Amador Cellars

Have been members of the crush club as well wine club.
Wonderful wines and great people.
Nice boutique winery.
Nice place to have a picnic.

Was a wine club member and enjoyed my experience at the winery. And then something changed, over this past year.
The focus shifted from the customer and relationship to business all the time. The charm has gone.
It has affected the wine, the atmosphere and the experience.
It has become uptight, rigid and cold.
I want to say that I will be back, but this winery lost what I loved about Amador. So I am on the hunt!
Goodbye Amador Cellars.

You know those things you dream about and think about daily, well amador cellars barbera is something I can’t stop thinking about. It had hints of a smoky marshmallow and everything about it was perfection. If you like barbera’s make sure to add amador cellars to your wine tasting list.

We always passed this place up and never stopped until one day we finally did. We love the small intimate setting. The people pouring are usually family members and the two winery dogs are super sweet. Their wine is so good as well, so good that we joined the wine club after our first visit. Another perk is their cheese and cracker plate they always have out.

As a wine club member, I obviously love this place. Taking my family for Behind the Cellar Door we at first were a little perturbed because they did not start on time and the reserve tasting was not happening. But Michael the wine maker said we could come back a little later and we could do the reserve tasting. So that’s what we did and it was awesome! Wonderful Touriga. The only thing I wish is that there was some special privilege for wine club member. The discount is generous though!

A group of nine of us planned to go to amador cellars 10^th anniversary party and were so rudely greeted. Yes, we were in a limo but there are better ways to refuse service when reservations weren’t made. I had called in advance and asked about the event but didn’t realize the same reservation policy existed during a celebration.
Rude rude rude!!!
My group bought more than $ 500 of wine at our next 2 stops. The worst day I’ve ever had tasting in my favorite wine area.

My husband has been a member at Amador Cellars for a few years now and I must say we really love their wine here. Everything we come, this place is packed with wine lovers (a very good thing). The people that work here are also really friendly and do an amazing job with the wine pourings. In fact, we brought four of our friends here the other week and they treated us all very well.
You can’t go wrong with any of their reds (hehehe, they only make reds) They make great Tempranillo and Barbera!
My suggestions:
1) Pack a lunch
2) Buy a bottle (or two)
3) Eat outside
4) Pet their dog
5) Take pictures
6) Enjoy

We came to Amador Cellors based on a recommendation from a winery we actually didn’t like. ha ha but lucky us this turned out to be a WIN!
We got here just under an hour before closing. It was pretty busy, but we were able to get a place at the bar and get the tasting going.
We enjoyed all the wine we tried. Especially the Petite Syrah.
The lady providing the tasting did a SUPERB job. She never made us feel neglected even though she was the only one there. She talked with us as well as others and moved around and kept everyone’s glasses full.
We ended up buying a bottle in the end. And will be back in the future.
You can definitely miss this spot with all the larger vineyards around but do yourself a favor and make the stop. You’ll be glad you did.

My husband and I did a little wine taking for our anniversary and we picked this one to try out first. all the wines were really yummy. My husband even liked the white wines and he is typically not a fan. What was more impressive was the staff which is all family owned and you can tell they take pride in what they do. They were naturally friendly and very informative. The owners son gave us a walk around and showed up the process of how wine is made which was really awesome because I have read a lot about it but actually seeing it made more since.

Amador Cellars is a family run winery located in Amador Valley with a bunch of other wineries. They have some fantastic wines and very friendly tasting room staff. They also frequently have events with delicious food. I personally love their Barbera and Pinot.

Great dogs
Tasted what they were pouring. Rhone/​Italian style wines
6 Zins were all too spicy or peppery for my palate. That’s just me. I love spicy and pepper in my food, just not in my wine. I am sure these were really good for people who like that style of zin.
Barbera had a nice balance and I thought it equal to Cooper Winery Barbera.
Syrah was surprisingly spicy, so I didn’t want it.
Bunkhouse Red was very tasty for an everyday red at $ 17.

