Crave – food & drink
My friends and I rarely leave the coast. (It’s a graysuit thing.) So, when we do head for the hills, we have to have a really good reason—like fabulous wines.
If you want a quick getaway to a wine lover’s paradise, try Murphys in the central Sierra Nevada foothills in Calaveras County, Calif. With 18 tasting rooms within an easy walk down Main Street, there are so many great wines to try, it’s sinful (or, more like, Zinful)!
My all-time favorite red wine is Zinfandel, so it’s no surprise my favorite wines of the trip were Zinfandels—from Calaveras County and Amador County.
All the Zins we tried at Newsome-Harlow were rich, full-bodied and bursting with dark berries—the Calaveras Zinfandel ($24), Shake Ridge Ranch Zinfandel ($36), and Big John Zinfandel ($38). I brought home a bottle of the Calaveras Zin, a bargain at $24. It’s also served by the glass in several local restaurants, including Alchemy Market & Cafe and Murphys Historic Hotel.
Hatcher Winery also had a mouthwatering selection of tasty reds. The Shake Ridge Zinfandel ($32) from Amador County was my favorite—filled with strawberry, candied cherries, blackberry and spice. We also really enjoyed the Shake Ridge Barbera ($32) and the Syrah ($26) from Calaveras County.
At Frog’s Tooth Vineyards, the Tempranillo ($24) was the standout—and it’s considered by many to be the Calaveras County winery’s flagship wine. Filled with berries and a hint of tart plum, this is an excellent wine to pair with meats and cheeses. The Barbera ($28), also from the Sierra Foothills, was delicious too.
Bunting Winery & Vineyards pours Rhone-style wines. Here, the Syrah (Sierra Foothills) was our favorite—and it’s their most popular wine.
We tasted many more fine wines—far too many to mention here. But visit & taste for yourself. It’s an easy walk from one end of Main Street to the other, with lots of restaurants in between.
Our favorite restaurant in Murphys is Alchemy Markey & Cafe. We first experienced Chef Jason Wright’s genius years ago at Bahama Billy’s Steakhouse and Bixby Martini Bistro in Carmel, Calif. Jason describes the food at Alchemy as “craveable”—and we wholeheartedly agree. Alchemy’s menu features “big, bold flavors from around the world with an emphasis on classy American favorites.”
During our visit we started with the Crispy Fried Calamari ($11), cooked to perfection with sliced jalapenos, pepper, coarse salt, Parmesan, and chipotle aioli. We also sampled the Three Hearts Caesar ($10), romaine hearts, hearts of palm and artichoke hearts with shaved Parmesan, smoked gouda, garlic croutons, tomatoes, and creamy house made dressing. Dinner was a super-decadent Crab Macaroni and Cheese ($24), rotini with a creamy white cheddar and Parmesan sauce, Dungeness crab meat (in every bite!), and Parmesan gratinee.
Dinner reservations are recommended. Alchemy Market & Cafe was hopping when we were there and rightfully so with such “craveable” food. There are also 12 rotating tap handles for draft beers and a selection of bottled beers.
Within our 48-hour trip, we traveled from the Monterey Bay to Murphys, visited 16 of the 18 tasting rooms along the quaint tree-lined Main Street (the 2 we didn’t visit were closed), and then made our way back to the ocean. So this wine adventure is definitely do-able for graysuits & highly recommended for oenophiles. Cheers!
Wines from Murphys, Calif.
