Bumgarner Wine Tasting Room

Bumgarner makes some of the best California wines i’ve tasted. All of their wines are great. Highly recommended.

The boyfriend and I stopped by Bumgarner Winery after first visiting Crystal Basin Cellars. The two wineries are within walking distance from one another, so you could say it was an impromptu visit. We walked in not really knowing what to expect, but, being the Giants fan that he is, my boyfriend decided we should check it out in honor of Bumgarner: P
The outside area was super cute! The summer greenery and bright sun made for an exceptional picturesque location. The winery itself is a house-​like type place with a small bar area. The tasting fee was $ 5 per person, which could be applied towards the purchase of a bottle of wine. In these scenarios, I typically do end up buying a bottle of wine to offset the tasting fee, whether I liked the wine or not. So, admittedly, even though I did not enjoy any of the wines I tasted, I ended up buying a bottle anyway.
I neither liked nor disliked this place. It was a clean, bright winery with a cute outdoor area, but the wine was mediocre and unremarkable to me. I probably wouldn’t visit again.

What an adorable tiny house-​style winery!
We were immediately greeted by Brian, owner and winemaker at this fine establishment. He kind of reminded me of a kinder Eric Northman from True Blood. :)
He gave us a wonderful journey through his wines. My absolute fave was the Gewürztraminer. It was more like a roussanne with thick buttery brown sugar notes, nothing like most Gewürztraminers I’ve had. Definitely grabbed a bottle of that and should have grabbed more!
Also, this was the first time I’ve ever liked Pinot Noir! Been all up and down central coast and usually, the tobacco notes kill it for me. But, not here! Fruity and well balanced. we grabbed a bottle of that as well and shared it with friends with some pizza :) Awesome pairing!
Definitely plan on coming back, so I’m saving my Gewürztraminer bottle, which grants you $ 5 off your next purchase and this chick loves a coupon!
Such a great start to a wine trip!

One of the many wineries in apple hill area I have tried. This place sits next to a small business strip mall. Just follow the sign to behind the mall. This is a cabin converted wine tasting room.
Staff is pleasant and prompt to helping. Five offerings between two wineries for five dollars. A menu with short descriptions. Most of the choices are mediocre for my taste.
We elect to purchase Gewürztraminer wine which comes in a refillable bottle for initial 20. If you return for a refill the bottle discounted is 15. There is a wine club, but nothing we consider here.
Wine was okay. We will come back to refill for the price. The wines are priced with the other wineries.
Good: service, mediocre wine.
Bad: location, small selection for price.
I’ll be back someday.

This was one of the last stops in Apple Hill.
We went there because they carried hard cider.
Small selection of pretty good wines. I honestly should try this place again since it was towards the end of the day and I was exhausted.
Like most of the tasting rooms in the area, it’s pretty. Make sure when trying this place out they are the ones up on the hill.
The cider was clean, crisp and not overtly sweet. Oh that was pretty tasty. I’ll have to be back just for that!

Can’t go wrong with a name like Bumgarner for Giants Fans. The tasting room is behind a thrift shop. Cute barn and outside tables. We enjoyed talking with the owner and tasting the wines. We bought the hard apple cider, that comes in refillable bottles. It is like a light sparkling wine. We thought the Cabernet was their best red wine.

We were driving around and this was the first winery we check out. A very small winery with friendly staff. The tasting was $ 5 per person. I shared my tasting with my friend. The tasting pours were small. My friends liked one of their wines but sadly, they were sold out.

Loved loved loved wine tasting here!!! I loved all wines that was offered! I’d come back again!

This place has GREAT wines. Very friendly lady working behind the counter. One of the highlights of our trip. The only reason I rate this 4 stars, is because the cider was out. I heard a lot of great thing about it, so it was disappointing that they did not have any.

I went here on a extremely busy apple hill weekend with my girlfriend and two children. There was only one lady working and a lot of customers doing the wine tasting. Even with all the people she took the time to joke around and explain every wine to each person doing the tasting. The kids were kept busy with chalk that the place provides and we ended buying a bottle which waived the $ 10 tasting fee. Definitely will be back.

Brain’s place is fantastic. I will return here with my family and friends soon. My husband and I went during the winter. I can’t wait to try out this atmosphere in the warm sunshine. The wine was unbelievably delicious. He has a really good hard cider as well. I am a fan, I recommend this place.