What a great place, visiting from Columbus Ohio and really enjoyed the atmosphere. The Zins and Barbera were really good, enough to join club. Also thrilled that they ship to Ohio.

The barrel room here doubles as the tasting room. They are in a rustic «barn» with amazing Tuscan farmstead ambience. In the heat of the summer the concrete walls provide a refreshing place to stop in for great wine, views and people.
I have been coming back for years, and this winery is one of the most consistent with quality and unique taste.
They have remarkable, peppery Zins. These are distinctly different from Sonoma an Napa Zins. I favor these due to their pronounced fruit and complex flavor.
They also make a great Barbera.
If Amador wine country had to be captured in one place, this would be it!

I love this place and here is why…
The wine– by far, one of the best places in Amador. I just had a select reserve Zin I had been hanging on to and it blew me away. The nose had layers of fruit, spice, cocoa and vanilla. The taste was stunning. I got a little depressed after knowing it would be the last time I tasted this beauty, but then I sucked it up… literally and decided right then and there that I would enjoy this moment and the wine. Try the Barbera, Zin (West and Rocky Point) and Syrah. All are AMAZING! Do yourself a favor, join their wine club.
The winery– The structure of winery itself is really cool. They have these thick cement walls which help keep the temperature regulated. Their winery dogs are so adorable and they keep you company inside and outside. Bring your lunch and have a picnic on the benches. Your biggest problem will be finding just one wine to have with lunch, do what I do, get yourself a willing DD and have at it. Then stock up on the wine you love because it will sell out, TRUST ME on that.
The peeps– All of them are so wonderful. They go out of their way to make you feel at home and have not ONE ounce of pretentiousness. I want them to adopt me, is that weird?

Definitely one of the better wineries in Shenandoah Valley. Their Barbera and Zins are standouts. Family owned and run. Nice people. One of our regular stops in this region.

Came here for a cool little event called «Behind the Cellar Door Amador Cellars». this was our first stop.
Ok, so im going to pre-​face this by saying… yes… i went wine-​tasting and did not taste any wines. I was the Designated driver. Here’s the deal though… wine tasting is such an individual thing. Go buy a magazine on Tannin’s or whatever.
of all the wineries we went to… this one by far had the most polite and informative people. it was way small but it was well done. everyone there had a story… and more importantly everyone in my group loved the wine… so there you go.

Really delicious zins. Small tasting room but very friendly staff. I will return!

Amador Cellars is out in the Shenandoah Valley. If you have never been out there you will be surprised by all the wineries that dot the highway. We went there because we are participating in a crush club and the weather decided that the grapes had to be picked now. We arrived to find over 1,000 pounds of freshly picked grapes waiting to be destemmed. These grapes were very sweet and beautifully colored and are perfect for a ‘Big Zin’.
Larry the owner was very helpful through this process and explained everything to the newbie in the crowd. My other team members have either done this before or are winemakers. I guess I am ensured that the Zin that I get in 18 months will be the best it can be.
Once we were done taking the Ph, Temp, and Brix, we all trouped inside for some tasting. We started off tasting from the tank (don’t think that is what it is called but it looked like one) which contained grapes that had been picked the week before. Very tasty stuff. Then we moved on to barrel tasting and going through the tasting selections of the day beginning with a Sangiovese and ending with a Zin. My favorite was the 2005 Syrah of which I ended up taking two bottles home.
This is a small winery that does not charge for tasting and the owners and staff are very friendly. So were all of the dogs that were hanging around guarding the grapes.
I will definitely be going back soon… have to go back and do the next step in the process which is the basket press. Can’t wait to see what is on the menu for sampling that day!

This was the second winery we visited in the area, and few others measured up to its quality. The tasting room was lovely, the people (and the dogs) were friendly, and the wine was delicious (we bought four bottles!). We’re drinking their 2007 Barbera now – a wonderful wine that brings back memories of that lovely part of the country. My BF and I were visiting from out of town, but I’d even consider joining their wine club. I highly recommend this winery to anyone in the area. Go there now!!!