One of my favorite wineries in the area. Really nice views from their deck or just below it and great wines. Highly recommended.

1 of the more incredible properties on the Apple hill wine trail. Loved the customer service and the farm cats. All very friendly. Soliddd barbera & cabs but unfortunately wasn't crazy on any of their other wines. Even with the majority of the wines just being mediocre, all of the other positive features totally outweighed the minor problems. Recommended in my book read more

Very good wines and beautiful location. We stopped here for our Apple Hill adventure and so glad we did. The grounds are beautiful, there was a huge pumpkin out front to take pictures with so I was happy. The wine tastings are only $5 for 5 wines. Tasting fees are waved with purchase of a bottle. They have lovely complimentary heart shaped saltines to go with the tasting. My husband and I decided to share tastings so we could try all the wines and ended up taking a few bottles home- we loved the muscat, chardonnay, and got the zin as a gift. The servers were very nice and attended to quite a few guests when we went on Thursday afternoon. There's seating on a lovely deck outside as well. Overall it was a great tasting experience and we'll definitely be back when we're in the area. read more

Good wine, friendly staff, spectacular views. This is what I'm looking for when I visit a winery. A wine list that has a good variety from top to bottom. Staff that is friendly, knowledgeable, and not pushy. And an environment where I can relax and enjoy the day. Lava Cap ticked all those boxes. Wish I lived closer so I could visit more often. read more

Love this place!!! Very cute, large, and SHADED patio with great wine. The friendly kitty was an extra perk. Will definitely come back! read more

Lava Cap Winery - Wineries Near Me - Placerville, California

Lava Cap was a fun winery for tasting. We made it there kind of late in the afternoon, but we're still able to taste before they officially closed. You can tasted for $5 and the wine tasting fee is waived with a wine purchase. The tasting them lawless were on the small side, but they were delicious. I ended up taking home a bottle of their muscat canelli. They are dog friendly outside on their deck. Next time we'll bring the fur baby. Reception was non-existent when I arrived, however it was nice of them to give me a wine cork check-in offer without actually checking in. (I really am a sucker for collecting corks from every winery we visit :) read more

It was my first time coming here , it's a pretty location but the staff is very rude. Bad vibes, I felt like every time I asked for something it was an inconvenience with a weird passive aggressive approach. I left the table momentarily to take pictures in front of the vineyard and they cleared my table - before I even got to try my wine. Beautiful location, subpar service. read more

A favorite place to visit as often as we can. The family makes the trek up to Apple Hill several times a year, and we ALWAYS stop at Lava Cap for some lunch and wine if possible. The wine is delicious, so much so that we are members of the wine club. Zins and the Rose are our favorite, but everything else is also wonderful. You can purchase a variety of snacks like cheese, cured meats and crackers. We often pack lunches and add some cheese. The best part about this place ( I think) is that it is super family friendly. Lots of room outside to sit (tables with umbrellas )and enjoy the views. We have been up with the kids several times and they are always wonderful and accommodating. read more

Lava Cap is a beautiful winery with the cheeriest of staff, gorgeous breath taking views, lavender flowers galore, hummingbird feeders all about the patio seated area and must note their menu where one can order an assortment of goodies to enjoy while taking in the beautiful views from your dining table area. We've been here 2 times now and each time has not disappointed us! Both times we enjoyed ordering the Farmers basket which comes with the following-from what I can recall at this moment.... Salami/Brie cheese/crackers/olives and there is a table nearby where a water dispenser can be found with washable cups to quench your thirst if you're not drinking wine. I ordered the apple cider juice which was soooooo very yummie fer me yummy and sooooothed my soul in the warm and toasty day! Lavenders of all various kinds are spread throughout the gardens along with other beautiful flowers as well. My husband liked the winery so much during our first visit that we signed up as members! The bird on the label is very beautiful and makes for great quality wine as well! read more

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This is such a cute winery! We came on a cold and rainy day so weren't able to enjoy the outside area as much but it was beautiful! We did the wine tasting and our server was very helpful with her recommendations and information about wine. Can't wait to come in the summer! read more

