Fine Wines and a Fabulous Inn in Fair Play

The great room at Lucinda's Country Inn in Fair Play, California

 

Driving along winding, two-lane roads lined with vineyards on my way to Lucinda’s Country Inn in Fair Play, I fell behind a pick-up truck with a bumper sticker that read, “Napa Makes Auto Parts – El Dorado County Makes Wine.” The apparent quip against the more well-known wine region is gaining traction.

Lucinda's County Inn at dusk

When Lucinda and Daryl Sullivan bought the property to build their bed and breakfast inn in 1997, there were just six wineries in Fair Play. There are now 30 wineries in the region, 60 total wineries in El Dorado County, and dozens more nearby in the neighboring Amador County’s Shenandoah Valley.

Tasting room patio at Skinner Vineyards

The Sullivans first fell in love with Fair Play in the mid-1960s when they came up to drive car rallies around the region. Looking for paper plates tacked to trees that marked the route, they followed country roads through gorgeous landscapes that alternated between dense forests and rolling hills. “All the roads connect in loops,” explained Lucinda.

Those same interconnected roads now serve as tasting routes through a burgeoning wine region producing about 3,000 cases a year. Windwalker Vineyards and Winery lies just up the road from the inn and offers a lovely tasting room with good wines and a shady deck for picnicking. A little further up the road, Skinner Vineyards sits at the top of a hill offering commanding views and exceptional wines from a family that first began producing wines in the Sierra Foothills in 1861.

Outdoor deck at Lucinda's Country Inn

Centrally located along the winetasting routes, Lucinda’s Country Inn provides a perfect base for exploring the wines and beauty of the region. Designed and built as a bed and breakfast in the early 2000s, the inn has a contemporary style with many eco-friendly considerations. Solar panels provide 90% of the inn’s electricity and tankless water heaters provide instant hot water. The inn’s cottage and four spacious guest suites each offer pillow-top king beds with separate seating areas, remote-controlled gas fireplaces, flat screen televisions with HD DirecTV and DVD players, private decks, well-stocked kitchenettes with complimentary sodas, waters, and snacks, and spacious baths with upscale amenities. One of the suites and the cottage feature sunken spa tubs; another suite offers a tiled soaking tub.

Vineyard Suite at Lucinda's Country Inn

A large common-area great room features an inviting fireplace flanked with leather couches. Just outside on the deck, an outdoor fireplace is ringed by cozy patio furniture with shade umbrellas and an outdoor bar. The inn is nestled on 11 quiet, forested acres with more outdoor seating scattered around the inn, a bocce ball court, and a charming creek that was once claimed by gold prospectors.

On Friday and Saturday nights, the innkeepers serve complimentary wine and snacks. A home-cooked breakfast is served each morning. The inn also hosts periodic farm-to-fork dinners and murder mystery dinners.

Fair Play Cottage at Lucinda's County Inn

When I arrived to the inn, I was warmly welcomed by Lucinda and Daryl and the aroma of chili simmering on the stove. My room, the Vineyard Suite, was decorated in shades of cream, sage green, and lavender and featured a double-sided, see-through gas fireplace connecting the bedroom and living room. The overstuffed furniture makes an ideal spot to curl up with a glass of wine in front of the fire. A step-up arched entry to the bedroom and a skylight over the bed adds a touch of romance. The large windows in the living room and bedroom offered peaceful views of the forest. The kitchenette was thoughtfully and generously stocked. The bath featured a spacious shower the innkeepers comically refer to as the “human carwash” for all of its nozzle options.

Lucinda's Country Inn's Strawberry Yogurt Parfait

In the sunny dining room the next morning, I was treated to one of Lucinda’s breakfast specialties, Country Huevos Casserole. Served in an oval ramekin, the dish featured scrambled eggs topped with melted cheese and the delicious chili that had been simmering the night before. The dish was paired with a strawberry yogurt parfait and warm lemon almond scones. It was the perfect start to a crisp fall morning and full day of exploring Fair Play’s wineries.

