Sierra Foothills

The Sierra Foothills generally refers to a region comprised of eight central California counties including Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Nevada, and Placer – a belt 170 miles long, ranging from 1,000-3,000 feet high, and covering an astounding 2.6 million acres. It’s other name is… California Gold Country.

Reminders of those glory days can be found everywhere along historic Highway 49, which runs 321 miles through the Sierra Foothills and links many of the 19th century Mother Lode mining towns. The region extends from the gently undulating Sierra Nevada Foothills in the west, to the spectacular High Sierra mountains in the east.

Although visitors to the Gold Country delight in the many restored old mining towns, living history displays, and period activities to be found, wine lovers (even California natives!) are always astounded to find this “hidden” winemaking region, which is now home to over 100 wineries.

Indeed, the history of winemaking in the Sierra Foothills is long, if sporadic. It began with the gold rush, when some particularly resourceful gold miners remembered to pack-in some grapevines in 1949. After the easy gold ran out and Prohibition hit, the wine industry all but disappeared.

Winemaking made a comeback in the 1970s when the area was rediscovered by Napa and Sonoma counties winemakers looking for affordable land. They were rewarded with a new motherload of high quality vineyard sites.

Sierra Foothills vineyards are suited to a broad range of grapes, from robust Zinfandel to elegant Sauvignon Blanc. Generally, this section of the mountain range has warm days and cool nights, but overall temperatures are much cooler here than in the notoriously hot Central Valley. The Foothills also receive less rain than the more mountainous neighboring appellations, which tends to create lower yields and intense, varietal flavors.

You’ll know you’ve found a new kind of gold in the Sierra Foothills wines we offer here at winesource.com.