Sierra Foothills Wine Country
The Sierra Foothills AVA is California's Gold Country — eight counties of rolling oak-and-pine country rising from the Sacramento valley floor to the Sierra crest. It's where California's wine story started in the 1850s, and where some of the most interesting wines in the state are made today.
At a glance
- Counties covered
- 8 (El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, et al.)
- Total wineries
- ~300+
- Signature grape
- Old-vine Zinfandel
- Notable AVAs inside
- Fair Play, Shenandoah Valley, El Dorado, North Yuba
- Established
- 1987 (AVA)
- Elevation range
- 800–3,200 ft
The appellation covers El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, Nevada, Placer, Mariposa, Tuolumne, and Yuba counties. The Gold Rush miners who came in 1849 planted Zinfandel to drink in camp; some of those vines — now 120-plus years old — still produce wine. The region never stopped making wine, even during Prohibition, when it stayed alive on bulk contracts.
The modern Sierra Foothills wine movement started in the 1970s and 80s as growers in Amador County rediscovered what the old-vine Zinfandel blocks were capable of. El Dorado's Fair Play was recognized as its own AVA soon after. Today the region is best known for old-vine Zin, Rhône varietals (Syrah, Grenache, Viognier), and Italian grapes (Barbera, Sangiovese, Nebbiolo).
Elevations across the Sierra Foothills range from about 800 feet at the valley edge to over 3,000 feet at the high end of Fair Play. Soils are granite-derived, with volcanic intrusions in places. The diurnal swings are dramatic — 100°F summer afternoons, 40°F-50°F nights — which preserves acid and builds structure.
The feel is old California. Tasting rooms are casual, often in converted barns or historic buildings. Producers pour their own flights. Weekend crowds are real but nothing like Napa. If you want to see where California wine started and where it keeps its soul, the Sierra Foothills is that place.
Polynesian Girl Winery sits in El Dorado County's Fair Play AVA, with a tasting room in Somerset. We're a small, women-made, clean-farmed estate — one of about three hundred wineries across the broader Sierra Foothills region.
Visit Polynesian Girl Winery
Our tasting room at 6020 Grizzly Flat Rd, Somerset CA sits inside the region described above. Open Friday 1–5 PM, Saturday and Sunday 11–5 PM.
Plan your visitFrequently asked
- Where are the Sierra Foothills in California?
- East of the Sacramento valley, running up the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains from south of Yosemite to north of Grass Valley. The wine region is concentrated in the central portion — El Dorado and Amador counties in particular.
- What wines is the Sierra Foothills known for?
- Old-vine Zinfandel is the signature. Rhône varietals (Syrah, Grenache, Viognier) and Italian varietals (Barbera, Sangiovese) also do exceptionally well at foothills elevations.
- What's the difference between the Sierra Foothills and Amador County?
- Amador County is one of eight counties inside the Sierra Foothills AVA. The most famous Amador sub-AVA is Shenandoah Valley. The rest of the foothills spans El Dorado, Calaveras, Nevada, and five other counties.
- Is the Sierra Foothills a real AVA?
- Yes — the Sierra Foothills AVA was established in 1987 and is the umbrella for several sub-AVAs including Fair Play, El Dorado, Shenandoah Valley, California Shenandoah Valley, and North Yuba.
- How do you visit the Sierra Foothills from the Bay Area?
- Plan 2.5–3 hours each way. Most Bay-Area visitors base for a weekend in Amador (Plymouth / Sutter Creek) or El Dorado (Placerville / Somerset) and visit both counties over two days.