Wow, this place was fantastic… he is known for his cabs and you can definitely tell! Come during the summer months and he will have a wood fire stove out cooking up pizza to go with the wine tasting!

One of a select group of wineries/​tasting rooms we regularly purchase wine from. Bumgarner is amazing. The tasting room is neat. The staff are fun, especially the young woman (I have her business card at home but can’t recall what her name is at this time) who is tending the tasting room every time we go. The wines are yummy. The sparkling wines and the ciders are even better! We ended up registering as wine club members. Well worth it.

Do you like apples? Well they make a great Apple Cider here, so how do you like dem apples!
What a fresh, lively and vibrant venue. This feels like a French cabin tucked away in the mountains of France versus El Dorado. The venue is in a great little cabin that has been a long standing structure, but has been neatly renovated to transform the space into a tasting room, small boutique and grocery store to meet all wine tasting needs.
The tasting fee is a modest $ 5, but they waived it for Passport weekend. They have several wines on draft that you can take in super carafes.
See Nicole… She gave a wonderful tasting. Very informative, described the wines very well and is very patient and flexible with us while we would frequently tend to our kiddos. She even gave us some sidewalk chalk to occupy our busy bees while we enjoyed the wines.
We tasted the Apple/​Pear Cider, Marsanne, Chardonnay, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah, Tempranillo and the 07 and 08 Cabernet Sauvignon. There wasn’t a poor wine in the bunch. The cider is crisp and refreshing like a champagne, the other reds all well executed, but the Cabernet Sauvignon was the stand out. Having tasted at 10 or so Napa wineries in the past couple weeks, the 08 Cab here was better than the 08 Napa vintage Cabs I have tasted.
We joined the wine club and grabbed a super carafe of Mourvedre. This place is the new stand out for El Dorado wineries.

Eh. Eh. Not my taste but if you tend to drink un-​oaky wines you will love Bumgarner.
Bumgarner is a cute space and within stumbling distance to a couple neighboring wineries and a decent thrift store.
I feel like this is one of those «we just didn’t mesh» situations. I’m a big oaky and buttery girl and the wines I found here weren’t to my liking, although I could see someone else really enjoying them. They were very fruity and flavorful yet dry.
The place is cute and the owner/​winemaker/​pourer knows his stuff. Most of the wines here are poured on tap which was very unique and cool. The space is a-​ok and has a nice outdoor area although there are definetely better views at other spaces. There’s also a 5 dollar tasting fee if you don’t decide to buy anything.
I was teetering between three and four stars but I’ll chalk it up to the fact it just wasn’t my taste. Worth a stop in.

The only reason I gave this 4 out of 5 stars is the girl who was pouring of us and the awesome music she was playing. The wines were good (I liked that they were on tap, that was unique) but would have only merited them 3 out of 5 stars.
Our favorite was the rich and bold ’06 Cab.

Scott proves that «Not all people who work in tasting rooms have to be assholes.» We walked in at 4:30 and were greeted and served immediately; Scott kept us laughing the whole time, telling us about the wine and chatting about music and the area. We tasted at least eight or nine wines and were there until about 5:15 (they close at 5). There was no pressure to buy but I still went home with a bottle of the Petite Sirah. It’s the kind of wine tasting experience you don’t get in the awkward, stuffier places… I will definitely be crossing Para Vi off my list and adding Bumgarner to my list of must-​stops when I’m in Apple Hill.

Sat outside underneath a huge fig tree and enjoyed the peace and quiet.
Very friendly staff and cozy tasting room.
Beautiful music playing.
As for the wine there isn’t much to say.

Centrally located between two great wineries, Crystal Basin Cellars and Château Davell, Bumgarner Winery is making some really amazing wines! I tried the Pinot Noir and Many Hands but especially liked the 06 Cab. Brian the owner and wine maker is not only very personable but helpful aswell.
Great times thanks Bumgarner!

Old barn turned into a tasting room. Brian Bumgarner is a huge WINE NERD that knows how to make some good wine. Try the tempranillo! I was a fan.
He definitely needs a little work on the landscaping for his place but I guess he did just open a few weeks ago.
Not a bad place to grab a quick tasting ($ 5 tasting fee) on your drive back from Tahoe. Prices are a bit steeper than other places in the area but you pay for quality I suppose.