Via Romano Vineyards

Wine among apples!Weekday Apple Hill visits are superior, and I encourage you all to do them more often. We rolled up the hill on a Tuesday to get some apple fritters but stayed for the wine.There is a new road up to this winery and we took it on a whim, and I'm glad we did. We drove up and parked in the small parking lot, but grateful for an actual parking lot.You walk past an art gallery to get into the courtyard of Via Romano Vineyards. Since it was mid-week, there was no one there, but the winery manager and us (three of us). Their tasting room is warm and cozy, with the option to roll up a side door for nicer weather. Due to the rain, we were happy to be in their little wine haven.I love a good $10 flight tasting. They offer a five-flight tasting or three-flight tasting, the difference being the sizes of the pours. I went with the five options to try more of their wins. The manager was super nice and shared a lot of knowledge with us while we were there. They offer Italian-style wines, more on the dry side. I also let him select my flight, instead of picking five tastes myself. Overall, the wines were not my favorite, as dry wines are a little much for me. That isn't to say they were bad at all. They tasted good, just not enough for me to want to buy a bottle and I didn't want to stay for a glass, since the rest of my group wasn't drinking.Their flight display gets all the stars from me. I love the tasting identifiers they use. I have never seen these at a winery, but I'm sure others have them. The plating is perfection to my marketer's heart! I couldn't stop swooning over them there, or now!Again, the Manager, whose name I did not get, was so kind and chatted with us about their wine, process, and what 'dry' wine truly means. We learned about bricks and grape sweetness, which is cool trivia to have in our back pockets. He also mentioned they have food on the weekends, the chef does outdoor pizzas, paninis, and salads -- he said the menu is based on whatever the chef is feeling and what he has at his disposal.Overall, I'd come back in a heartbeat, even though the wine wasn't my fave. I'd love to try more and give it another chance. It's also a great place to bring friends when up at Apple Hill to escape the crowds of the apple orchards!Grapes among the apples!

***3.5 Stars***What a cute little winery and tasting room! Made my annual trip up to Apple Hill a few weeks back and booked a tasting reservation here during my visit. Via Romano specializes in Italian varietals and operates by reservation only. It was so simple to make a reservation, and I actually ended up making one that same day. Right now, there's some construction going on around the area, and the main road to get to the winery is closed. Just look got a sign that says "Via Romano". They're located super close to the freeway, so it's not too hard to find. When I arrived, I was greeted by Dave who quickly checked me in and sat me at a table. Their front patio space is super charming. I noticed that they also have private cabanas on their back patio. Not sure if this is for member's only, but I would have loved to have sat there and enjoyed my tasting.There are two different flight options (you pre-pay for your option when you make an online reservation): the $10 sample flight and the $15 custom flight. With the sample flight, you'll receive a pre-selected flight of 5 one ounce pours. The custom flight allows you to choose 3 two once wines pours of your choice. I felt like the best option as a first time visitor would be the sample flight. What I really enjoyed about the tasting here is that even though it's a pre-poured flight, Dave still took his time to explain the wines and to check in with me regularly as I was tasting. This is something that I really enjoy because it's not all about the wine for me; I enjoy the entire experience. Now, if I'm being honest though... I was not a fan of their wines overall. My general consensus with these wines: very young, heavily oaked, and overly acidic. It all comes down to the age really. I just felt like most of these wines tasted too young, which was actually true because many of them were 2019/2020. But even without the age factor; the oak was just overkill. Even most of the white wines were way too oaky for me. I actually ended up trying more than 5 wines (thanks to Dave who hooked me up), and out of all of them, I only liked one. The one that I liked and ended up buying was their Vermentino d'Oro. It reminded me of a toasty, lighter bodied Chardonnay. It had just enough citrus and toast to reel me in. It wasn't the best white wine that I've ever had, but for the price and taste, it was worth the purchase. Plus, they credit your tasting fee toward bottle purchases, so why not take the only one that I liked home with me?! Normally this would easily be a 3 star review based on the wine. However, Dave provided some of the best service that I've ever received at an Apple Hill winery. Trust me, it's been hard to come by. So for that, I'm bumping them up to 4 stars. I mean, maybe this just wasn't their year for the wine. Or, maybe my palate is just different. I feel like if I came back next year and tried some of these wines again, they'd probably taste better. In any event, I would definitely be open to coming back again and giving their wines another try. I did enjoy the atmosphere and I'm happy that I at least found one wine that I enjoyed.

Solid wine! Worth it! Their rose with notes of strawberry and lemons was so good! Pizza had very charred under-crust. Not my favorite. Good fries and good wine!!!

Great wine, pizza with music , mmm garlic fries. A wonderful evening in the foothills. Stop here.

We stopped here during a casual drive on a Friday afternoon about 3pm. It is at the end of a building that includes another winery and a small nursery. We just saw the signs for wine tasting and decided to stop. It was not very busy and we went right to the counter. We could see on the wall they had several 2017 awards. My wife is typically a white wine drinker but this gave her an opportunity to try several different reds. She went down the list and sampled each of the six varieties offered. She actually commented that some of the reds were really good.The man behind the counter was friendly and helpful. The room was comfortable, clean and inviting. It was a great experience and we left with a bottle of red wine too!

Ohhhh Via Romano.... My first ever wine club and there is a reason for that. The wine and staff are truely amazing. When you come to this winery everyone is welcoming and the ambiance is everything you'd expect from a great winery. The fire pit outside is my favorite place to sit whether with friends or alone (and I do both) it is my preferred place of complete relaxation. The Barbra and Primitivo are 2 of my favs. Look forward to seeing you each and every time I come to Placerville!

I can't get enough of this place! We will never pass by on the 50 again without stopping in here. Bumgarner is my favorite but Via Romano is a close second! First of all the tasting room is adorable. It's big, spacious, airy, and not cramped like so many other tasting rooms. The property is a great place to go and just unwind and get your mind off the hustle and bustle. They have bocci and cornhole out front which we thoroughly enjoyed, along with a bottle of wine! The pourer was so sweet! She explained all the wines we tasted in detail and was a great conversationalist. The wine itself was ALL delicious, at least the few reds I had. Fiasco was fantastic!! I can not wait to go back!

Different wines, cheery atmosphere, great ownersThey it effort into welcoming new comers, I joined my first visit there. I enjoy the events they do every week during the summer and fallJoin! You won't regret it

What a great winery with great owners and a really nice staff. The staff is well-educated in the wines and are quick to recommend wines based on your palette. The pizzas are really good and the chef is great. Overall experience is amazing. Highly recommend.

very friendly environment - but was disappointed by the owners action when during my wine tasting - I found a spider in the glass - and actually had it in my mouth. sure the hostess gave me another fullglass and I was hesitant to try but the owner whom we had met and talked to when we arrived did not come out and did not apologize and still charged me forthe wine tasting ! I understand it happens but the lack of consideration to make me feel better - it was over looked the fact that I drank wine with a spider in it