Rucksack Cellars

Weather is warming up

As much as I love the storage building at Rucksack, it really is just that…a storage building. Luckily it also creates a really cool, laid back and immersive tasting experience that suits the Rucksack vibe perfectly. So during those cold and wet months or when the summer heat really starts to sizzle, it is an amazing option to have.

However, all is not right in the world until we can be outside on our patio full time. This means that the beautiful weather has returned on a more consistent basis and patrons can enjoy the spectacular views and wonderful environment that is uniquely Rucksack. Surrounded by our Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc vineyards with gorgeous trees and flowers blooming and budding all around you.

What was so cool about opening the patio this past weekend was we were able to provide the perfect oasis for tasters to escape the crowds that came with our areas annual “Passport” weekend. Rucksack provided the gift of a peaceful respite surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of nature while enjoying our tasting flight and charcuterie board options.

I can not wait for you to come visit me at Rucksack and enjoy this incredible environment for yourselves!

Season Line-Up

Tickets will be available soon on this website so please stay tuned, but we wanted to make sure you all know what our class line-up is so you can plan ahead. When tickets become available they will be founds by clicking on the “STORE” tab followed by the “EVENTS AND MERCHANDISE” tab. Tickets will be $65/person and include all supplies and a glass of wine.

This years line-up of classes is as follows:

June 19 – Lavender Wreaths (6-8pm)

July 17 – Garlic Braids or Dried Flower Wreaths (Market Dependent) (6-8pm)

September 18 – Flower Arranging (6-8pm)

October 23 – Pumpkin Arrangements (5-7pm)

December 5 – Holiday Wreaths (5-7Pm)

We can not wait to see you all at this years flower classes!

Are you looking for something fun to do at the end of a work week that is cheaper than a bar or going to a movie?

Well we have a fun new recurring event at Rucksack Cellars this summer...Cornhole Fridays!

Starting May 3rd and repeating every other Friday throughout the summer, we will have three cornhole board sets available from 5pm to 8pm.  Reserve your spot for the first “Cornhole Friday” on May 3, by staying on this website, clicking on the “STORE” tab followed by the “EVENTS AND MERCHANDISE” tab.  Tickets are $20 per person ($18 for club members) and include 3 hours of cornhole play and your first glass of Rucksack wine.  All additonal glasses or bottles of Rucksack wines and our charcuterie boards can be purchased for an additional charge.

Future “Cornhole Fridays” dates (For your planning purposes):

May 17, May 31, June 14, June 28, July 12 and July 26 (more dates may be added in August depending on Apple Hill crowds)

***tickets for each date will be added to our website separately, please check back here to sign up***

2023 Barbera Rosé

One of our most popular wines in 2022 was the Barbera Rosé, definitely evidenced by how quickly we sold through it.

Well…the wait is over for the next vintage. This Saturday and Sunday from 12pm-5pm, the 2023 Barbera Rosé will be available to pick up. It has a wonderful onion skin color with notes of citrus fruits beckoning us into the new spring and summer seasons.

Don’t worry, I’ll probably have it available to taste too!

Opening March 9 at 12pm

After what has seemed like a long cold winter, to me at least, we are finally re-opening Rucksack Cellars tasting area for the 2024 season.

Opening this early in the year is new to Rucksack, we usually open in May, so we will start off the season by only being open for two days a week. Please come visit us on Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm to 5pm. In May, we will return to our usual schedule of being open Thursdays thru Sundays.

So if you have missed me as much as I have missed you, or you are just ready to re-stock your supply of Rucksack wines…please come visit me. The fountain has been cleaned, the patio is weeded and raked, the tables and glasses are washed, the cheese plates are stocked and most importantly the wines are here and ready to be tasted!

Until the weather warms up a little bit more, we will have the option of sitting either inside our building or outside on the patio.

If you can not tell, I am so excited to see you all, so please come visit me.

Rucksack is back…Woo Hoo!!!

Pairing Event with Flourless Patisserie Review

It was a dark and stormy night (sounds like the beginning of a scary movie) in Camino, CA. However, there was a lot of light, laughter and a wonderful meal shared in our tasting/storage building. I even heard phone numbers being exchanged at the end of the event! Between new friendships made and excellent pairings the event with Flourless Patisserie warmed my heart!

Four courses were served, paired with five Rucksack wines. I know…we always said that there would be four wines paired, but we just could not decide which wine went best with a course so we decided to serve two and see how our patrons felt. You know what, they could not decide either and thought that both wines brought out different flavor profiles in amazing ways. Traveling around the room and conversing with people, it was wonderful to hear how peoples palates experienced the wine and food. The differences and the discussions that ensued were truly what this was all about.

