Gold Hill Vineyard and Brewery — Attraction in California

Let me just start by saying I’m knocking off a star because they are not following El Dorado County COVID protocols. Employees and customers are not wearing masks, there is no social distancing and the wine tasting is indoors. Maybe the huge “Impeach Biden” sign when you leave will give you some insight into the behavior. As for their beer, I tasted four of the six available and they were sub-par. They tasted like a home brewer in the family started dabbling in beer making. The fact that they have 6 different beer styles and they all are exactly 5% ABV is also suspect. Don’t come here for the beer. As for their wine, their cab franc was very good and a few other reds were above average. They are all estate grown, a big plus. You’ll pay about $10 more for a bottle of wine to a comparable bottle purchased at a grocery store, but it is a winery and think of it as a surcharge for their fantastic views. Tastings are 3 for $5 per person and does not apply to a bottle if you purchase one. 80% of the customers there were locals. As the lady pouring the wine behind the counter without a mask pointed out, “you can tell who is from out of the area because they are the ones...

The experience is casual, the views are great, the price is right, but the wines are mediocre. (Didn't try the beers)

The biggest problem is that the winemaking style here seems to result in wines that are rather nondescript... the typical flavors you'd expect from those varietals don't tend to shine through. So it's more like they have two flavors here: white (which I wasn't a fan of their white varietals), or red (which taste ok, but range in body from light to medium... not a single hearty, full-bodied wine here.) The syrah tasted almost just like the cabernet sauvignon (and neither one was as dark and rich as they usually are)... the malbec, too, was a medium-bodied affair, but we found it the most interesting of the lot, with a sort of cedar-like flavor. But the prices are affordable and the view of the vineyards...

We had looked forward to our visit to GHV &B, and were very disappointed 😔. Although the views of the vineyard were lovely...the indoor tasting area was very dated. Carpet needs to go!! Also, the lady who poured our wines had as much personality as a rock. She literally said about 10 words to us. We did not feel at all welcome. ( and we were the only ones there, not like it was busy!) We tried asking questions about the wines/ winery etc, and she answered us with as few words as possible, going right back on her computer between tastes. Maybe she was having a bad day. Not sure...? But I don't think we will ever go back. Wines...