California American Viticultural Area's

Please pick one of the AVA's below for a complete listing of wineries in that area. If by some chance you select an AVA Listed that does not have any wineries listed, you will be informed about it below.

AVA Listed in California


List of Wineries in Calaveras County

There are several wineries located in the Calaveras County region of the Sierra Foothill AVA. This area is on the western side of the county at roughly the 800 to 3300 foot elevation. Although the days of summer can be quite warm, the evenings are cooled significantly by the breeze off the mountains at night. This allows the area to produce a diverse variety of noble grapes from Bordeauxs at the higher eleveations to Rhone and Italian varietals at the middle and lower regions. There are also a number of exceptional Zinfandel vineyards in the area.
      
Black Sheep Winery - Murphys, California

The Winery
Black Sheep Winery recently moved its tasting room to a beautiful farm house in the center of the small town of Murphys. The grounds are delightfully landscaped and offer plenty of room to relax when you taste.

The Winemaker
Steve Millier graduated from Fresno State University with a degree in enology. During his 30 years experience as a winemaker he worked for David Bruce Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains prior to coming to the foothills and working at such wineries as Stevenot and Ironstone. Steve and wife Liz also own Milliaire Winery.


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Bodega del Sur Winery - Murphys, California

The Winery
Bodega del Sur opened its doors in the winter of 2007. The winery, located in Mountain Ranch, is in the process of being remodeled, and will open to the public in the near future. The wines carry the unique style of Chuck Hovey, who gained a reputation for producing excellent Spanish varietals. The tasting room, located in downtown Murphys, offers a display of various South American and Spanish...

The Winemaker
The winemaker at Bodega del Sur is Chuck Hovey. Mr. Hovey has over 20 years of California winemaking experience and is considered one of the California pioneers with the Tempranillo grape. He was previously with Stevenot Winery prior to becoming a consulting winemaker.


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Brice Station Vintners - Murphys, California

The Winery
Brice Station Winery is located on High way 4 on the way to Bear Valley. This is a little piece of California history having started life as an old stage stop on a homestead, created by a deed signed by President McKinley. The estate also is home to the Quyle Pottery Kiln and Pottery Shop as well as an antique printing press and blacksmith shop. Right outside the tasting room is a patio area...

The Winemaker
The winemaker at Brice Station is Bill Bezy.


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Broll Mountain Winery - Murphys, California

The Winery
Broll Mountain Winery is located on Pennsylvania Gulch Road outside of Murphys, but the tasting room is located downtown. The estate is on 25 acres and done in the style of a Tuscan villa complete with 200 olive trees. In addition to wine, the estate makes its own olive oil and sells it in the tasting room. The tasting facility is done in rich woods and beautiful stone work, and is surrounded...

The Winemaker
The winemaker at Broll Mountain is Mark Kunz, who has worked previously for such wineries as Piper Sonoma, Matanzas Creek, Pellegrini, and B.R. Cohn. Mr. Kunz is also the winemaker at Calaveras winery Chatom Vineyards.


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Chatom Vineyards - Murphys, California

The Winery
Chatom Vineyards is located just west of Murphys in Douglas Flat, CA. Gay Callan purchased the estate for the vineyard in 1980 and completed the winery and tasting room in 1990. The tasting room building is decorated in a foothill wood frame style with beautiful oak tones and is surrounded by delightfully landscaped gardens and picnic area.

The Winemaker
The winemaker at Chatom is Mark Kunz, who has worked for such wineries as Piper Sonoma, Matanzas Creek, Pellegrini, and B.R. Cohn. Mr. Kunz is also the winemaker at Calaveras County winery, Broll Mountain.


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Chiarella Winery - Angels Camp, California

The Winery
Chiarella Winery currently operates a small tasting room in Angels Camp elegantly decorated in a modern, Italian style. In addition to the estate wine, there is olive oil and other gift items available for sale. The wines are currently made at a local custom crush facility, but there are a winery in the works, and should be open in the not too distant future.

