Coufos Cellars

Coufos Cellars is exceptional. It’s a little winery that makes big, high quality Rhone-​style wines. Located in the quaint Gold Rush town of Rough & Ready, it’s just 15 minutes or so from Grass Valley on the Rough & Ready highway. Most of the grapes are grown on the estate. They have a nice way with Syrah and Viognier, and I particularly liked the 2009 Marsanne, fruit forward, superb body, with a crisp finish. Not sweet, but even family members who prefer wines with residual sugar liked it. The 2008 Grenache with half an hour of air was another nice bottle. Not exactly Chateauneuf du Pape, but very good. I have been visting this area every year since 1989 and I would say that, among the Sierra Foothills wineries, this is one of the true standouts. Open for tasting only on the weekends.

What a lovely little winery, located in what might very well be the best-​named town this side of San Francisco. A friendly volunteer had us taste 6 wines made from Rhôné valley grapes and introduced us to the history of the vineyard. The fall colors were spectacular and the laid-​back, unpretentious atmosphere was a treat. We bought a bottle of the 2008 Syrah and can’t wait to enjoy it at home.

I was so glad that on our spontaneous trip we decided to stop here. I didn’t know anything about this winery — I had never even heard of it!
This winery is fairly new. The grapes were planted 7 years ago, so this is only their second year bottling wine. Every wine was fantastic! However, I did have three favorites: Buffo Blanc, Roussane, and Gatti Rouge.
The owner is from Greece, and his wife sells a lot of her photographs from Greece there too. A local company makes jellys out of the Coufos wines, which are available for tasting and purchase.
Tasting is complimentary.
Note: they are out of the Viognier for this season.