young's vineyard

Location and amenities: The winery has a lovely, shaded patio separate from the indoor tasting room with panoramic views that seems an ideal spot for a nice lunch with a bottle of Young’s Vineyards wine. More generally, the winery is in a beautiful setting/location.The wines: Five wines were offered for tasting with no tasting fee: a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Zinfandel, a Barbera, a Petite Sirah, and a Syrah. We enjoyed the 2012 Reserve Syrah ($32) the most, with the Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah tied for second, the Zinfandel third, and the Barbera our least favorite. My wife and I tend to like big reds, and the Syrah hit the mark. The Zin seemed less intense than those we had sampled the prior week in Sonoma, and would sample later in the day at other Amador wineries. The Barbera, a wine I usually enjoy quite a bit, seemed a bit young and harsh, a problem that may resolve itself with additional aging. Tasting room experience: The staff pouring wines seemed very mechanical and disengaged relative to those at other wineries in other areas of California I have visited, and at eight other wineries in Amador County that we visited. They did not push you to buy, which was a positive, but also did not provide you with any interesting insights on the wine or the winery. It comes across as the staff being unknowledgeable, or indifferent, or both. I prefer a bit more dialogue, and it was not as though the winery was being overwhelmed with visitors. Judging from reviews at other sites, others have had similar experiences and reactions. I was hoping that they would have some Port available to taste, but apparently this is released later in the year and quickly runs out so it will have to wait for another time, assuming that we come back. There are only so many wineries you can visit in a day, and so you tend to focus on those where you have an enjoyable and engaging experience. Summary: The setting of the winery and the grounds are quite lovely. We enjoyed all the wines we tasted. When there is no tasting fee, I always buy a bottle. It is always more fun to do so when you really enjoyed a wine, and the Reserve Syrah was lovely. There were several other wines we might have bought if the staff had been a bit more engaging. There is a balance to be struck between letting the visitor taste in privacy and providing information about the wines and the winery. I would have enjoyed hearing a bit more than just the varietal that they were pouring. There was a lack of “personality” that diminished the experience considerably. In the end, it was just an average experience that could have been much better.

Great folks, very accommodating, opened for us on a day off since we're wine club members and as always excellent wines, we will be back.

This is a wonderful place to visit. The wines are delicious. I am particularly found of the reserve wines and always of the barbera and petite syrah. They are full bodied, lots of juicy fruit, and age well. This is the most beautiful winery setting in Amador County. There are wonderful gardens, a large pond with a lawn and plenty of picnic and seating areas.The staff is always welcoming and friendly.

The wines here are dry-- the only one we cared for was theire port which has a solid chocolate taste-- very sweet and definitely a desert wine. Pretty bottle but the wines are fairly expensive however they currently do not charge a tasting fee which is nice.

This winery is an absolute gem and seems to be little known. Our second visit, this time with friends new to the area (they joined the wine club on the spot). Rich intense wines, reasonably priced for California. The Barbera was outstanding. The grounds are beautiful, with interesting art scattered around as well as on the wine labels.

Just a beautiful place, great for a picnic and good wine. The tasting person was very knowledgeable. The artwork in the tasting room was wonderful too.

This is a tasteful location with acceptable wines. You'll enjoy the people and the two big wine dogs. We loved the Cab and the Sangiovese. We'll stop by again.

The grounds here are beautiful and the wines are delicious!The people are friendly and are happy to share their wine!

Rarely do I feel the need to assign a "terrible" rating to a place I have visited, but then rarely have I felt so insulted as I was during our visit to Young's Vineyard today. We had stopped to view the gardens on the property -- can't really tell you if they're worth seeing or not because we never made it that far. Just after getting out of our vehicle in a parking lot on the side behind the tasting room entrance with our two leashed dogs, a woman (presumably one of the owners, judging by the Mercedes she was driving) drove by, rolled down the window, not slowing down and shouted in a most snotty and condescending manner "No dogs allowed on the property" and kept driving. We are respectful of business establishments that choose not to allow dogs on their property and Young's certainly has the right to make their place a no-dog property (Note: we observed two unleased golden retriever-type dogs on the property, maybe the owner's dogs?). I suggest to the Young's Vineyard owners that they post their "No dogs allowed" sign a little more prominantly and cut back the ivy that's obscuring the sign because we didn't see it on our way in -- otherwise we would not have even gotten out of our vehicle. Also, they might want to consider how they choose to address customers that fail to see their poorly placed and obscured sign -- a little courtesy, perhaps? Maybe something like "I'm sorry, we love dogs too but we ask that our customers don't bring them on to the property." To be spoken to in that manner that the woman in the Mercedes shouted at me speaks volumes of their attitude toward their customers. Rest assured not only will I not return without my dogs but I will tell everyone I know (and many fellow Trip Advisor members) about how they might expect to be treated as guests of Young's Vineyard. By the way, I've had a few of their wines and in my opinion, you can get much better wines, and a far more pleasant experience, at many of the other Amador wineries down the road. We've been wine tasting in the Amador region for over 15 years, and most of the wineries welcome well-behaved, leashed dogs on to their property and into the tasting rooms. If you enjoy traveling with your dogs the way we do, if you're tempted to pull into Young's Vineyard -- keep on driving.

This is your first stop up the road from Plymouth and the experience gets you oriented to a wonderful road full of good wineries with great people and excellent wines. We loved at least one red but the artwork on the labels was especially entertaining.

We have been visiting this winery since it opened way back in the 90's. Every year the price keeps going up. Now it just way over priced for us.

We were 10 & it was difficult getting a reservation---e-mail did not work & 3 tries to get thru by phone. Tasting was limited as new releases were not out for a couple more weeks.

Young's obtained a degree of notoriety by selling our it's small production early int he season and shutting down for the majority of the year. They have sine expanded their line up to include some whites and a few italian varietals (I particularly like the Sangiovese). The signature wine is a reserve Cabernet Sauvignon that has acquired a following and reputation as being Napa quality. It is pricey by foothills standards and will sell our fast so come early in the season if you want to add it to your cellar. Winery dogs are adorable goldens. Hospitality was previously a bit off-putting, but lately seems to have become more customer focussed and friendly. Argueably the best wines in the valley and don't miss the spring party.