why go to Provence?

RPH #13

Why Go to Provence?

Why do folks go to Provence if they haven’t been to Murphys, or Paso Robles or Sonoma or Lodi? I sell travel books about France all the time and the travelers gush about the scenery and wine and little old towns. Well, cousins, this golden state, your home, has scenery and wine and little old towns that you don’t need to go thru TSA and 13 hours on a plane to get to. Just point your car in any direction but true west and drive. At the risk of sounding like Dorothy Gale, there is no place like home. California is the most beautiful place on earth and any one who says different is just itching for a fight.

What do you do for your anniversary? Do you go out to dinner, does your sweetie send flowers to the office? Or, do you make your hardworking spouse pack up a bag and choose traveling music and take you away? We weren’t low on good wine but both of us needed a ride in the car. Our destination was the Gold Country and our desire was a good time. After taking our time getting up, packing and getting out, we joined the throng on the 580 headed for the Altamont Pass. For those lucky enough never to have taken this road, it is God’s own bottleneck. There is rarely a reason and always frustrated drivers but it is the only direct way to Manteca, the 120 and across the great Valley. Highway 120 is the southern route to the Gold Country and the straight route to Groveland and the front door of Yosemite. Take that right turn and you could be on the Valley Floor in an hour. But cooler heads prevailed and we headed toward Tuolumne County.

To get to the old towns and gorgeous scenery of Calaveras and Amador counties, take the 120 to the 49, the mother road of the Gold Country. Murphys, our normal haunt, was booked solid because the Doobie Brothers and Chicago were playing Ironstone Winery. Thus I found the tiny, perfect hamlet of Jamestown. Our digs were at the Royal Carriage on Main street, a very old hotel with small, spotless rooms, great wifi and firm beds. Nice restaurants in original buildings, a pretty little park with band stand and friendly cat—Jamestown is the perfect base of operations. It even offers a local tasting room for Gianelli vineyards, who specialize in Italian varietals. They named a complex and clear blend after their papa Nino. After a tasting there and then dinner at the highly recommended National Hotel, we fell into bed to dream of wine and World Cup football.

Part of the nature of a real vacation doing what you want and one of us wanted to watch some football. Having suffered many years as the wife of a Cubs fan, football, whether Mexican League, English Premier League or World Cup, is much more fun. It’s fast, the sleek young men are so beautiful and it’s under 2 hours per game. On Saturday morning we lazed, watched a game and still got to Murphys before anyone was open. We took the long way, along Parrots Ferry Road, through the narrow gullys and rolling pastures between Sonora and Columbia. These old gold towns have taken a real hit during this Great Recession; we saw plenty of empty store fronts in all the neat little towns we passed. For most of them, construction and tourism were the biggest employers and both have dried up. Even Murphys has some places for rent on Main St. but somehow that fair city found its source of steady work, wine. There are at least 14 tasting rooms in and around “the Queen of the Sierra.”

After a walk around the neighborhood we were the first customers at one of our favorite wineries in the world, Milliaire. The wines of Calaveras County are singular, the beautiful and varied children of copper infused dirt, months of dry heat, complete sunshine and even a little snow. Zinfandel, Tempranillo, Granache and all the other heat loving grapes are very happy in the land of the Skull.