The wine tasting experience at Element 79 Vineyards is like having a front-row seat for the Zin Show, with the Zinfandel vines front and center, and the supporting cast full of wonderful background stories that involve families and love.
It’s like the whole place was born of the spirit of the gold-discovery foothills, rising up through the mountainous soils of the Sierra Nevada, nurtured by California sun-bathed vines, blending family and fruit together to make succulent wine dreams come true.
The Setting
A winery up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, where vineyards share the landscape with a forest of pines and redwoods, near where gold was first discovered in El Dorado County, a little more than an hour up Highway 50, eastbound from Sacramento.
Although vineyards are exciting any time of year, the closer the grapes get to harvest, the more lively the vines get, after they go dormant for the winter, bud break in the spring, flower, fruit, and go through véraison. The grapes treat véraison like their own costume change, as they keep things fresh in their size, shape, and color for the audience, while backstage the winemaker is focused on what’s going on inside the grape.
Act I – Take in the Scenery
This is a beautiful new winery in El Dorado county. You’ll feel like you’re in the best of both worlds, the manufactured and the natural, and both are phenomenal. Inside the tasting room is a big bar and cozy conversation spaces. Outside, a huge deck supports more cozy spots made comfortable by nice patio furniture and umbrellas. On the stage before you are acres of vineyards, cut into the forested foothills, with Zinfandel being grown on the rows nearest the deck.
The wine tasting here is a front-row experience if your seats and the season are in concert together, like… right before harvest. However if you visit once the grapes are picked, you’ll still be able to see grapes on the vines on stage for a while longer, as the winery wants visitors to get as much out of the Zin Show as possible.
Do yourself a favor and walk out to the vines. Take a selfie with the stars of the Zin Show and get a feel for the life of a Zinfandel wine grape. You might get some rich mountain soil on your shoes, but you’ll enrich your wine tasting experience at Element 79.
Act II – Taste the Scenery
Okay, so you’ve gotten the hang of the environment and maybe some wine dirt on your shoes. Now comes the other fun part… the vino!
Once seated, tasting room staff deliver the tastes, as well as background, history, and tasting notes of each wine, for a very comfortable and scenic “Seated Flight.” This staff is very, very knowledgeable too. Not only do they know Element 79’s wines inside and out, but they are well versed in the history of wine making in El Dorado County and the wines that are made there.
The flight is served is on a tray, with an illustrated tray liner. The liner serves to describe the tastes of wine poured into individual stemless glasses. The wines are from the rare earth of California Gold Country, made from grapes that are grown at the highest elevation in the state, a cool 2,400 feet above sea level.
Act III – Learn
The winery’s mission is to “employ the best farming practices to grow the highest quality grapes and produce premium estate-grown single varietal and blended wines.” Since the all the grapes are estate-grown, the winery has full control of the wine growing, as well as the wine making, and can employ high standards for the quality of the process, from beginning to end.
The other thing that I have learned is that no matter what time of year you visit element 79, you will enjoy a first-class, and even immersive experience, full of rich stories, views, and wines. This is a customer-focused business that keeps visitors’ interests and quality wine making at the top of their priority list.
