PLACERVILLE IN THE GLASS: Even if you just arrived in California last Wednesday, you'd never dare refer to "wine country" in the singular, as if there were only one. Our vine-y and vast state positively brims with rows of grape goodness, and the wineries where that grape goodness is deftly, and with art, transformed into a sippable elixir. You don't have to have a favorite wine country, but if you are a fan of pinots and cabs, you probably should be up-to-date on all of the wine-themed destinations that are but a few hours away. El Dorado Wines, the Placerville-area clutch of wineries, boasts its own association and the perfectly California-esque setting (think low rolling hills, stands of trees here and there, and fertile spots for grape-growing). It's Gold Country beauty at its finest, but the beauty is also in the many beverages created around the region. Think of Placerville as a nexus for any El Dorado excursion, and then think of getting to know wineries in towns like Fair Play, Somerset, and Camino. Are you up on your knowledge of this storied slice of our state? Would taking several places in, all in one spring-day swath, be the key to furthering your appreciation of this particular wine country? Then plan to be 'round Placerville and its environs on...
APRIL 9 AND 10... and/or April 16 and 17. Those are the El Dorado Passport weekends, which means "Food Wine Music" for those who make a date to do some of the wineries. Those wineries include Busby Cellars in Fair Play, Chateau Davell in Camino, and Mastroserio Winery in Somerset. The Sierra Foothills will brim with passport-y haps like "amazing food" and historic attractions to pull over and check out. And will those famous foothill-flourishing wildflowers make a stand 'round mid-April? It could happen. If you've done Napa, and Temecula, and several other wine countries, too, but it has been too long since your El Dorado idyll, consider a passport event to be the perfect re-introduction.
