Karmere, Sobon and Terra D'oro

We made three other tasting room stops while visiting Amador on Saturday - Karmere, Sobon and Terra D'oro.

Karmere is a family owned and operated winery on 150 acres of gorgeous rolling hills. Their wines are named after the women in the family. Because they produce so many varietals, the naming process is now all the way down to grand-daughters. Our tasting room host, Mark, proved to be extremely knowledgeable in soil and flavor profiles.

Though Sobon may not exhibit the wide open space as the other tasting rooms, you will find their entire back wall boasting several silver, gold and even double gold awards from the State Fair. A great steal for a fabulously lush Zinfandel is their '07 "Old Vines" sold at this California designated Historic Landmark property for only $12! One word of caution, beware of the tiny frogs that inhabit the property!

As we had just eaten at Villa Toscano, we unfortunately couldn't partake of the BBQ that Terra D'oro was hosting on their picnic friendly patio. However, we still enjoyed a marvelous nebbiolo/syrah rose. This wine's brisk acidity and balanced fruit is assured to go with a melange of summertime foods.

Adding any of these three wineries to your Amador itinerary will serve you well.