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We pulled a bottle out of the cellar the other night, a 2007 Holly's Hill Vineyards Viognier, and it was another of those "Yeah, this is why we bought this bottle!" moments. We visited Holly's Hill Vineyards, in El Dorado County in the Sierra Foothills, in April 2008. My parents were up from Southern California, and we went and visited Lori's mom (who lives up by Placerville), and on the way back to our house, stopped and visited some wineries. There's not much to say about the tasting room itself at Holly's Hill. Sort of looks like they converted their house. (Forgot to ask if that's the case.) But they have a deck off the back of the tasting room, and some picnic tables, and some great views of vineyards and mountains. Definitely Spring, judging by what I think is a cherry tree in bloom at their neighbors place.
The grapes that grow best in the Sierra Foothills seem to be Zinfandel and the Rhone Varietals. Holly's Hill focuses on the Rhone varietals, making both blends and varietal wines. The ones we liked on our visit were the Viognier, which proved its worth with a chicken, potato latke and homemade applesauce dinner with friends this past weekend, and the Patriarche, their red Rhone blend, probably their flagship wine. (Haven't opened a bottle of that yet.) The Viognier reminded me of that Spring day at the winery, with the smell of blossoms in the air, and some bright shining fruit in the mouth.
This is a nice place to visit, with good wines, good people, good views. A tasting room to come back to, and wines to hold on to, until, of course, it's time to share them with friends.
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