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From the outside you know this is how i roll, fancy and classy. When we got into the building, first thing i sampled was some Chardonnay paired with fresh baked oysters with 2 different type of sauces. First thing i say to my wife is get your portion because i will help you eat it, since your a vegetarian. The oysters were like bomb juicy fresh with a nice settle sauce to go with the wine. Next up we had the sample of Syrah paired with bake potato, sour cream, and butter. The wine was so settled, where the bake potato didn't over power it. A plus is the potato soaked up the wine. The memorable moment of the wine tasting is when the chef hooked it up with extra slices of tri tip, because i was tearing up that meat while the wife networked. The wife doesn't eat meat, so she told the chef to give me her portion. He even informed us his family owns Smith Flat Restaurant nearby, so i made sure we had to go at the end of the day for our anniversary dinner. Overall i really like their outdoor patio with such a nice view. I am wanting to come here for some of the charcuterie boards with a nice bottle of wine. I liked how it was nice and dark inside with all the stringed lights above us. I am a fan of the environment and some of favorite wine is the petite syrah. I will be back back soon for more wine. Thanks for reading and stay sipping. read more

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Nice stop in Apple Hill! on a beautiful fall day with complementary wine tasting and a picnic basket to share on the patio with a glass of wine perfect. love the Chard and Muscat! they offer a $20 basket with salami, cheese , bread sticks and olives enough for 3 to share with your favorite glass of wine. They have a grass area with picnic tables and offer group tours NICE! read more

We're wine club members and always find the staff to be friendly and efficient. This weekend when we brought relatives from the Bay area (we're a fiesty bunch) was no different. We tasted and purchased some wonderful wines, and met a relatively new employee, Jesse. Jesse was very helpful and a lot of fun! read more

Such nice views! Due to COVID restrictions and there not being enough seating I was only able to take pictures Hoping I can go back again and wine taste read more

Lava Cap Winery - Love love love the views! I can't wait to go back again. - Wineries Near Me - Placerville, California

We visited two wineries today. I liked them both but I thought Lava cap was a notch above the other. There is a menu indicating about a dozen wines to try. On the back page there are premium wines you can try for $5 dollars. They did not charge me for some reason. I think they knew I was a buyer and not a tire kicker. I thought the standard wines were good. Nothing to blow me away. The premium group was another story. WOW! I ended up purchasing ($20-30 per bottle) the Petite Sirah and Cabarnet. The Sirah was over the top. Karen was a great hostess and we had a great time talking about the wine business. Make note of the sign in the parking lot decribing how the whole region was formed. Fascinating story and you will learn why the word Lava is used for the name of the winery. Beautiful setting with picnic tables. Its about an hour drive from South Lake Tahoe on a beautiful route (Hwy 50) through the mountains and into the foothills. We drove there and back, visited two wineries in about 3 1/2 hours. Check the hours before you visit. They differ from winery too winery. Early in the week is less crowded but limits which ones are open. read more

You might think that the fact that this was the fifth winery we visited, the amount of alcohol in my system influenced my rating. While I will admit that this was the first place I finally felt flushed with a first-rate buzz, the truth is that this is a fabulous winery. We arrived just as it was starting to drizzle but the rainy skies didn't dampen our enthusiasm for Lava Cap. Christy and Julie had been before and raved about the wine, so the rest of us were excited to see if it lived up to the hype. Not only was the location beautiful, but the staff was friendly, knowledgeable, and fun, and the wines were fab. Lava Cap offered a flight of limited reserves for a $5 tasting fee, which included a logo glass, but staff member Karen McNeil told us not to worry about the fee - we could taste any open wine we wanted. I started with a 2005 Chardonnay Reserve, which was crisp and fresh. On Christy's recommendation, I tried the 2004 Sangiovese "Matagrano" - it was definitely the best Sangiovese I tried all day, with strong hints of cherry. One of the most popular Lava Cap wines (and one of the most affordable) is a 2003 American River Red Celebrated Cuvee, a blend of Syrah, Zinfandel, Cabernet, Merlot, and Sangiovese. This was a great wine, especially at $12 a bottle. I would have loved to take a case home but f&#@ing TSA thinks I'll bring down a plane with my beloved wine. I moved on to the Limited Reserves, first trying a really wonderful 2003 Rocky Draw Zinfandel, which was rich and almost chocolatey. My final wine, as I was getting loopy and lightheaded, was a 2003 Petite Syrah. I think I actually moaned while I was drinking this. Intense! It had the longest finish of any wine I've ever tasted; after the first sip, I waited a few moments and tasted cherry, then anise, then blackberries. It was amazingly good. I bought a bottle of this, well worth this $30, and can't wait for an occasion to open it. Because I loved this place, I'm going to hype their wine club, which offers 20% off all wine purchases (a discount kindly extended to me since all four of my companions joined.) There's also an annual summer event at the vineyard, which will take place July 14 or 15 this year. In addition to my tasty wine, I also got the best shirt ever, a little black number that reads: "Drinks well with others." read more

