This is a really nice winery with beautiful views. There are many varietals to sample in this friendly tasting room. My favorites were the 2008 Coda Rouge and the 2009 Rive d'Or, although the Grenache and the Morvedre were close. Very pleasant experience. Met the winemaker Mari who certainly knows what she's doing.
We came here with a Living Social or Group On Special and and a fantastic time. Great Wines, Live Entertainment, Beautiful grounds, will return.
David Girard has produced a very successful vineyard in a lovely country setting. All of his wines are outstanding and the Tuscan style tasting room is charming. They have a beautiful area for a picnic, complete with barbeque, stage for outdoor concerts, pond and covered tent for events. All in the heart of the Gold Country.
My husband and I are wine club members at several El Dorado County wineries and enjoy spending a day touring and treating friends to the many fabulous choices within our own backyard. Hands down, David Girad Vineyard is our absolute favorite. The staff are always friendly and informative about the wines, pairings, and upcoming events. You feel like you are always with family and best of friends whenever you visit. The vineyards, grounds, and tasting room are beautiful. There are events throughout the year. The summer concerts in the evenings have become wonderfully romantic date nights! Prior performances have included a broad selection from the arts that include blues, rock, jazz, ballet, cover bands, etc., etc., etc. Wine is always available for purchase and local quality catering vendors are contracted to provide delightful snack plates/desserts/small meals for purchase for events.
The crew at David Girard Vineyard made us feel very welcome and it was wonderful spending some time with them. Grayson explained the various processes to us and it was very interesting to learn about all the different varietals he's working with. His skill in winemaking is evident in their superb offerings - don't miss the Tryptich!
Excellent location, the outdoor wedding ceremony area is very pretty and well laid out. All the guest were able to clearly see the wedding party thru-out the ceremony. We then walked a few strides up the hill to access the reception hall. large, open room with lots of windows overlooking the vineyard. The hall also faces west so we were all treated to a great pink-n-orange sunset in Northern California.
When we go to taste wine, we rarely do more than one or two tastings a day. We like to sip and chat with the servers about their wine and usually end up buying a few bottles to take home. Also, we are wine enthusiasts and generally go for wine in the $20-40 a bottle category, which is where David Girard's wines lie. We particularly like the reds although all the wines are of outstanding quality and character. The winery is beautiful, and many weddings and similar events are held there. When the weather is good, which is most of the time, it is delightful to sit outside and do a tasting. It is equally delightful to stand inside at the tasting bar and discuss wine with the servers. Even if the wine is outside of your budget, you can do a tasting for a reasonable amount of money ($ 7, I believe). If you buy a bottle, the winery will waive the tasting fee. It's a great place to visit.
We stumbled on this vineyard and tasting room by chance. And were we lucky we did. The setting is very Tuscan, tasting room and amenities set into the vineyard. I would call this a more intimate Ferarri Carano in look and feel. The tasting room staff was very friendly and helpful. I call this more of a mini destination than most tasting rooms. And, of course, most wines were excellent at a mid-range price for me--$20-60.
Great wine, great staff, great grounds, bring a picnic lunch.
Good wine, great events & their staff (especially Katie) are some of the friendliest in the El Dorado County Wine Area.