is where we had to get our wristbands and pick up our glasses (you kept the same glass with you all day and got to take it home). Their theme was Saint Patrick's Day, so they handed out green beads and served green Sauvignon Blanc along with their other wines. Honestly, this was probably my favorite vineyard (probably because I could still taste at this point). They also had a delicious beef stew that they were serving. I ended up buying a bottle of their Petit Syrah and a bottle of their raspberry Zinfandel chocolate sauce... SOOO yummy!

Mike and I at Convergence Vineyards

Our next stop was Andis Wines. This is a brand new winery that uses state of the art technology like solar panels. The look and feel of the whole place is very modern. They served a delicious split pea soup with sliced sausage. This was also the first vineyard that we got to barrel taste at - basically you get to try the unfinished wine. It was fantastic!

Mike and I at Andis Wines

Barrel Tasting!

Our third stop was Dobra Vineyards. This was the first place that had a live band - they were pretty good! They were just starting when we got there and were doing some pretty good Clapton covers! Dobra actually has their tasting room built into a cave... it was really cool to go into! They served barbecued polenta with marinara sauce, sausage and garlic bread. Then they had a little dessert area where they paired wines with things like brownies and apple fritters.

Mike and I at Dobra Vineyards

I even got Mike and Raymond to stop and pose for a picture... I think they're both smiling! They had a Marti Gras theme at this vineyard, thus the beads.

Mike and Raymond

Our fourth stop was Dillian Vineyards. They had ravioli at this stop, but I couldn't have any since their marinara has mushrooms in it.

Mike and I at Dillian Vineyards

Our fifth stop was Borjon Winery. Borjon is a Mexican vineyard and so they served tamales and chips and salsa. They also had a mariachi band. It was really fun to listen to them! It was beautiful there - we sat out in the courtyard and sipped wine!

Mike and I at Borjon Vineyards

Mariachi Band

Our sixth stop was Cooper Vineyards. They served little Danish pastries that had sausage inside them. It was delicious!

Mike and I at Cooper Vineyards

Our seventh stop was Terra d'Oro Winery. This was by far the biggest one that we went to. We tried to get a picture in front of a bunch of the barrels, but the lady we asked to take our picture took two really blurry ones. I did get a cool picture of their massive aging barrels - they keep the wine in these until they're ready to put them into the smaller barrels.

Big Aging Barrels at Terra d'Oro Winery

Our final stop was Drytown Cellars. I had wanted to go here all day because they had chocolate fondue. It was delicious!!!

Mike and I at Drytown Cellars

Our total broken wine glass count was three this year... apparently that's the average. The people are really nice and just give you new ones. This was such a fun event... and definitely worth the money. We had the option of going back today, but I don't think there's any way I could have had any more wine!