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Beautiful vineyard and great people! $15 tasting, and they gave us a couple extra pours from different wines not on the tasting menu. read more

Lava Cap Winery - Wineries Near Me - Placerville, California

Wonderful staff and most beautiful vineyard I have ever seen. I come here every year to eat lunch with my family with a few bottles of delicious Lava Cap wine on their picnic table facing the fabulous grape vines running across the hills. The staff is friendly and encourage customers to drink their wine outside with a bucket of ice. Sitting on a bench sipping fine wine while watching the vines reminds me of those corona commercials. Overall, excellent winery and fantastic staff. 5 stars. read more

Wine tasting in El Dorado County could not be better than it is over at Lava Cap Winery! The staff is very knowledgeable about the wines and the varietals that go into the wine. If you are looking for some great wines, then this is the place to go! I started with the 2008 Chardonnay that had lovely notes of oak that were not over powering, and a smooth finish that made you want more. Other wines of note that I enjoyed were the 2005 Merlot, 2005 Grenache and the 2005 Syrah. If you like Zinfandel, the American River Red 2005, is a blend of Zin and a few others that would be good to cook with as well as to serve at the dinner table. Another exceptional wine is the 2006 Zinfandel. Full of berry flavors and rich in the mouth, this was a definite wine to buy and priced reasonably at $20.00. I think that this one is a keeper and one that will cellar well. I am looking forward to trying this wine with the Zinfandel Marinade recipe and the Zin-Zucchini-Tomato bake recipe that they were giving out! Crush was happening when I was there and that whole process was truly amazing! This is a place to go for really good wines! Bring a picnic lunch as the garden and grounds are incredible. There is a great view of the American River Canyon behind the vineyards. read more

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After enjoying and purchasing this wine for many years I feel I must post this review from yesterday 10/14/17. My friend and I drove up from Vacaville specifically to buy wine, I love the product and wanted my friend to experience it too so we could buy a case together. They were very crowded but we waited patiently and finally got up to the outside pouring station. There were three people working it, one man and two women. I had service from the man before and he was great but he was busy so finally a lady with short blond hair reluctantly acknowledged us, we asked if we could have a tasting of the Chardonnay first she left for some time and came back with two glasses and gave us a pour. Then she walked away and started cleaning up the area behind the table where they were pouring, emptying the trash and then left. No more wine for us! Finally we got the attention of the younger woman with long blond hair and asked her if we could sample another bottle, she was very distracted but gave us a pour and then took over a party of 6 to the left of us on a side table and never looked back at us. I was extremely disappointed in the unprofessional way we were treated so I went inside to find the short haired blond lady and she was still cleaning up inside behind that pour area. I told her how rude she was to just walk away and service us. She was so unprofessional not offering any explanation for her lack of service. At that point my friend and I left Lava Cap, never to return and stopped at another winery, who's customer service was right on and truly valued a customer. We proceeded to buy a case of wine, which from our extensive tasting we know to be superior. read more

This quaint little tasting room has an excellent menu of snacks to take the edge off of your long day of drinking. We found a few decent wines. I was sad to know their old vine zin was sold out. Our friendly server seemed to be enjoying herself a few tastes. It made for a fun and entertaining stop. read more

Fun winery to stop and taste some wines. We only tried the flight of red wine. All were good, Syrah was my favorite. Great views and friendly staff! read more

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Great wine and a beautiful view! Can't go wrong on your apple hill journey. Variety of delicious snacks too!! read more

Lava Cap Winery - Wine and a view - Wineries Near Me - Placerville, California

Usually when people tell me they went this way for wine, I ask what their favorite was and it's usually Lava Cap. So Lava Cap is where we started.. We walked into the Tasting Room. It's small.. not built for busy. Pourers were young and friendly. Tasting is complementary. Reserve tasting is $5-- but, that's waived if you buy a bottle. read more

