Seka Hills!! What a unique place!…read more
I hadn't been in a few years, but was looking for something unique for my mother-in-law's birthday and remembered this place! It's a fantastic "stop" if you're headed to Winters for dinner at Buckhorn!
Seka Hills is located in Capay Valley, deep in the rural part of Yolo County. It's in a town called Brooks and is next to Cache Creek (Native American casino).
Getting there from Sacramento is definitely a journey!! But the drive is nice and relaxing once you pass Woodland. There are two ways to get there- you can either take I-5 to CA-16 W or you can take I-80 to 113 and "cookie cut" your way through. Either way it should take about an hour from Sac, depending on traffic. My wife, mother-in-law, and I opted for the I-5 route as that's more of a straight shot while avoiding people headed to the Bay Area.
Seka Hills is BEAUTIFUL, both inside and out. Especially on an 80 degree day... it's heavenly and EXTREMELY relaxing.
The property overlooks rolling hills and has a "still" to it that reminds me of rural Andalusia, Spain. Incredibly calming.
Parking is abundant and there is an inside and outside area. The outside tables are reserved for wine tasting and charcuterie. But the inside area is gignatic and stunning!
Seka Hills is famous for their olive oils and balsamic vinegars. But they also do wines, honey, almond butters, snacks, and more. They offer complimentary tastings of all their oils and vinegars, which we gladly partook in.
Their olive oils include Arbequina (meant for baking, marinading, sautéing, roasting, and dipping), Picual (enhancing salads, vegetables, fish, chicken, and meats), Frantoio (dipping and finishing oil), Taggiasca (butter replacement), and their Tribal Blend (salad and cheese enricher).
And they sell three balsamic vinegars: Elderberry, Fig, and Pomegranate.
We loved EVERY single olive oil and vinegar, which made it extremely difficult to pick what to purchase. My wife and I ended up with their Arbequina olive oil and Pomegranate vinegar. Whereas my mother-in-law bought their Picual oil and Elderberry vinegar. She also purchased some of Seka's honey as the patron let her try some.
Mind you while we were tasting we were sipping on some glasses of wine: their 2016 Tuluk'a Red Blend. Seka lets you walk around the facility with your glass, or you can sit inside/ outside. I really enjoy the wine tasting facilities that allow for such flexibility, as I'm the type who struggles to sit still for long periods of time (lol, where my fellow 90s babies at?)
Seka Hills also sells nuts, sandwiches, souvenirs, cooking utensils, and much more. You can also view their oil mills in the back of the facility through giant plexiglass. If you're fascinated by how olive oil is made, you will be impressed!
We spent about 45 minutes here because we had early dinner reservations, but easily could've spent longer while sitting outside and enjoying the views and "stillness." While my family loves going to Wine Country in Napa Valley, some times it's nice to mix things up and go somewhere a little more local.
As I mentioned earlier, it is definitely a trek to get here. But if you're looking for a UNIQUE experience and want some world class olive oil, vinegar, and wine, this is the spot for you!
Additionally, Seka Hills just opened up a tasting room in Midtown Sacramento in the "Ice Blocks." So if you wish to get oil/vinegar you can always pop in to that location as it's extremely nearby and centrally located. However, there's just something so relaxing and charming about their rural Yolo County spot.
I hope I gave readers an idea of how to please their mother-in-laws (lol)! But all joking aside, I HIGHLY recommend Seka Hills. They have some of the best olive oil and vinegar in the game, and this location is specularly impressive and chill.
A++++++