The Winemaker
Nathan Carella is the owner and winemaker at Chiarella. Nathan grew up in an Italian family with a deep passion for food and wine. A respiratory therapist by profession, he pursued the art of winemaking as a hobby before opening the winery, with the tasting room opening in 2006 and the winery becoming bonded in 2007.


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Domaine Becquet Winery - Valley Springs, California

The Winery
The winery at Domaine Becquet is located on 13 acres of land on Lime Creek in the Valley Springs area of Calaveras County. There are two tasting rooms, one at the estate and the other in the town of Murphys. The Winery is designed to resemble a French hunting estate, and features a restaurant that serves lunch Wednesday through Thursday. The food is created in a French and German traditional...

The Winemaker
The winemaker at Domaine Becquet is also the proprietor, Charles Becquet. Although a fifth generation Californian, Charles was raised in France where he worked as an international management and political consultant.


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French Hill Winery - Mokelumne Hill, California

The Winery
The winery is located in a remodeled warehouse in the Gold Rush town of Mokelumne Hill. The tasting room is attached to the winery, and is full of beautiful and unusual pieces of art consistent with the wine theme.

The Winemaker
Rod Ruthel is the owner and winemaker of French Hill Winery. Mr. Ruthel is an accomplished artist and has made quite a name for his incredibly beautiful wine label designs.


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Frog’s Tooth Winery - Murphys, California

The Winery
The tasting room from Frog’s Tooth Winery is just off Main Street in the Gold Rush town of Murphys. The tasting room is beautifully decorated in a modern style, with lots or rich woods and wonderful natural light. This is one of the youngest wineries in the foothills, having opened in October 2007. The winery offers logo shirts, hats, and miscellaneous wine accessories for sale in the tasting...

The Winemaker
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Hatcher Winery - Murphys, California

The Winery
The Hatcher Winery and tasting room is located in the town of Murphys. The tasting room is in the basement of the historic Segale Building, which gives it an old world wine cellar feel. There are a small amount of gift items for sale in the tasting room.

The Winemaker
Matthew Hatcher started as an amateur winemaker and decided to make his passion a career. He is assisted in his winemaking duties by his brother Sewell as well as Scotty Hancock.


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Irish Vineyards - Vallecito, California

The Winery
The winery is located on the site of the Batten home and estate, a gold rush estate built in 1867. The tasting room is located in the barrel room, and has a great supply of fun Irish gift items for sale. There is a lawn area, picnic tables, and a pond where one can relax and enjoy a bottle of wine amongst lovely local foothill views.

The Winemaker
The owners of Irish Vineyards are Russell and Joan Irish, who pursued dreams of owning a winery and raising their children in a rural atmosphere. Russell Irish takes on the winemaking duties at the estate.


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Ironstone Vineyards - Murphys, California

The Winery
This is a destination unto itself, and although a producing winery, it’s easy to get lost in all of the other things going on at the tasting room site. The estate has a gold panning area, a gold country museum, a 14-acre lakeside park, an extensive event facility that can accommodate professional level concerts, and a large wine related gift shop. But that isn’t the end of it; they also have a...

The Winemaker
The winemaker at Ironstone is owner Steven Kautz. Steve graduated from Fresno State University with a degree in Enology and a minor in Viticulture. In 2004, the California Travel Industry Association named him ‘Winemaker of the Year’.


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Laraine Wines & Gerber Vineyards - Murphys, California

The Winery
The estate started as an escape for David and Laraine Gerber from the hustle of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. The couple restored the original 1880s farmhouse, and then planted vineyards. The farmhouse is now the tasting room of the winery they opened in 1993. Surrounding the tasting room is a large oak shaded lawn area which features several picnic tables.

The Winemaker
John Gibson has been the winemaker at Laraine Wines since 1993. Having worked previously for Stag’s Leap Cellars and Vine Cliff Winery, he now specializing in assisting small, family owned wineries, and produces his own wines under the Salexis label.


