Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe wine country is the Sierra rim — high elevation, late-ripening, and stretched across two states. El Dorado and Placer counties climb from Gold Country oaks up to red fir at 4,500 feet, and the Nevada side around Minden and Carson Valley catches the eastern rain shadow. Cool nights hold acid in pinot noir, grüner, and barbera; decomposed granite drains fast enough to keep the vines lean. Taste on a deck facing Desolation Wilderness — the bar is literally higher up here.