Fawnridge Winery

This place has it all: gracious hosts, rural setting, eclectic art, and the best reds in the area, according to my palate.
If you want a trek into simplicity and serenity, Stephanie and Stewart Parry, the owners will always greet you with smiles and warmth.

We visited this winery with high expectations and they were met!
The tasting room is small, so more than 8 people would make it seem crowded. The woman pouring was very knowledgable about their wines and freely shared the info. She had a certain ‘irreverence’ to her personality which was quite pleasant and in complete contrast to the occasional snooty wine snob attitude you sometimes encounter. She had an easy going charm. They have a nice flight to taste and feature art by several artists hanging in the room. Personally, I loved the Pinot Noir and a very pleasant Cabernet Franc. They also carry a ruby port and a white port, but because I already have several and we were going to other wineries I didn’t taste them on THIS visit!

I’ve never done the Auburn Wine Trail, so I can’t compare it to any of those, but I have done winery tours in Amador, El Dorado, and Napa counties. I can honestly say that Fawnridge is my favorite of any one that I have ever visited. They aren’t a huge, upscale operation, so if you are looking for hoity-​toity this ain’t the place for you. The location is gorgeous, very secluded. The service is beyond friendly — it felt like family. And the wine… oh, the wine… Do yourself a favor and come up the hill a little bit to try this place. I am so thankful that I tried this winery out of the blue, and I think you will be too.
I originally stopped by Fawnridge a couple months back because I needed to buy a gift of local wine and, believe it or not, they were the closest winery to my office so I figured they’d be easy to hit on my lunch break. After a quick Unilocal search I thought «Okay, they look good enough» and called to come in since it was an off-​day for the tasting room. Mind you, I only planned on going in to buy one bottle as a gift.
When I got there, Stephanie (one of the owners) greeted me warmly and insisted that I stay and sample some wine. I thought it was going to be a cheap gimmick to get me to pay for wine tasting, but she blew my mind when she said the tasting was free. Okay, I thought, she’ll give me maybe 3 microscopic swallows; but NOPE, I was wrong. She poured 7 different wines, including 2 ports which were outstanding, and they were generous pours all the way around. Since it was an off-​day for the room, they only had breadsticks and chocolates to pair, but that was all I needed. The wines were so delicious that I didn’t want food to compete with my enjoyment of them. In fact, I was just using the breadsticks as a palate cleanser. Luckily, I had some PTO banked because I took an extended lunch break that day. ;)
Needless to say, I joined their wine club on the spot and left with 3 bottles…

Fawnridge Winery Auburn Ca
This small winery is off the beaten Placer County Wine trail path, however a clear contender for top honors.
Yes you must turn onto a gravel road to make your way to the small tasting room at the top of a hill, however your reward is the fine wines that are crafted here.
We entered the establishment and were welcomed by the owners Stephanie and Stewart. very nice to meet the growers, wine maker, and put a face to the product.
The wines range from two whites to four red varietals.
The small group that I was tasting with that day made notes of the very refreshing Sauvignon Blanc, and also rated the Chardonnay quite well.
I had experienced their Barbera on my last visit (a wonderfully tasty representation) and it is currently in process of being bottled quite shortly. I was pleasantly surprised by their Primitivo and Old Vine Zinfandel offerings. Each showed spice and earth with slight tannin character variations. I believe these two wines show great promise and a continued quest of Stewart and Stephanie to produce quality wines in the Placer County hills.
If you would like to experience some of the best wines that Placer County has to offer, take the unbeaten path to visit Fawnridge Winery.
Salute
Stephen P.

A group of us went on a wine tasting tour on the Auburn wine trail. This was our first stop. They had the best wine by far and the best service by far. As a group we bought more wine there than any of the other stops. Unlike many of the other places, this one did not have to charge for tasting because the wine was so good and it sells itself.

