Traveling to Amador County offers a wide range of experiences. You can sip award-winning wines at some of the 60 wineries or explore the Sierra Foothills to track the legacy of the Calif. Gold Rush. Plus, there are tempting wine and food festivals year-round.
Exploration of Amador County wine country merits more than a day trip even though it’s close to the Bay Area. There are 15 inns and hotels in Amador County. On two recent visits, I discovered three boutique inns which offer fine dining opportunities. Following my recent article on several Amador County women vintners, this overview of three Amador County inns features their female owners who display welcoming hospitality.
Rest, a boutique hotel, and Taste Restaurant and Wine Bar
When we arrived at Rest, we immediately felt at home. The lobby is a misnomer because the area resembles a cozy living room. The welcome letter in the room was more personal and informative than the usual generic card and exhorted, “Welcome to Amador. Be Happy. Be Rested.”
Plus, the letter highlighted the afternoon Wine Hour with appetizers prepared by Taste, the Zagat-rated restaurant two doors away. Taste was opened by the Rest owners a decade before they launched the hotel in 2016.
We arrived in time for Wine Hour and met co-owner Tracey Berkner as she poured local wines and welcomed guests.
Berkner was eager to speak about sustainability and local history preservation at Rest. “Much of the décor is repurposed from within the county including the doors and fireplace. While renovating two dilapidated buildings for the hotel, we uncovered old siding boards with signatures of local families dating from the 1930s. The boards are now decorative elements, and some guests leave their names for posterity,’ said Berkner.
Berkner’s route to ownership of a hotel and a restaurant with her husband Mark leads back to how the couple met as opening chefs at a Bay Area Marriott hotel. After a decade of culinary and management positions with the hotel chain, the couple bought and renovated a rundown inn in Volcano, a nearby small town. After selling that hotel, they bought another dilapidated property in the historic town of Plymouth. After renovations, the Berkners launched Taste in 2006.
Rest with 16 spacious rooms, each filled with unique décor and collectibles. We enjoyed the ambiance and luxury amenities in the king deluxe room.
The Berkners success with the two, one-word named businesses have influenced and enlivened Plymouth which began as a mining camp.
The hearty breakfast presented a full buffet including hot dishes such as Italian strata and baked eggs prepared at Taste restaurant. Later, we dined later at Taste which honors local purveyors and presents creative seasonal dishes. The wine list has garnered a Wine Spectator Certificate of Excellence.
Chef Micah Malcolm values the Berkners’ mission to make food, drink and lodging welcoming and accessible to all guests. Dining at Taste features a prix fixed menu with five courses, but there is also a lower priced three-course meal. Seating at the bar for a burger and more is available without reservations.
Malcolm’s signature dish is the mushroom “cigar” appetizer with three types of mushrooms, goat cheese and herbs wrapped in phyllo dough with mushroom sauce.
“The cigars are popular, but we curate the menu weekly and add new, fresh items,” said Malcolm. He employs a mushroom forager, and during our recent visit, we enjoyed a savory, butter-basted trumpet mushroom reminiscent of a filet.
The wine pairings Malcolm recommended throughout the prix fixe were excellent. I appreciated how the local Di Arie Winery Barbera with lively tannins complimented the Mary’s Duck Leg confit with cherry blossom gel. My husband favored the artfully presented seafood octopus-scallop duo. Desserts such as the Nantes carrot cake are a sweet note to end an excellent meal.
Hanford House and Element restaurant
Located in historic Sutter Creek just off Main Street, Hanford House demonstrates how contemporary décor fits beautifully in a renovated building. The sleek design lines, luxe bedding and amenities spell Los Angeles, but the hotel is around the corner from Main Street with boutiques, tasting rooms and more.
Ali Ward is the managing partner of Zellah Collection which owns Hanford House and properties in Oregon and Glen Ellen, Calif. “All our properties bring intimate experiences far from the bustle of urban life,” said Ward.
