So in a particular funk when I woke up this Monday morning, I called my friend and sought out an adventure. It's been some time since I called someone up, picked a place and just went, but it's by far the best/most fun way to have an adventure - spur of the moment and letting the day unfold. Now to pursue this type of adventure you can't let bumps in the day lead you astray, and this day is good proof of that.
Monday was a bright, beautiful and sunny day in Sacramento - but not everywhere else. I say this because just an hour away there is some really great wine tasting to be had in Amador County - this is an area I've been yearning to get into for awhile, and wanted to utilize this adventure to do it - so as my friend in the car was a local (grew up in Pioneer - a small town in Amador County - pop. 10,000) she would be my perfect tour guide.
So heading up to Jackson area we hit our first bump, it's raining...then lightning, then thunderstorms, and we have another 1/2 hour till were even in the area. The closer to her mother's house we get, the muddier it is. Upon calling to forecast our arrival it turns out this freakish storm has knocked out the power for the entire county, oh and by they way - there's NO wine tasting on Monday's. Actually in a small town kind of charm there's NOTHING open on Mondays! Bump. Bump.
So we decide to make the best of it and see her mother's beautiful mansion in the woods (above), and then take in a hike and hope the weather gets better. Driving in mud is scary as hell, I don't have 4-wheel drive, and it's very counter-intuitive. Learn something new everyday? Quick Tips: Go faster, not slower, and makes small jackknife turns not long jerky movements.
Our hiking trail was wonderful, and short, we were lucky to head out to a local trail - Tiger Creek Rd, which is a small local trail in Pine Grove that leads you to the overflowing river. It's literally unreal how beautiful this wooded area is and so close to downtown Sacramento no less - where else can you go where if you leave the city for an hour drive and your in the woods? Narnia? Hardly. It was majestic, and if for only the stress-relieving scenery this is worth the adventure, but wait they've got wine too!
After working up no small appetite we had to find some wine and make our original wine tasting tour somewhat honest, so we came upon a great local spot. In a small little ghost town called Volcano (that you would NEVER see if you weren't looking for it) is a place called The Union. All around this super small, quite little town are small houses with piping chimneys and Old Sacramento style period store fronts that are the originals, not some pre-fabricated version for tourism.
The exciting part about The Union, aside for being a true locals spot, is that it's owned by the same people who own/run another widely known hot-spot Taste Restaurant. So the food quality is really high, but the atmosphere is causal-comfortable with a beautiful outdoor patio and dark saloon style dinning room.
Although no pictures can show evidence (as we were so hungry we didn't stop to shoot) their Fried Chicken is a tender, juicy chicken breast breaded with a crispy rice four and the plate is finshed with a smoked mozzerella mac and cheese with a mixed greens side salad. This paired beautifully with all of the Amador wines we were able to try! My favorite was the Jeff Renquist Barbera ($10/glass) - it was really fruit forward, but also minerally the way I most enjoy Napa Cabs. Not the first pick for fried chicken, but there was a Chardonnay and a Sobon Zinfandel Old Vine in there as well.
Now where the wines and food were individually great, if not the best of pairings, the Barbera went remarkably well with the Butterscotch Pot Du Creme. It's surprising how many people are unfamiliar with this, it literally translates to Pot of Cream = close to an insanely good pudding or custard. Normally they come in an intensely flavored portion in a 1 1/2 - 2 oz amount, this was like 8 oz! Now although the texture was looser than I'm normally used to, which makes the amount more understandable I was more than able to finish - it was sweet, carmely, creamy, rich and crunchy on top!
Not quite ready to call the adventure over with, we needed one or two more glasses of wine before we were on our way, so we went about 100 feet away in this less than 103 persons town and found the St. George Wine Room - now this is hardly a wine room by any standard definition. It was open mic night, there was caution tape outside to create a defined patio, there's a wood burning stove in the middle of this wood floored/walled bar, and the bathroom was a closet next to the "bar" which didn't even have a sink - just a toilet and a light (this is more than slightly 'roughing it') -
but I've seldom met nicer or more hospitable people.
From the moment we walked in we started tasting wines, local and non-local, with the propriter/winemaker and friends. She gave us a run down of the area, fed us some local wine gossip, and even had us try some of the 5 varietal blended port on the shelf from a porcelain ewer! Now that we were good and imbibed we got to talking to strangers, taking in the music and as it turns out that my friends mother is a local celebrity for her music - so we had our entire check comp'ed!
Because that's just how they roll in a small town!
Lessons from this first journey to Amador:
- Don't go wine tasting on a Monday
- Have a local with you
- Hit up local spots
- Enjoy the surprises, as they will come up!
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