Rucksack Cellars

Thursday Evening Community Game Nights at Rucksack Cellars are back!!! Woo Hoo…I can’t wait!!!

This June our community nights return every Thursday from 5pm to 7:30pm…or really until the sun has set. We will have all our large format games out (Cornhole, Giant Jenga, Bean Bag Tic-Tac-Toe, and Ladder Golf) along with board games on the tables. If you have a favorite game, feel free to bring it along…the more the merrier!

A different food option is being offered for each Thursday Community Night and pre-orders can be made staying on this website, clicking the “STORE” tab across the top banner, followed by clicking on the “EVENTS AND MERCHANDISE” tab.  Our caterers need the pre-orders so that they know how much to prepare and as little as possible goes to waste, please pre-order, there will be food available for drop-ins but it will be limited.

The $20/person food offerings for June will be:

June 4: Two Tacos, either Smoked Pork or Roasted Veggies topped with Cotija Cheese, pickled onion and cilantro accompanied by Corn Salad. Salsa and Sour Cream on the side.

June 11: Thai Grilled Chicken or Grilled Veggie Skewers, served with steamed rice, Peanut Sauce and Sweet Chili Sauce.

June 18: Pulled Beef or Portabella sliders topped with cheese sauce and roasted peppers on Hawaiian rolls with a side of tangy coleslaw.

June 25: Gluten-Free snack box from Flourless Patisserie (Turkey, Pesto and Sun-Dried Tomatoes sandwich with Mediterranean pasta salad and a brownie)

All Rucksack wines will be available for purchase by either the glass or the bottle.

This is a perfect way to spend a summer evening with neighbors, friends and family.

Mother’s Day Brunch at Rucksack Cellars

Grab all the Moms in your world and join us for a Mother’s Day Brunch with the famous Rucksack Spritzer. This brunch is all about sipping, laughing and celebrating all our beautiful Moms together!

Brunch will be provided and served by Lauren of Little Cravings Catering and will include a Spinach Mushroom and Emmental Frittata, Biscuit with Sausage Gravy, Crisp Bacon and a Fresh Fruit Salad.

All this and your Rucksack Spritzer is included in your ticket price of $45/person.

To reserve your tickets, simply click on the following link:  https://rucksackcellars.orderport.net/wines/events-and-merchandise

Now that you have your tickets for Mother’s Day Brunch at Rucksack Cellars…

Add a special Mother’s Day bouquet for an additional $35 created for Mom by Mel of Flowers by Mel.

Reserve your tickets and bouquet here https://rucksackcellars.orderport.net/wines/events-and-merchandise

and we will have it waiting for you upon your arrival to brunch!

Apple Hill Winery Event – March 21 and 22

The Apple Hill wineries are having an event to welcome Spring. A number of wineries will be participating in this event throughout the Apple Hill area and a number are offering special tastings and opportunities to those who visit and mention the “Spring Fling” event. You can see a list of participating farms by clicking here!

At Rucksack, we will be offering a special vertical flight of our Bordeaux style blend, The Cache. We will be opening our 2013, 2016 and 2018 vintages for you to experience the differences in a little more age, different weather conditions and slightly different blend percentages.

Come up to Rucksack and see for yourself which vintage is YOUR favorite!

The hope is to be open for normal business hours Saturday and Sunday of this week (February 21 and 22), even though we were forced to close Thursday and Friday due to weather. Now…this all depends on rate of snow melt, but I may go over and drive on the snow in my truck in order to encourage faster melting. Keep an eye on our social media pages before you head up, I will post in the morning if I believe we will be able to open.

As it seems to work out, every few years in Camino, we get a big cold storm through our little neck of the woods that doesn’t drop snow totals that are measured in inches, but are measured in feet.

As beautiful and fun as it is, unfortunately it forces us to keep our doors closed. These storms are often accompanied by dangerous road conditions, power outages and, as I mentioned above, deep snow that can often get cars stuck.

I really hope we can open Saturday and Sunday, there’s nothing better than a wine flight paired with our new lunchbox and a view of a snow covered vineyard!

We have a new food offering at Rucksack Cellars.

We are continuing our partnership with another local small business, Flourless Patisserie, to bring you the uniquely Rucksack picnic box. Each picnic box contains 4 quiche, a fresh baguette with two tapenades, and two desserts. For $25, this spread easily feeds 2-4 people will you enjoy your Rucksack wine tasting and to keep you coming back week after week, the flavors of quiche, bread, tapenade and dessert will change.

Come on in and give this new food offering a try, and as they say at Flourless…you won’t believe it’s Gluten-Free!

What do you do when you become the new owner and winemaker of the winery you have been working at for the last number of years?

Obviously you open for the new season as soon as you can because you miss all of your customers, club members and friends and you want to have the opportunity to celebrate with all of them.

We are hoping that 2026 will be a year of growth, education (for me at least) and a whole lot of celebration with our entire Rucksack community. So let’s get the party started!!! This weekend, January 24 and 25, we will be open as a “preview” opening. The official season opening will be next week on January 30 and toward the end of February/beginning of March, we are planning a “Grand” opening party.  Plus…we hope that you can join us on February 11th at 5pm for our first event of 2026…our “Rucksack Date Night” with flowers, appetizers and wine!  Tickets for this event can be purchased by clicking right here.  https://rucksackcellars.orderport.net/wines/events-and-merchandise

So I look forward to seeing you all very soon and answering all your questions about what is coming up for Rucksack Cellars. Hopefully I will see some of you as early as this Saturday and Sunday.

Cheers! to 2026.

