Lava Cap had a beautiful tasting room and winery a little off the main road in Placerville. Wines are a very individual taste and for my palate, the wines were a little acidic and young but the view and the atmosphere was wonderful. Stop if you have the time.
Small, cozy tasting room. Wonderful wines in about 15 different varietals. Almost all of them are estate wines. Well maintained gardens where they have many events on weekends. The staff is friendly and very knowledgeable. Open 7 days a week. Reasonable prices - $16 to $32 a bottle. Complimentary tastings and $5 reserve tastings.
Take the time to visit Lava Cap winery. You can also visit the apples country while there. I find October the best month to do it. We've been going for decades now. Always fun Apple Hill.
Wonderful location and informative staff. Wine is quite good, with beautiful picnic grounds. A great place to bring a lunch and purchase a glass or bottle of wine.
I took my 80 year old mother who uses a walker today to apple hill. we decided to stop at a winery and chose Lava Cap. We pulled in and saw the steps to the beautiful deck and my mom was bummed as she told me she wouldn't be able to make it up the steps. We rounded the corner and saw a big handicap sign!!! They had a back entrance and I went in and told them about my situation. They rolled out the red carpet for us!! Propped all the doors open, we got to walk thru the private party area and they really made my mom feel special. She loved the wine, the deck, and most of all the service from a winery that cares about all its patrons, even those that need a little extra help. You made my mom's day!!!
The view is beautiful. They have a nice deck for having a picnic. The tasting room is "very" small, can barely accommodate 10 tasters. Fortunately you can take your wines to the deck. Today they were very short handed with one person pouring while the second was handling pick-ups.The staff shared "nothing" about the wines.Complimentary taste of 5 wines. Wines well made, but not impressive. Ok for price point. We didn't try the Reserve tasting for $5.00 since the regular wines were just "ok". We will skip this winery in the future.
One of the oldest and largest wineries in El Dorado County. They produce a number of outstanding wines using about 17 varietals. All of the wines are excellent (I like every one of them). The prices are reasonable. There is a fee to taste the limited reserve wines, all others are complimentary. The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. there is a wonderful picnic area with a killer view. A must when wine tasting in the area.
Lava Cap Winery has its own unique attractions only found in this rural Apple Hill district: Fantastic scenery of steep rolling hills covered with grapevines with friendly and knowable staff about wines and really good wines. We love going for picnics (the winery does have a lot of picnics tables) in the Fall to overlook the intense colors of the various grapevines. What’s really neat about your own picnics is that they will furnish a bottle, of their just released Chardonnay, on ice and furnish you with the wine glasses at no extra cost (the winery does have its own picnic selections of cheese, fruit, etc, you can purchase). We have enjoyed and impressed our home guests with the Petite Sirah, Barbera, Merlot, and Zinfandels wines.
Had a great time at the winery, great wine and service. A must go when you are in the neighborhood or for a day trip.
Lava Cap winery is a wonderful spot to visit in this area! We tasted several wines and purchased 2 bottles...one is the special commemorative Chardonnay for the 125th Anniversary of the Geological Society of America. Delicious! We especially enjoyed the beautiful setting and grounds...it looked like you are welcome to bring your own food for a picnic on the grounds....nice option! We will be sure to stop by here again.