Ironstone Vineyards (Back to Previous Page)

Appellation: Calaveras County Location: 1894 Six Mile Road Murphys, California 95247 Phone: (209)728-1251 Winemaker: Steve Miller Tasting Room: Large Days/Hours: Daily, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Parking: Large Picnic Facilities: Extensive picnic and event facilities available Red Wines: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Shiraz, Zinfandel, Meritage White Wines: Chardonnay, Symphony, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Riesling Production: N/A

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The Winery

This is a destination unto itself, and although a producing winery, it’s easy to get lost in all of the other things going on at the tasting room site. The estate has a gold panning area, a gold country museum, a 14-acre lakeside park, an extensive event facility that can accommodate professional level concerts, and a large wine related gift shop. But that isn’t the end of it; they also have a gourmet deli and a full culinary center that offers classes and food demonstrations on site. Call ahead if you would like to tour the underground caverns and million-gallon storage facility to verify times and space. But probably the most intriguing feature is the 44-pound Crystalline Leaf Gold specimen located in the jewelry shop, said to be the largest in the world, and is worth the trip alone.

The Vineyards

John Kautz started as a valley farmer in Lodi, and decided to plant 12 acres of grapes in 1948. Within a few years this had grown to 5000 acres of vineyards in the foothills and Lodi. The grapes from the different appellations are generally blended to achieve consistency from year to year.

The Wines

In 1988, the vineyard owners decided to produce wines, and in 1989 they began building the winery complex in Muphys. The wines produced here are all California appellation wines. Although the winery produces primarily large batch wines, they have recently begun creating a limited amount of small batch reserve wines with a bent towards showcasing varietal character. The reserve wines are only available at the winery and select fine restaurants.

The Winemaker

The winemaker at Ironstone is owner Steven Kautz. Steve graduated from Fresno State University with a degree in Enology and a minor in Viticulture. In 2004, the California Travel Industry Association named him ‘Winemaker of the Year’.  

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