Uphill Vineyards is a small tasting room located on the heart of Main Street in the quaint town of Sutter Creek operated by the husband and wife duo of Beth and Ira Rosenthal. Uphill represents exactly what tasting rooms in this part of California wine country, known as Gold Country should be: small, cozy, quaint with unique wines that are distinctive in their own right. Uphill's tasting room might be in Sutter Creek but their vineyards are located nearby in the town of Fiddletown, which is in the Sierra Foothills of Amador County. They stared growing their grapes with five acres in 2007, bottling them in 2010 and expanded their lot in 2014, with hopefully more room to grow in the future. Uphill's grapes are uniquely grown not on traditional agricultural land, but on a hillside on both simple and compound slopes, hence their winery's name, and are cooled by breezes that occur in the area both during the day and night, unlike their fellow wineries in the region where the heat can contribute to the ripening of their grapes.
I had the chance to experience the intimate tasting room of Uphill one weekend, and I learned that Uphill is known for five main varieties: their Zinfandel, Primitivo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, and Tannat. I had the opportunity to try a simple wine tasting which contained three distinctive pours their 2014 TnT, 2013 Primitivo, and their 2013 Tempranillo. I really enjoyed my sampling of TnT, which by the name alone means Tannat and Tempranillo and represents combination of flavors from both France and Spain. This wine pairs subtlety with any spicy food and the Indian Samosa and spicy green chutney that Beth so graciously presented to me as a wine pairing. I loved it so much that purchasing a bottle at an affordable $19 was a no-brainer.
Their Primitivo which is similar to Zinfandel has more fruit and less spice, comes from a Croatian grape. It pairs nicely with pizza and pasta with spaghetti sauce. Their Cabernet Sauvignon represents one of the few grown that are grown in the region. It represents a more of a European style Cabernet meaning having a nice balance and smooth finish. The Rosenthals were so nice they even provided extra pours of their three dessert wines, their Angelica, Port, and Muscato. Paired with various Ghirardelli Chocolate squares, I was in dessert wine heaven! Of particular note was their Angelica wine, which they recommend pairing with cheesecake.
I had such a great experience at Uphill Vineyards, especially since I got the chance to get to know owners Beth and Ira on a real personal note. So much so, we compared notes on their work lives as they work out of the Bay Area and live the Sacramento area, but Uphill represents their passion and every weekend they open their tasting room, so the public can experience their bold blends. They told me that they've never been to California prior to visiting family, they liked the feel of the area with the vast rolling hills which provided a welcoming vibe. That's what I love about the wines and tasting room of Uphill Vineyards, they represent passion and pride, and the Rosenthals need to supported and celebrating for following their dreams. The public can participate in that passion right alongside them! read more