A relaxing Wednesday Evening Wine Tasting with Music and Food in the Court Yard of Roseville’s City Hall
Roseville California is a charming community just north east of the State Capital Sacramento. In spite of it’s size Roseville has a small town feel. A few years back Roseville completed a huge remodel of their City Hall complex, adding multipurpose Court Yard directly in front of City Hall and adding a parking structure close by, with FREE parking.
Wine Down Wednesday 2016 Runs for 6 weeks from April 13 to May 18 5:30-7:30pm. This is a great wine tasting opportunity to sample wines from the area, especially if your weekend time is booked up. Stop by after work and relax a bit. Five Placer County wineries offer tastings each week, there’s several wineries that come twice so if you miss them the first time you’ll typically have a second chance.
We arrived just a few minutes before the starting time of 5:30pm Wednesday the 11th of May. I parked in the new structure which is conveniently close to the event. The court yard in front of City Hall had a roped off area, there was a jazz band playing at the far end.
There were tables with umbrellas and chairs set up as well as the booths for the wineries. A wood fired pizza vendor was set up to the side of the stage. The welcome tables were located just outside of the tasting area. I was hoping to score a commemorative glass but they had sold out by the second week. Five tasting tickets cost $5 giving you 5 one ounce pours. Since each winery would obviously have more than one wine to taste, I tried to buy additional tickets – they don’t allow you to purchase extras. My wife and I would each get a different wine at the booth then share. So we each got to taste 10 wines. Once inside the tasting area you could purchase a 5oz pour for $5 – I’m not sure if they limit those. You could also purchase bottles of wine from the wineries.
On this week the wineries were Bonitata Boutique Wine, Cante Ao Vinho, Lynch Wines, Rancho Robles Vineyards, Wise Villa Winery. Each of theses wineries have their own unique stories and is worth exploring. Lynch Wines operates in a garage in a Roseville neighborhood. Wise Villa Winery is the California State Fair #1 Winery of 2015. Cante Ao Vinho reflects their Portuguese heritage in their wines and has a beautiful tasting room in a historic old building right on First Street in nearby Rocklin. Bonitata Boutique Wine is also located in a historic building near downtown Auburn. Rancho Robles Vineyards also has Portuguese roots that are reflected in their wines.
So if you’re looking to experience several wineries offerings in the early evening, during the week in a relaxing setting then Wine Down Wednesday is for you. You can also fine these wineries and many more on the Placer County Wine Trail – check the wineries operating hours, many are only open during the weekend. You can prolong your evening experience by dining in Roseville: across the street and down the block just a bit are: Monk’s Cellar is a Brewery with good food that’s a local favorite. Our favorite Mexican Restaurant is Nella’s – they’re a little short on atmosphere but they make up for it with the food and the prices are very reasonable – the Chili Verde is excellent! Close by on Riverside Ave. is Carmelita’s Mexican Restaurant a old favorite of the locals. Good Food & Good Wine – that’s #NorCalWineLife