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Like I mentioned yesterday, Nick and I recently traveled to Sacramento to not only see his parents, but also explore Amador County. I had been once before, but it was a rushed day trip, so I was excited to relax and re-visit the area. Amador is special, because not only do Nick’s parents live less than an hour away, but he actually started nurturing his love of wine in that area! He worked as a tasting room associate at one of the local wineries - 2nd top seller, only to the manager at that ; )

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Dinner at Hook and Ladder Manufacturing Co. in Sacramento

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Relaxing at the Jeff Runquist Wines “R” Vineyard House

The last time we visited Amador County, we stayed in El Dorado Hills; however, this time we had the pleasure of staying in Plymouth (a city in Amador) thanks to Jeff Runquist Wines! To be honest, this whole area is brutally underrated. It may be smaller and not as “happening” as Napa Valley (only about 2 hours away), but don’t underestimate it! It’s just a beautiful and a cheaper trip at that. We would highly recommend visiting! Flying into Sacramento can be expensive depending on the time of year (it is a smaller airport but is really nice and easy to fly out of), so if you find a better deal flying into SF/Oakland/San Jose, you can make the drive in 2+ hours depending on traffic from those locations as well!

Walking around the Jeff Runquist Wines property

FRIDAY

We drove into Amador County on a Friday night, after stopping for Dinner in Sacramento at Hook and Ladder Manufacturing Co. We always love arriving after dark, so we can wake up to a brand new world and the vineyard wake up at Jeff Runquist Wines did not disappoint!!

Tasting at Jeff Runquist Wines

Afternoon in Amador City

SATURDAY

After going for a group run along the vegetation and wildlife in the area, we made breakfast in the full service kitchen at the house and got ready for our first (and best!) tasting of the day with Jeff Runquist Wines. Our appointment was at 11 am, so from there we went straight to lunch at Smalltown Food and Wine in Amador City. SO GOOD. I had the tuna melt, which was served on Andrae’s Bakery bread. We first tried some of their bread at the Jeff Runquist tasting room. It’s located just down the street from Smalltown, so be sure to stop by there as well. At that time of day, most of their items were sold out, but Nick and I split a really yummy cookie! After lunch, we originally had a couple other tasting appointments, but decided to take it easy until our last tasting of the day which was at Rombauer. Though it is a new location for them, you have been able to go to Rombauer in Napa for years. We decided to visit here, because it was formerly Renwood - a place that Nick’s parents were members of before it sold. They have a nice patio that is perfect for relaxing if you get there early enough to snag one. For dinner, we originally were going to go out, but loved the JRW Vineyard house so much, we decided to cook in. We stopped at Pokerville Market (local grocery story) and grabbed a bunch of food to make on premise. The rest of the evening was spent by the dreamy fire pit.

Lunch at Smalltown Food and Wine | Cookie from Andrae’s Baker

Tasting at Rombauer

Madewell Floral Maxi Dress | Veja Sneakers | Levi’s Denim Jacket | Aerie Sunglasses

SUNDAY

We felt the pains of a short trip and decided to make the most out of the area! We originally were going to do some more wine tasting, but decided to explore more. We ate breakfast in Sutter Creek at Element Restaurant and Bar. I was SO impressed by this menu. Our friends are pescatarians with a side of veganism and they had wonderful vegan and vegetarian options! I know California as a whole is good at accommodating, I just didn’t expect much from a semi-remote area in a small town. I had a classic type of breakfast with eggs, bacon, side salad and toast. Very yummy! The restaurant is connected to the Hanford House Inn, which looked really cute too if you don’t need to rent a big house. After lunch, we went for a walk (it’s not a hike like we initially thought) around Lake Tabeaud. There were other hikes we considered, but were time restricted by airport drop offs. Anddd that concludes our time in Amador County! We spent a couple more days in NorCal after our friends left, but I’m overall really happy with our quick weekend trip and already itching to go back. If you like lists, here’s my recommendations! We didn’t hit all the spots, but everything listed was on my radar and we considered going.