Came here on a wine tour, the staff was really friendly and engaging.
Absolutely adored their Ruby and White Ports. The ruby is sweet and smokey with a lot of depth without being syrupy. The white was really bright and honeyed.
The tasting was at a very simple counter, I could not see myself spending a lot of time here just relaxing and enjoying a glass of wine, but I would stop in for another tasting and to stock up on more port :)

Stopped in over the weekend. they have a nice little set up…
We enjoyed tasting wines… I can’t remember any that stood out.
The guy that was pouring was probably a friend of the wine maker. he didn’t seem too informative, but he was polite…
Overall, it was a ok

Loved the samples. Generous pours. Awesome conversation. Best winery we stopped at that day. Bought the Viogner which we still haven’t had. (We were there in November) reccommend highly.

Really great winery. Wines were very good, and the service was awesome. My only complaint was the location. Though it’s a gorgeous location, it’s kinda off the wine trail. Not a big deal, I will definitely be back. All in all, a wonderful place.

Definitely an active participant in the Wine Trail. They had some food pairings made with the wines they sell, they had some chocolates to taste with the wines, and paired really well with the dessert wine. Very friendly, made SURE we were welcomed and taken care of.
Sauvignon Blanc was really tasty and clean. Port style was the 2^nd best I tasted all day
Their best overall wine was the Bön Temps Rouler. Let the good times roll! Great casual wine that isn’t too «anything» and just right for everything.
Taste the meatballs!
I would have bought the chocolate truffles, but not at that price! I appreciate that they are handmade, but uh… WOW. Too much!

Like I said– not too impressed, but I knew where we were headed next so give them a try, you might really like ;)

Well, I would not recommend showing up 30 minutes before 5:00, the wine maid (or whatever they are called) was not happy that our group of four rolled in. There were also four more behind us.
We had just come from another winery where it felt as if the owners didn’t want us to leave so maybe we were feeling a little chilled upon walking in. Ya know how that is when you step away from the warmth and into the chilled air.
Anyway. .. I did absolutely LOVE the Chardonnay. .. . so I recommend popping in for a bottle, but if you wanna stay and taste show up with more than 30 minutes left of the day.
The woman pouring said that the Primitivo was her favorite and I thought she said the most popular, maybe she over sold it. I’m not a red wine drinker, but I turned to the red wine drinker in our party and her face told me that it was not a favorite of hers either.
I liked the Sauvignon Blanc enough to want to buy a bottle, but I opted for two of the Chardonnays instead. The information said it is a French style chard and it is very different. I keep wanting to say fruity but to me that implies sweet and it is not sweet. But it is not dry either. And it is not bitter. It is a refreshing Chardonnay. Not really light, but NOT heavy. It is sooo hard to explain because it is just so different than any chardonnay I have ever tried.
The local that I know up there have «standing orders» to buy me a bottle every time they drive buy. Ha!
Large open tasting area. Maybe we’ll go back (EARLY) and possibly meet the owners.
For now 3 stars for the tasting room/“service” and 4 for the Chardonnay.

Absolutely stunning. Was the first winery we visited on the Auburn Wine Trail, and were so impressed that we wished that we’d made it the last. Extremely friendly staff, with a bonus: Their website features their new pair of 10 week old Australian Shepherd puppies. I was hoping to see them when we arrived, but they were up at the main house with the owners. The woman offering the tasting quickly hopped on the phone to the winemakers, saying that there was a couple here who would love to see the pups. By the time we were halfway done with the tasting the owners showed up with their new pups and showing me pictures of their older dogs, just like family. We had a lovely conversation with the owners, and were very impressed with the many of the offerings. Don’t miss the 2008 chard (if they have any left!) or the port. Absolutely wonderful. They completely stole my heart and I will bring friends to visit on my next trip.

A nice, small, very friendly family winery. Check out the Barbera, the Zin, and believe it or not, a nice non-​malolactic Chardonnay — lots of fruit, but not sweet.
Relax and have a nice visit with the winemakers.