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Surrounded by more than 50 wineries in the gently rolling Sierra foothills, Plymouth is a hidden gem at the gateway to the region’s most famous valley. The small town’s main stretch is divided between historic, abandoned storefronts and revitalized treasures reminiscent of more-established wine country regions. Here’s how to make a visit to this historic mining town feel as easy as a stroll down Main Street.
Sip
Recreation in Plymouth is straightforward — and it’s all sippable. Amador County’s wineries stretch across two American Viticultural Areas, Fiddletown AVA and the California Shenandoah Valley, where some two dozen wineries are nestled in the sun-kissed hills just outside Plymouth. Luckily for visitors, though, there are also several tasting opportunities that require no driving at all. They’re all within walking distance from your downtown hotel — more on that in a sec.
Start your adventure at Amador 360, a few streets over from Main. It’s a tasting room for local boutique wineries without rooms of their own. Here, an expert serves wine flights with a promise to waive the tasting fee when a bottle is purchased. It’s a great way to familiarize yourself with the popular varietals of the Amador Valley, including the coveted old-vine zinfandels and earthy barberas. Staff can also point you in the direction of other tasting rooms to visit, based on personal preferences.
Prospect Cellars, located in the town’s original post office building, is everything you’d expect from small-town Plymouth. The revamped space lends itself to a parade of wines made from Amador’s best grapes, with vibrant labels that promise Pay Dirt Zin, Dance Hall Sangiovese, Riverbank Rosé and more. Stop in for a flight, or grab a bite inside. And if you’re really lucky, they’ll be serving locally-made ice cream or sorbet post-tasting — Zinfandel Chocolate Chip, perhaps, Wild Berry Barbera or Strawberry Rosé.
Of course, you can also escape into the hills, where picturesque vineyards flank the lanes. Here, every turn of the steering wheel reveals a new discovery. In the red wine-heavy valley, Wilderotter Vineyard stands out for its collection of whites, including a slightly blush bubbly from Sonoma County. Generous flights grant guests the opportunity to taste several of the property’s most popular tastes before pricking a pin into the oversized world map near the entrance to designate their own hometown. Again, fees are waived for those who purchase bottles on-site.
Wine not your thing? Trade in vino for craft beer at Amador Brewing Company, a small brewery that opened in 2015. The tasting room taps offer hoppy IPAs, as well as inventive new flavors. (We tasted a Belgian wheat with lime and chipotle chiles on the day we were there.) And food trucks offer barbecue, pizza and other bites Friday through Sunday.
Taste
Plymouth’s high-end Taste is a destination restaurant, both critically acclaimed — Wine Spectator has bestowed its award of excellence on the place every year for the last decade — and Yelp adored. Taste’s seasonal menu showcases chef Mark Berkner’s New American cuisine, from the seared duck breast ($34) served with grilled apricot, cherry gastrique and pistachio dukkah, to the vegetable moussaka ($24) made with roasted eggplant, piquillo peppers and tomato-eggplant jam. The one item that never strays from the menu: The phyllo-wrapped mushroom cigars ($11), made with goat cheese, herbs and crimini, shiitake and oyster mushrooms.
Reservations are a must, especially on weekends. But if you can’t score those, you have two other options. Dine at the bar — get there early, because those first-come, first-serve seats are snapped up swiftly — or order room service from your bed at Rest, Taste’s swanky hotel two doors down.
While Taste does serve lunch Friday through Sunday — and a good argument could be made for eating the entirety of your meals here during your stay — the Amador Vintage Market deli across the street is another option for hungry visitors. The market offers picnic-perfect sandwiches and salads, as well as craft beer and local wine by the glass. A separate bar located at the back of the shop offers tastings, too.
Take that picnic up to the Shenandoah Valley’s gorgeous 14-acre Amador Flower Farm, tended by Ken and Jeanne Deaver and hailed for its impressive collection of daylilies. Visitors can walk through four acres of demonstration gardens, picnic in the shade and take home a potted daylily of their own as the ultimate Amador souvenir.
Don’t miss Plymouth’s wine-infused chocolates, which reside somewhere between a culinary experience and a wine-tasting one. You’ll find them at Accents by Twisted Cork Collections, another Main Street gem, which also sells accessories, housewares and small gifts, including these sweets made from local varietals. Take home a box to tide yourself over until the next trip — or at least until you make it back to the hotel.
Rest
Inns, bed-and-breakfasts and Airbnbs dot the region. Wilderotter Vineyard, for example, opened its luxurious Grand Reserve Inn in late 2016 with five guest suites and a vineyard cottage. And Rest, the 16-room boutique hotel owned by Mark and Tracey Berkner, makes a perfect home base for Shenandoah Valley exploration.
The Rest lobby holds winery maps and brochures, and serves as the inn’s communal gathering spot. Enjoy local wines and Taste appetizers there each evening from 5 to 6 p.m., and breakfast — baked goods, fruit, oatmeal, granola and coffee — in the morning, before you head off on more adventures.
If You Go
Amador 360: Open daily at 18590 Highway 49 in Plymouth, as are all these locations; www.amador360.com
Prospect Cellars: Open Thursday-Sunday at 9506 Main St.; www.prospectcellars.com
Wilderotter Vineyard: Open daily at 19890 Shenandoah School Road; wilderottervineyard.com. Rooms at the Grand Reserve Inn are $399 and up; the two-bedroom vineyard cottage starts at $195; www.grandreserveinn.com.
Taste: The restaurant is open for lunch Friday-Sunday, and dinner Thursday-Tuesday at 9402 Main St.; www.restauranttaste.com.
Amador Vintage Market: Open Friday-Sunday at 9393 Main St.; www.amadorvintagemarket.com/BSC-AVM-home.htm.
Amador Brewing Company: Open Friday-Sunday at 9659 Main St.; www.amadorbrewing.com.
Amador Flower Farm: Open daily at 22001 Shenandoah School Road; www.amadorflowerfarm.com.
Accents by Twisted Cork Collections: Open Thursday-Monday at 9414 Main St.; www.facebook.com/accentsbytcc/
Rest: Rooms at $135 and up. 9372 Main St.; www.hotelrest.net