Cedar Mountain Winery

Off the side of the road against the hillside is the home of Cedar Mountain Winery. Driving up the lane, you encounter a vineyard with rose bushes and olive trees. Founded in 1990 by two retired physicists from nearby Lawrence Livermore Labs, the winery crushes and provides winemaking services to a number of smaller operations in the valley.

Cedar Mountain Winery combines the creative interests of its owners Linda and Earl Ault: wine, food and art. Earl is an accomplished sculptor, watercolorist, and large-format photographer. Linda is a recognized amateur gourmet chef. Together they manage the vineyard activities and operate the winery. Earl is the winemaker, and one of his goals is to make food-friendly wines. Their focus is on Estate Cabernet, but they also produce Estate Chardonnay, as well as Port wines from their own vineyards and from the Sierra Foothills. They produce state Chardonnay, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, a blend of cab and Merlot, a blend of cab and Syrah and 5 ports – 2 of which are white ports. Wine Enthusiast magazine named Cedar Mountain Winery as one of the top 5 port producers in the United States.

The tasting room and gift shop sit below the winery in an attractive space; it features an outdoor area with picnic tables under old California pepper trees. Inside the narrow, well-stocked tasting room there is rustic pine furniture with Southwestern-style cushions and a cozy stove providing warmth in the winter. There is a country-store atmosphere here, with scented candles, olive oils, crackers and wine accessories.