SIP multi-winery tasting room in Auburn

AUBURN HAS BECOME a sought after food and wine destination, thanks to Culinary Institute of America-trained chefs at Carpe Vino and Bootlegger’s, former San Francisco restaurateurs such as Jim Bril of Monkey Cat and award-winning wines, such as Viña Castellano’s Tempranillo. The winery won a prestigious “Best of Class” honor in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

Auburn’s newest food and wine businesses includes a new multi-winery tasting room called Sip Auburn, located in historic Old Town, just off I-80 and Hwy. 49. With more than 3,500 sq.-ft. of space, Sip offers wines in a relaxing lounge environment.

Compared with most wine tasting rooms, Sip’s guests have a lot of elbow room, including two floors and a balcony. Visitors can walk around with their wine enjoying local artwork, music, a seat on the balcony, a gathering in a VIP room or French desserts and other nibbles.

“Sip is unpretentious and inviting with an educational approach to wine tasting,” says winemaker-owner Matt Wozniak of Amour Privé, which is the host winery. “We change up our wine flights every couple of weeks, so you’ll always have something new to experience. We include a sampling from each of the wineries on our wine flights, or you can sample a specific winery’s flight.” The wineries include:

AMOUR PRIVÉ is the only winery located in Auburn’s Old Town proper. Their grapes are harvested from vineyards in Napa. Amour Privé specializes in Bordeaux-style wine.

BEAR RIVER WINERY was founded in 2009 on the banks of the Bear River in Meadow Vista. It is a family operated grower, producing wines from grapes from Placer, Nevada and El Dorado county vineyards. Bear River offers six wines for tasting.

FAWNRIDGE WINERY is a small, owner-operated winery located outside of Auburn. The Perry family offers an Estate Barbera, old-vine Zinfandel, Chardonnay and a ruby and a white Port, among other varietals. Their vineyards were planted in 2002.

MT. VERNON WINERY is a small, family-run winery specializing in Syrahs, Barberas and Zinfandels. In addition, the Taylor family makes two different ports, a Chardonnay and a variety of Bordeaux-style blends.

VIÑA CASTELLANO specializes in Mediterranean wines, including their award-winning Spanish varietals. Guests can enjoy between 9 and 13 estate wines, which are produced by the Mendez family.