Calaveras County

Calaveras County climbs Highway 4 from the Mokelumne River up the Ebbetts Pass grade. Murphys sits at 2,180 feet — Main Street is three walkable blocks, a dozen tasting rooms, and water bowls at every other door. Higher up, the foothills give zinfandel and syrah what the valley can’t: cool nights, long days, granite in the soil. Big Trees State Park holds the giant sequoias on a leashed loop fifteen minutes east. Pair a Calaveras zinfandel with an afternoon in the pines. This is Gold Country at its easiest — small town, open patio, a dog asleep under the bench.