Lucinda's Country Inn

6701 Perry Creek Rd.
Fair Play, CA 95684
530-409-4169
www.lucindascountryinn.com

In the Gardens at Eden Vale Inn: Modern Luxury in a Beautifully Restored Old Barn

The Live Oak Room's private outdoor soaking tub at Eden Vale Inn

 

With a press of the “romance” button in my room, the lights dim to a warm glow and the gas fireplace blazes to life. When I press the “reading” button, and a tiny spotlight illuminates the pages of the book in my lap. With the press of another button, the private outdoor soaking tub for two begins filling with warm water and automatically shuts off a few inches from the rim. The high-tech features are an alluring luxury for a century-old hay barn.

Live Oak Room at Eden Vale Inn

I grab a robe and step outside to slip into the steamy water of the soaking tub. I roll back the wood-slatted privacy shade to enjoy the view of the tranquil gardens and watch birds flit between the branches of the trees.

Fireplace at Eden Vale Inn

Eden Vale Inn is a verdant sanctuary nestled in the straw-colored hills between Coloma and Placerville in California’s Gold Country. Mark and Gayle Hamlin bought the barn and the surrounding 10 acres in 1985. Old photos from that time show a weathered structure with a rusted corrugated metal roof standing amid a dry, rocky landscape. Built in 1919 for a pioneer family’s dairy farm and then abandoned in the 1940s, the barn and the land had lain vacant for over 40 years.

Hammock near the grape arbor at Eden Vale Inn

Captivated by the barn’s spacious interior and the rough-sawn beams cut from old-growth forests, the Hamlins converted the barn into a warm and inviting home. They built a stone fireplace that rises 27 feet from the floor to the timber-framed cathedral ceiling. The slate rock for the fireplace was hand-picked from a local quarry and weighs about 40 tons. The block and tackle that was once used to lower hay from the second floor loft hangs near the top.

The barn now serves as the main building of the bed and breakfast inn, which the Hamlins opened in 2009. The inn’s seven luxurious guest rooms blend ultra-modern features with rustic touches and feature outdoor soaking tubs, gas fireplaces, and spa-like private baths.

Firepit at Eden Vale Inn

Outside, the Hamlins transformed several acres of land surrounding the barn into a lush paradise, planting trees, shrubs, vines, and grasses that have grown over the years into a beautiful three-dimensional tapestry of color and texture. The gardens attract over 50 different types of birds, whose chirps blend harmoniously with the bubbling fountains and tinkling wind chimes. I wander the footpaths through the gardens to find endless curiosities, including a collection of antique bird cages and bowling balls perched atop wooden posts.

Swimming pond and rowboat at Eden Vale Inn

Of the latter, Gayle explains they are the poor man’s version of Italian columns. She started collecting bowling balls from thrift stores for the garden and ended up buying every used ball in El Dorado County. Her mom, who lives in Las Vegas, continues bring Gayle more bowling balls when she visits.

I climb into a hammock near the grape arbor to watch the sunset beyond the hills and the row of bowling ball columns. I note with amusement at how the columns’ silhouettes take on a more regal appearance against the setting sun.

Vegetable frittata with sausage and sweet potatoes

After the skies have grown dark, I wander over to the metal fire pit near the pond and sink down into one of the Adirondack chairs to gaze up at the stars. A newlywed couple from San Francisco joins me around the fire and Mark delivers a basket of fixings for s’mores. The couple and I roast our s’mores and stay up talking late into the night.

Early in the morning, I take a walk around the placid pond. A rowboat tied up to a small dock glides idly from side to side. At the far end of the pond, I catch sight of two bucks standing just outside the fence.

Outdoor deck overlooking the gardens at Eden Vale Inn

At breakfast, I find a generous selection of fresh fruits, warm scones, house-made granola, European-style yogurt, fresh-squeezed juices, and coffee and tea. The main entrée that morning is a delicious corn and asparagus frittata with pork sausage and roasted sweet potatoes. I sit on one of the outdoor decks enjoying breakfast while trying to plot my day. I’m torn between wanting to explore Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park and signing up for a rafting trip on the American River. I’m also hoping to wander the shops and art galleries in historic downtown Placerville, check out the Sherwood Demonstration Garden, and stop by a few wineries along the way.

But looking out over the gardens, I’m equally tempted to spend another relaxing day in Eden.

Eden Vale Inn
1780 Springvale Rd.
Placerville, CA 95667
530-621-0901
www.edenvaleinn.com

First, fourth, and fifth photos courtesy of Eden Vale Inn. All others by Ranee Ruble-Dotts for CABBI.