As Maggie and I sit at Rucksack and watch the sun set over the vineyards, we’re proud of what we’ve built, both in the tasting experience and the Rucksack community. We took an idea, planted the vineyards, constructed the winery and started a novelle concept (for the time) of outdoor tasting. The idea of Rucksack Cellars…Embracing the Sierra Foothills!

As Maggie and I now hand off the baton to Mary and Douglas Giorgis, the new owners of Rucksack Cellars, we owe all of you, the Rucksack Family, a huge ‘Thank You’ for all the glasses of wine, conversations and frankly, your support since the beginning. It would not have been possible without you.

Cheers to you, and here’s to Rucksack’s next grand adventure with Mary and Douglas!

Paul & Maggie Bush

Well…The Cat is Out of the Bag!

I have been teasing a big announcement for a while now and this past Monday, the ownership of Rucksack Cellars officially transferred from Paul and Maggie Bush over to the Giorgis Family. This is news to some of you, but to many of you, it is the final step in a process that you have been tracking the progress of for some time. We are incredibly grateful to Paul and Maggie for their trust, mentorship and friendship throughout this journey!

This adventure is the achievement of a family goal for Mary, our children, Flynn and Luca, and me. It is the opportunity to become more deeply involved in our community, the local agriculture, and it is our hope to grow the incredible Rucksack brand that was created by Paul and Maggie. We are blessed by the opportunity to thrive here in the Sierra Foothills.

Now what does this mean going forward and for you as customers and club members?

Honestly, I hope not much changes…at least in the near term. So, rest assured, we will continue to provide the same varieties you have come to know and love, with Paul and myself continuing to work together in the cellar and our general philosophies about winemaking being aligned, the style and quality of the wines will continue. If you are a club member, thank you! And you can expect your club member benefits to continue at both Rucksack and Madroña for all of 2026.

Is there anything new? Absolutely! First off, Rucksack will be a lot more available to you. Where traditionally we opened for the season between March and May, we will now be opening for the 2026 season Friday, January 30 with a “soft” opening the week prior. Keep an eye on this newsletter and our Facebook/Instagram posts for the exact times. I have also introduced our “Olio Nuovo” olive oil available at the winery while supplies last. And as far as the wines go, we will be introducing two new varieties later in the year…but ssshhh this is the surprise I’m most excited about. They will be released as small-batch, introductory vintages that will forever be known as our first vintage as the owners…someday bottles of these varieties could be worth millions!

We are thrilled to officially share this news and can’t wait to continue to serve you all!

Douglas, Mary, Flynn and Luca Giorgis

Grab your favorite person (or come solo!) and join us for a fun, feel-good evening of flowers, wine, and delicious bites. This class is all about sipping, creating, laughing, and making something beautiful together.

Appetizers by the amazing Lauren @LittleCravings_55

 Wine provided by rucksackcellars

 When: Wednesday, February 11th at 5:00 PM

 Where: RucksackCellars

Tickets: $95 per person

Includes one glass of wine, one flower arrangement, and appetizers.

 To reserve your spot:

Stay on this website, click on the “STORE” tab across the banner, followed by the “EVENTS AND MERCHANDISE” tab.

Bring your date, bring your bestie, or bring yourself—we can’t wait to host you! 

Rucksack On Break But Back Soon

First off, I would like to say thank you! What an incredible final weekend at Rucksack where so many took advantage of the 30% off mix and match case sale. This final weekend capped off a wonderful 2025 and I am so grateful for all your continued support of Rucksack Cellars.

Rucksack is currently closed for the season, as we traditionally do at the beginning of each year. A few years ago we moved our opening date from May up to March, and this year we are hoping to have our shortest hiatus yet…we are looking to open for 2026, toward the end of January. After some general housekeeping, inventory and new year organization, we will be back serving you our estate, local, family made and run wines.

Keep in mind, we are in the Sierra Foothills and weather during the winter months can be unpredictable. Safety for our customers and all those working at Rucksack is of paramount importance, so even though we plan to be open in January, we will keep you all updated through this website, our newsletter or our Instagram and Facebook pages, letting you know if weather and road conditions prevent us from opening for the sake of safety.

We are so excited to see you all again soon and make Rucksack Cellars wines even more accessible. Cheers and Happy New Year once again!

Organic Olio Nuovo

For a number of years, my family and I have made olive oil from our high elevation Manzanillo and Mission variety olive trees for our families gifting and consumption. Being of Italian heritage, on my father’s side, olive oil is a staple in just about everything.

So what is this olive oil and why is it special? When olive oil is freshly pressed and unfiltered, it is called “Olio Nuovo” or “Yellow Gold.” Not only is this the most desirable oil by world class chefs for their restaurants, it is incredibly healthy as it is full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants…some will even take a small “shot” of olio nuovo in the morning in place of daily vitamins. Our Olio Nuovo is 100% organic, with a smooth earthy palette and a wonderful peppery punch on the finish. It is a thicker consistency than store bought oil, which makes you savor every dip. 200ml bottles of olio nuovo, as ours are, commonly go for between $35 and $50 a bottle…as ours is a new offering and continuing the Rucksack Cellars tradition of providing incredible high quality wines for affordable prices, we are selling ours for $20 at bottle. We began selling this olive oil in the tasting room at the end of December, and so far it has been a hit!

Plus…olives come ripe and are ready to press in late November/early December, right when things are starting to really slow down in the winery, so I thought, why not take on another project just so I stay busy…yes, I am THAT crazy! When we re-open in January, come in and grab a bottle for yourself (yes…it is available to taste). This is a very small production size, so get yours while supplies last.