Went wine tasting for the first time up this way and I'm very impressed. Great wine and service is quick. The view and atmosphere was spectacular. Definitely recommend. Hint: they allow you to bring your own food and picnic at their winery. Great plus and dog friendly. read more

I just came here for the first time last week. What a fun spot! Hidden away from the busy "Apple hill" area, this beautiful winery has great wine, great views, and a great personality. The staff is super friendly and fun! Come check it out! read more

Our first stop after reaching the summit of Mt Shasta... Lava Cap just sounded like a fitting reward after a 16 hour day on the mountain. A reward indeed as both the Savi Blanc and the Grenache Reserve were outstanding. The atmosphere was inviting, serene and tranquil. The park-like setting of the patio was THEE place to enjoy their wonderful wines, cheeses, crackers etc, but the surreal views of the nearby vineyard were those typically found in storybooks. A wonderful experience and a gratious and knowedgeable hostess, Karen, enhaced an already perfect visit. This is a must-do for wine lovers. read more

We had such a great experience wine tasting ! Amazing views, delicious, quality wine and great service. Ken took such great care of us. Wine tasting was free if you bought a bottle of wine which I don't understand why you wouldn't since they have great selections! We will definitely be back. read more

We went to Lava Cap during Apple Hill. They were pretty busy, but John was on top of it and did a great job keeping an eye on us and answering all our questions. He was a joy to talk too and not to mention the wine and the view read more

Was a fantastic experience and a gorgeous place to visit. I am thankful to have gone and did the tasting. The service was a 10 also.

Beautiful place but rude staff and horrible food menu. We asked for cheese and crackers and was brought a saran wrapped wheel of cheese in a red plastic basket. All the food was brought out in plastic like you would buy in a store. read more

My wife and I are seasoned Wine consumers for over 33 years, and have been to Lava Cap before. The people there are the best! The wines are average to good reflecting the local terroir...BUT the hidden gem is their 2014 Cabernet Franc! This varietal is usually used in blending, and when bottled as a single varietal is just so-so. But Lava Cap's is extremely impressive when given some air time. When the bottle is first opened there is a slight bitter edge: tannins? But after 30 minutes the bitter edge gives way to a smooth caramel after taste! (French Oak?) Whatever the reason, buy this by the case! read more

I am a huge fan of Zins and this place did not disappoint. Their Zins are flavorful, complex, and BOLD. Their staff is very knowledgeable of their wines and the stories behind them. The tasting room is small and very personable which makes for a great experience. The scenery at this place is also amazing and they provide a outdoor seating are to enjoy it. My only complaint is the prices are a bit higher than others in the area but still not as expensive as Napa wineries. Overall, if you like BOLD zins, then I would highly recommend you check this place out. read more

This was our first stop on our first trip to the Camino wine country. The views were unbeatable, service was exceptional (I think her name was Vickie.... Thank you Vickie) and wines were great! Even joined the club! We will definitely be back. read more

We had the best time at Lava Cap, sitting outside on the deck to stay COVID friendly was beautiful and made us feel very comfortable about staying safe. Medow was pouring our wine while we were there and took our experience from a 10/10 to a 12. Delicious wines and a great place. Thank you Lava Cap read more

We love the location, the wines and the staff. They always make us feel welcome while we enjoy their great wine. A great place to picnic while overlooking their vines. This is our go-to winery whenever guests are visiting. read more

Went in for a tasting, ended up joining the wine club! The staff were very nice, and knowledgeable. I am not a wine expert, and they explained the different wines, tastes, etc. It was a friendly and relaxing atmosphere. We ended up getting a few glasses, and sat at the tables overlooking the grape plants and watching the birds play. It was a very nice afternoon, and we will definitely be headed back there soon! read more

Lava Cap Winery - Beautiful views while drinking wine! - Wineries Near Me - Placerville, California

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Good Wine- great view. Stop by whenever you're in the area. Close to the freeway and apple hill/ high hill ranch.

Come here last and enjoy the patio! I got the Rose and my sister got the red blend! Yummy read more

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Great wine!! The best view too. The staff was very friendly. They had 3 whites and about 8-10 red wines. I really enjoyed them all, $5 for a tasting of 6. Plenty of parking and outdoor seating, but only standing room for the tastings indoors. read more

Lava Cap Winery - Wineries Near Me - Placerville, California