Zahtila Vineyards is devoted to making robust Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel from its own estate fruit and from some of the region’s most celebrated winegrowing estates. The winemaking style is inspired by a passion for creating wines as a complement to food that is shared around the table with family and friends.

Along the northern end of the Silverado Trail is the little sign for this woman-owned-and-operated winery producing handcrafted wines in limited quantities. The facility is a mix of a small winery, a hillside vineyard, rose garden, ranch house and picnic grounds. The tasting room is up the road in the back, with a European-style casual ambiance.

Inside the small but smartly decorated tasting room your winemaker, owner and host will offer you samples of her refreshingly fruit-forward Chardonnay, some richly textured Cabernet Sauvignon, and one of her Napa- or Sonoma-grown Zinfandels. Quantities are very limited, and there are no plans to produce a thousand cases of any one varietal.