Ironstone Vineyards

It looks absolutely beautiful from their website.

If anyone out there has taken the tour and/or had lunch there, I%26#39;d love to hear your review and have some questions answered.

How long was the tour?

If you had lunch, can you tell me the average cost of the items on their menu?

How%26#39;s their wine?

Thanks!

Ironstone Vineyards

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Ironstone Vineyards

Perhaps a bit late, but we have gone to Ironsstone serveral times, it is the cornerstone of a Murphys wine tasting day. The tasting room has a big bar and you can taste their regular wines for free and the reserves for a small fee. The reserves are great. The lunches are gourmet-esque and not overly priced. The outdoor seating is very scenic, but could be warm. The gift shop is full of regional items and some great buys can be found. The highlight is the museum and the huge gold chunk they have on display in the vault. The amazing thing about the gold is that it was found in 1992 in Jamestown, not 1892! Kinda makes you dream of digging about and finding your own piece of the rock.

After your time at Ironstone, drive into Murphys where you can visit about half a dozen winery tasting rooms without having to drive. The town has a great deal of charm, several great restaurants, a nice museum and a few galleries and antique stores.

This is a day trip we recommend to travelers coming to or going home from the Charlotte after visiting Yosemite. You can find more of our favorites stops on the itinerary at www.HotelCharlotte.com/murphys.html.

Also...most likely a bit late....but we were just at Ironstone Vineyards this week-end. This place is a wonderful place to stop at. It has a nice shopping area/deli/and wine tasting area in a wonderful ';air-conditioned%26#39; wood room with views. We had 2 glasses of wine, split a large sandwich, and 2 salads and cost about $20.00. Note: One sandwich if on a roll is plenty for two people. (Note: Withouth the wine 1 sanwich (very good) and 2 salads (also quite good) cost about $10-$12.00 depending on what one orders.

We then did the wine tasting - 6 tastes are free which is enough to sample. Given their price per bottle, this is a great deal. We bought 2 bottles of merlot for $7.50 each which is a good price value fort this quality of wine. They also had some apple wine which tasted almost like an apple pie - would be good around the holiday season.

As mentioned, the museum is also interesting and the gold piece in the vault is amazing. Its worth a look-see if in the Gold Country.

The tours are about an hour or so and run three times per day. Its an interesting place to visit (although a tad hot this last week-end - so if come in the summer, just be aware of this.). There is also a place where you can do gold panning....the winery really tried to ';look'; its place in the Gold Country.

In addition, the place holds regular events such as summer concerts drawing big names. These are listed on their web site. They have plenty of parking and outdoor seating for this so looked like a wonderful place to enjoy a concert or other event for the evening. When they do, you can also purchase a buffet dinner there to enjoy.

Very friendly....also kid friendly as they have a section with toys....for kids to play with.... There are several other wineries in this area. This area is a great alternative to going to NAPA for families with chidren. There are now fun wineries in this area with fun events for children close by such as taking stage coach rides in Columbia or go up to Big Trees State Park (Stanislaus River runs through it.) for fun afterwards. There are about 10-15 smaller wineries in this area as well.

It is a beautiful winery with pretty plants around it.....recommend it.

Ironstone Vineyards is an absolute gem. I was just in Calaveras County for an Eagles concert this summer and I stopped by Ironstone to kill an afternoon. The wines are great, the tasting room is large and you don%26#39;t have to fight for someone%26#39;s attention to get a sample. I bought a few bottles to take home with me. My favorite part was the outdoors. The ampitheatre where they have concerts (I was surprised to learn that big-named artists like Jewel, Chris Issak, and the Doobie Brothers play here) was a perfectly-groomed beautiful grass park with a small pond to the side. And usually there%26#39;s not many people out on it (they%26#39;re too busy tasting wine) so you can play with your kids or run around and feel like one! Unfortunately I didn%26#39;t get to take a tour, eat the food, or see the museum (including the large gold flake) but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment at this winery. I highly recommend it to anyone travelling through Calaveras County. I plan on one day making another trip up to Murphy%26#39;s just to go back to this place.