Lots of different Sangiovese along with people that love it and are excited about it make for a good experience. We tasted thru all the wines and enjoyed many of them. Took a few bottles home and will be back.
You know you're not in Napa when you pull into the parking lot at Vino Noceto and see the giant Doggie Diner statue. This great little winery offers a host of Amador County Sangioveses along with a few other varietals. But the Sangiovese is the star here. The owners take great care in producing their wine. The tasting room is friendly and fun. Don't miss the Frivolo, a light slightly carbonated dessert wine made from the Moscato grape.
We were wandering around on the "wrong" side of California and stumbled on a few very good vineyards. We were sort of on the way to Yosemite after visiting Tahoe. We visited Noceto and Amador. Vino Noceto Sangioveses and Zinfandels have turned out to be some of our favorite gifts. We buy a case for our grown children every Christmas and take advantage of sales during the year. They do have a wine club which we have not joined, but there are price advantages if you buy a lot of wine. I'd say the wines are moderately priced, but certainly couldn't be called inexpensive.We have not visited Vino Noceto since 2007, but we have never been disappointed. They ship wherever it's legal. These are nice people...very accommodating and pleasant.I'd certainly recommend giving the wines a try if you're in the area.
We love wine tasting. Vino Noceto specializes in Sangiovese. They have several flights. We left with a case!
Several years ago, my wife and I had the chance to live in Italy for an extended period of time. During our time in the Emilia-Romagna area (Bologna, Parma, Modena, etc.) we greatly enjoyed the locally produced 100% Sangiovese wines. They were delightful to drink on their own, paired well with food, and were a great value, with outstanding examples of this wine available for under $10/bottle. Sangiovese is also the primary component of Chianti. Although other Amador County wineries offer a Sangiovese, Vino Noceto makes multiple Sangiovese-based wines, and this led to our interest in visiting the winery during our recent visit to Amador County. We are glad we did. We thoroughly enjoyed the wines, and the tasting room experience. A $5 fee is charged for tasting, which I consider quite reasonable, and it is waived with the purchase of a bottle of wine. The person serving us, Jenny, was very friendly and knowledgeable about the wines and the grapes that went into each and the locations and histories of the sources. Due to our interest in Sangiovese, this helped limit the wines that we wanted to taste, but we also sampled the Barbera and the Zinfandel. When all was said and done, we felt that all of the wines were quite good and a good value, but the 2010 Riserva Sangiovese ($24), and the 2011 OGP Zinfandel ($29) stood out. Later during our visit to the area we had a bottle of the Riserva Sangiovese with a dinner at Taste, and it paired very well with filet mignon and steak. If you are a fan of Italian varietals, then you will likely enjoy the Barbera and the multiple Sangiovese wines that are available. The port was quite tasty as well. I wish the Marmellata Sangiovese had been available to taste, but this gives us a good reason to make another visit. Perhaps at that time we will also try the white Italian varietals since these can also be delightful. We did have a small taste of the Frivolo, a lightly sparkling Moscato, and enjoyed it. The tasting room offers larger format bottles of several of the wines, and also some older vintage offerings in their wine library. I was not familiar enough with the winery to feel comfortable buying them yet, but as my familiarity grows, this represents a nice opportunity to buy some older wines for a special occasion at what I consider to be very reasonable prices. All in all, a very nice tasting experience, and Vino Noceto is on the list of wineries to revisit when we come to Amador County the next time.
The tasting room at Noceto winery in Amador's wine country is a small, very unassuming place housed in what looks like an old barn. It's easy to miss if you drive by too quickly, so you need to keep an eye out for the sign. There's no gift shop or food service--it's all about the wine, particularly the excellent sangiovese wines that are the house specialty. Best of all, tasting here is still free, in contrast to the growing trend to charge fees at other Amador area wineries. Our server was wonderful and helped us find the perfect sangiovese, which we liked so much we went home with a full case.
If you like Italian style Sangiovese wines, then this is the place. They grow all their own grapes here, have a large selection of red wines, reminiscent of the great Tuscan varieties. Friendly staff, pleasant tasting space, and good stuff to take home.
We love Italian wines and are fortunate that we don't have to go to Italy every time we want the Italian experience. Not only is the wine extremely good tasting, but an exceptional value. Couple that with fantastic hospitality. Highly recommend a visit and a purchase. I joined the Big Nut Club to make sure it keeps coming on a regular basis.
Very Friendly. Great wines. I LOVED the rose!!!! Worth stopping by if you are in the area. Cute rustic venue.
Another winery worth visiting...especially if you're looking for an unusual light wine, Their Frivolo is worth the drive. The sparkling component balances the sweet, They are also known for their Sangiovese and red blends