Best Event -Bottle Your Own Wine : Best of the El Dorado Hills

Best of the El Dorado Hills

Nov. 6, 2007 - Best Event -Bottle Your Own Wine

Fair Play, CA - Many years ago (at least 8 or 9 anyway), I stumbled across an ad in our local Village Life newspaper about a "Bottle Your Own Wine" event at Charles B. Mitchell Vineyards over Veterans' Day weekend. It was a couple weeks off and sounded so fun. I suggested it to our neighbors and my husband and we all made the decision to go. When the agreed on day came, the excuses started to come up. I refused to let them renege on our commitment, however, and we had such a great time my husband and I have gone ever since.
There are actually three of these events at Charles B. Mitchell Vineyards every year -over Veterans' Day, Presidents' Weekend, and 4th of July. At each one you'll usually have a choice of a white and a red wine that you can bottle yourself for a very reasonable $6-7 per bottle.
When you arrive you are given a tasting class (to keep) for $10 per person; or it is provided free for club members. Not only can you taste the wines available to bottle, but also "future" wines (fine wines that are still in drums waiting for their time to be bottled and released), and other wines they sell. There is always some kind of snack type food there as well. This weekend it happens to be soups and fresh breads. In the colder months there are patio heaters placed around to keep you cozy while you mingle and taste.
Once you've done enough tasting and made your decisions, you can begin your bottling. You can bring your own clean, recycled wine bottles to fill, or buy them there for an additional 85¢ each. Now that you have your bottles, you proceed through stations to fill them, cork them, seal the tops with a capsule, and label them.
Though we don't get to every one of the events, we go as often as possible, always dragging along whoever will go with us. And it's always a great time for everyone. It takes about 45 minutes to get there from El Dorado Hills, but the drive is beautiful and the experience is definitely worth the effort. It's a leisurely day thing so plan to be there 2-3 hours. If you make it there, let me know what you think.
This Veterans' Day event runs November 9, 10, 11, & 12 and is open 10:30-5pm daily, The winery is located at 8221 Stoney Creek Road, Fair Play, 95684. For more information go to their website at www.charlesbmitchell.com or call 800-704-WINE.

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Welcome to my Best of the El Dorado Hills weblog! The Hills I refer to here are the foothills east of the Sacramento Valley. My inspiration for this blog came as a result of my Real Estate profession where touring homes and knowing the inventory are some of the best parts of my job. Though my predominant intention here is to tell you about the homes for sale that have wow’d me, I also want to include what I consider to be among “other bests” of living in this wonderful area. You can search by categories, by clicking on the links below, or click on a tag word under one of my postings for more blogs about that subject. The prices shown on each blog is as of the date written. I'll try and update them when time allows. Please keep in mind that sometimes the pictures don't do a home justice, but they are what the listing agent has submitted to the MLS and what I have to work with. For more pictures or information on any of these postings or for help in locating similar homes available in our area, please contact me by clicking on the “Email Me” link below. Be sure and check out My Favorite Links for more helpful sites. Blog postings with * following the name indicate that the home has been sold and is no longer available.