If you missed this first event, good news, on Saturday, March 16 from 6pm to 8pm at Rucksack Cellars, we will again be pairing four (or maybe five) of our wines with four treats from the gluten-free bakery, Flourless Patisserie. For those of you who did attend our February event, the food and pairings in March will be all new.

Tickets for this event will be $40/person ($35/person for club members), limit four tickets per membership. If you would like to attend, tickets can be purchased by staying on this website and clicking the “STORE” tab followed by the “EVENTS AND MERCHANDISE” tab.

This is going to be another delicious and educational event featuring two local small businesses, we hope to see you there.

2nd Pairing Event with Flourless Patisserie

Since so many of you asked, and our first event sold-out so quickly, we have added another tasting event with our friends at Flourless Patisserie.

On Saturday, March 16 from 6pm to 8pm at Rucksack Cellars, we will again be pairing four of our wines with four treats from the Gluten-Free bakery, Flourless Patisserie. For those of you who will be attending our February event, our pairings in March will be all new.

Tickets for this event will be $40/person ($35/person for club members), limit four tickets per membership. If you would like to attend, tickets can be purchased by staying on this website, clicking on the “STORE” tab followed by the “EVENTS AND MERCHANDISE” tab.

This is going to be a delicious and educational event featuring two local small businesses, we hope to see you there.

Here’s some of what you can look forward to in 2024

We are less than a month away from opening the Rucksack tasting room for the 2024 season and we have already had our first wonderful event of the year, the GSM Blending class. Thank you again to all of you that attended and made those two days a blast!

Behind the scenes, I have been finalizing details surrounding some of our other upcoming events, so I thought I might tease you all with a little preview. Pictured with this post, are the food items we will be serving at our pairing with Flourless Patisserie on February 19. What exactly the wines and food items are shall remain a secret, I don’t want to give too much away for those attending. We are also looking at having a second paring in March (stay tuned for date & tickets).

Something I can give away, and am all too excited to do so, is the lineup for our Rucksack Thursday Community Nights. Of course, things happen and this can always change, but our currently booked musical guests for our Community Nights are as follows:

June 6 & September 5 – Brian Lemley

June 13 & September 12 – Patrick Walsh

June 20 & September 19 – Cin D

June 27 & September 26 – James Drips

We are so excited to welcome back some of these artists as well as introduce some new musicians to our community.

Stay tuned to this newsletter, as well as our Facebook and Instagram pages, for information about these and additional events that we are so excited to bring to Rucksack Cellars throughout 2024.

We can’t be too picky

When it comes to the weather, whether (see what I did there?) it is summer, spring, fall or winter, is it ever exactly what we want it to be? Probably not! However, this past harvest season was pretty close with the mild temperatures so that we could elongate the pick to give longer hang times for the clusters and be a little less crazy in the cellar. And the 2023 fruit came in beautiful! So thank you very much, Mother Nature!

This winter, as a whole, has been great so far. It has been relatively wet, so the underground water is being replenished and the plants are getting a good soak. Knock on wood, so far it has been a winter without too much water and wind, all at once, so that we have not had a lot of damage to our forests, farms and communities. However, if I can complain a little, it has been slightly on the warm side. The snow pack, which we depend on for water throughout the year, has remained mostly in the high, high elevations instead of blanketing the Sierras. 

So if I could make one request of Mother Nature, could February and March continue to bring the moisture with a little bit more of the white stuff lower in elevation and without the damaging winds or quantities? That way we can continue to get the water we so need, it will last longer into the year and the colder temperatures will keep our vines dreaming in their winter slumbers until we are ready for them to wake up deeper into the Spring.

Am I asking too much? Probably…I should just be grateful for what we have. That sounds better, right?

Monday, February 19 from 6pm to 8pm

A regular at our weekly community nights throughout the summer and a supporter of Rucksack wines, Richard Moore has opened the gluten-free bakery on Main Street in Placerville called, Flourless Patisserie. Even before he opened his brick and mortar location, at our community nights, we discussed our mutual desire to pair Rucksack wines with Flourless treats.

On Monday, February 19 from 6pm – 8pm, we will pair four Rucksack wines with four treats from Flourless Patisserie. We will feature two savory and two sweet with our wines at an evening event that showcases two local businesses.

Tickets are $40/person ($35/person for Rucksack Club members)

Tickets are already selling fast! To get yours, stay on this website and go to the “STORE” tab followed by the “EVENTS AND MERCHANDISE” tab.