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Lavender Ridge Vineyards - Murphys, California

The Winery
Lavender Ridge Vineyards are located in the town of Copperopolis at the southwest edge of Calaveras County. In addition to the vineyards, the estate boasts 500 lavender plants and 50 Olive Trees. The beautifully designed, small but fun, tasting room is located in the town of Murphys. The display of lavender and lavender products for sale gives the shop the feel of a Provence farmhouse. There...

The Winemaker
Rich Gilpin was the winemaker at Windwalker Vineyards for ten years before purchasing the estate in Copperopolis with his wife Siri. Rich is a graduate of the University of California at Davis with a degree in enology.


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Milliaire Winery - Murphys, California

The Winery
Steve & Liz Millier came to the Sierra Foothills in 1982 to spend time learning the winemaking trade at the successful Stevenot Winery. In 1983 they began producing their own wine in the basement of their home, and at a neighboring winery. In 1990 the winery moved to its present location in what had been the Flying A gas station. The spot is not far from downtown Murphys on the edge of Murphys...

The Winemaker
Steve Millier graduated from Fresno State University with a degree in enology. He worked as a winemaker for David Bruce Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and then moved to the foothills where he made wine for a number of different wineries, including Stevenot. Steve and wife Liz also own the Black Sheep Winery.


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Newsome-Harlow Winery - Murphys, California

The Winery
The winery is a partnership of three like-minded quality conscious individuals. Scott Klann is the winemaker, and Mark Skenfield is the viticulturist. Hugh Swift joined the group when he was assisting Scott and Mark with their partnership agreement. The first commercial vintage was in 2000, and the downtown Murphys tasting room opened in 2005.

The Winemaker
Scott Klann has worked as winemaker for many of the local wineries, including Chatom and Stevenot. He currently is the winemaker at Twisted Oak as well as Newsome-Harlow.


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Stevenot Winery - Murphys, California

The Winery
Barden Stevenot, a 5th generation resident of Calaveras County, is the founder of Stevenot winery. He is most often credited as being responsible for bringing fine wine production back to Calaveras County. In the late 1960s, he bought the Shaw Ranch and converted an old hay barn into a winery. He planted vineyards, and in 1978 the winery opened. The 500-acre estate includes one of 2 tasting...

The Winemaker
The director of winemaking at Stevenot is Kate MacDonald. She originally worked for Stevenot at the beginning of her career and returned in 2007 after working throughout the foothills and Napa Valley.


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Twisted Oak Winery - Vallecito, California

The Winery
The downtown Murphys tasting room for the Twisted Oak Winery is located in the former home of Dr. Albert Michelson, the first American to earn a Nobel Prize (1907). The tasting room is surrounded by the beautifully maintained heritage gardens. There is a second tasting room located at the winery, with a tasting bar built on old wine barrels. The winery has a lovely picnic area that offers...

The Winemaker
Scott Klann from Newsome-Harlow is the winemaker at Twisted Oak. He previously worked as the winemaker for many of the local wineries including Chatom and Stevenot.


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Vina Moda Winery - Murphys, California

The Winery
Vina Moda Winery and tasting room is located in a refurbished rustic old barn on the site of the oldest bonded winery in Calaveras County. But there is nothing rustic about this tasting room. The design is beautifully classic in style with an incredible bar, that although cement, has the look of being a single slab cut from a giant thunder egg (geode). The plank ceiling, muted walls, painted...

The Winemaker
Nathan Vader is a partner and winemaker at Vina Moda. He has been a winemaker in the Calaveras wine region for over ten years and has enhanced that experience with studies in enology at the University of California at Davis.


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Zucca Vineyards - Murphys, California

The Winery
The Zucca Vineyards tasting room is located in a cellar below a 150-year-old historic building in downtown Murphys, giving it a wine cellar feel. There is also a small gift area for unusual wine related items. The actual winery is located on the New Melones Reservoir, surrounded on three sides by water.

The Winemaker
Carol and Gary Zucca share the winemaking duties. Gary started his career as a naval officer and has a PhD in sociology and organizational behavior. Carol taught biology and chemistry prior to becoming a winemaker.


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