Hospitality is part of Ward’s heritage. Her grandfather owned the Oxford Collection of hotels where Ward worked, and she also has experience with Kimpton hotels, now part of the global IHG group. Ward recently began offering a “Sip and Spa” package with two neighboring businesses including Yorba Wines.
Ward’s influence on building customer-focused teams was evident when we were greeted warmly by the front desk staff with a glass of local wine. A thoughtful touch was the morning tray of coffee and scones in the hallway outside the room. More delicious breakfast food awaited us at Element restaurant downstairs.
Opened in 2005, the inn’s name honors early Amador entrepreneurs named Hanford. Their original home was modified to become a hotel in the late ‘70s. The Zellah group made structural renovations and incorporated many of the antiques from the renovation into décor along with work from local artists and craftsmen.
Hanford House offers 17 accommodations including four cottages within steps of the main building and a nearby, larger bungalow. We enjoyed lovely views of the Sierra Foothills while relaxing on the spacious balcony off our penthouse room.
The next morning, my husband enjoyed his Motherload Omelett [sic] with caramelized onion, spinach and goat cheese. My huevos rancheros farm-fresh eggs garnished with an orange twist were an appealing and welcome start to the day.
This year we have savored two dinners at Element. The wine list features Amador wines and beyond, including Yorkville Cellars. But after wine tasting, I craved an Element cocktail. I was intrigued by the pairing of a gin gimlet with a multi-textured winter pear salad featuring orange vinaigrette.
Ward opened Element in 2015 as a “comfort food kitchen.” Chef Tim Blankenship brings gourmet “Meat and Potatoes” to the table with a red wine reduction and parsnip mash. Shrimp and grits were rich and delicious, and the vegetarian comfort bowls full of fresh veggies satisfied my health-conscious husband. On Wednesdays, it’s locals night, and you may see Amador winemakers or brewers at the bar.
How about a cowboy-style smashburger in the middle of Gold Rush country? I ordered one, and it was one of the best burgers I’ve had at any restaurant, casual or upscale. The Element 61 house made sauce brought an additional flavor layer to the sky-high dish.
A playful take on s’mores and chocolate pot de crème with wine syrup— both served in a homey glass jar—are satisfying desserts.
Grand Reserve Inn and Teneral Cellars
While gazing at the vineyards from your patio or relaxing in the great room open to the central courtyard, you are transported to Tuscany at the Grand Reserve Inn. The Italianate structure was established in 2016 by the previous owners, Wilderrotter Vineyards. Entrepreneur Jill Osur purchased the property which comprised a winery, vineyards and the lodge, which was previously used for private events.
Osur’s formerly virtual winery Teneral Cellars now had a home. In partnership with real estate developer Tracy L. Prigmore, Osur reimagined the art and amenities for the opening of the Grand Reserve Inn in 2023. They established the inn with five luxurious suites as a food and wine center for friends, families, companies and wellness groups to gather for vacations, reunions, business meetings and retreats. The friendly Teneral Cellars tasting room offering an array of well-made wines is a short walk away.
All the suites feature a stone fireplace, luxury bedding and sitting areas and are each named for a different European wine region. Our homebase was the Rhone suite with the largest patio. Tuscany is the grandest suite in a corner location with expansive vineyard views through arched windows.
Teneral wines with cheese pairings are served daily, and the innkeeper helps guests design local itineraries. Breakfast at Grand Reserve Inn is memorable, especially when eaten on the patio with expansive vineyard views. The buffet of morning food is exceptional: quiche with four cheeses, baked oatmeal with fruit, full-on lox platters with bagels and more.
Osur shares her excitement about hosting guests at the inn. “We envision the inn as a place to gather with people at the table—and where organizations plan projects that make a difference for those in need.”
Amador County gives visitors a glimpse into its Gold Rush heritage. As wine becomes the local star attraction, we label the recharged hospitality at boutique hotels and restaurants as the crown of the region. Rest, Hanford House and Grand Reserve Inn offer a wide arc of experiences and good taste all around.
Photos by the Author