COME VISIT OAKHURST’S FIRST WINERY & TASTE OUR MEDITERRANEAN-INFLUENCED AND HANDCRAFTED FOOD & WINE

In our winery, we focus on single-varietal, single vineyard designated wines from select California vineyards and make our wines with minimal intervention in the cellar. In our kitchen, we are a scratch kitchen, with house made dishes using only the freshest, local ingredients we can source from small purveyors from around California. Our food and wines are inspired by the Mediterranean with a focus on using healthier cooking methods and fresh, organic ingredients.

We are open daily for wine tasting, 11am – 5pm, and lunch service from 11-4pm. We also offer dinner service, Wednesday-Saturday evenings from 5-8pm and Sunday Brunch from 10am-2pm. Call (559) 760-9090 to make your table reservation or visit the Kitchen tab above to enter your reservation online.

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OUR WINES ARE PRODUCED IN SMALL LOTS

WINEMAKING

Our current releases include single vineyard designated Viognier, Pinot Noir, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Tempranillo and Petite Sirah. This year we are producing Rhone varieties: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Viognier, Roussanne & Marsanne from Madera County, Pinot Noir and Syrah from the Santa Lucia Highlands on the Central Coast, Cabernet Franc, Petite Sirah and Tempranillo from Clarksburg on the Sacramento Delta. Visit us at the Queen’s Inn and taste our handcrafted wines.

All of our wines are fermented using native yeasts, those which come from the vineyards with the fruit, also known as resident yeasts. We believe that our single-vineyard designated wines are truly indicative of the vineyards they come from because we allow the vineyard’s true expression to come forth, simply by our non-interventive style of winemaking. We like to say, “We do as little as possible…”. In actuality, this type of winemaking is anything but boring.

We hope you will enjoy our wines, noticing that each wine is different than the other, hopefully experiencing the character and sublety each variety can offer while showcasing the differences between each vintage. Please enjoy our wines with your favorite meals.

WE USE SUSTAINABLY GROWN GRAPES AND MAKE THE WINE GENTLY, USING NATIVE YEASTS, GRAVITY FLOW AND OTHER TRADITIONAL METHODS

HISTORY

A hobby gone wild! That is how Idle Hour Winery got its start. Winemaker Anna Marie dos Remedios began making wine in 2007 in Paicines, just south of Hollister, in San Benito County. Dos Remedios focused on small lot, single-vineyard designated wines from some of California’s best wine-growing regions. Anna Marie learned traditional winemaking methods from mentor and renowned Pinot Noir producer Josh Jensen at Calera Wine Company. Dos Remedios and partner Deb Payne started the winery, focusing on these traditional methods: native yeast fermentation, gravity flow racking and the use of neutral French Oak; all very gentle in nature, applying these to all the varieties Anna Marie ferments. She studied in the UC Davis winemaking certificate program to gain an understanding of the chemistry of wine and winemaking.

Eventually the partners decided to relocate the winery to Oakhurst, making Idle Hour Winery the first winery for this small town just outside the south entrance to Yosemite National Park. Deb and Anna Marie also own and operate the Queen’s Inn by the River, a quaint 8-room inn and wine bar & beer garden located on the same property as Idle Hour Winery.

Elegance and freshness are the hallmarks of the Idle Hour wines. They’re not big bruisers, like so many California wines. Dos Remedios says she drinks a lot of European wines, and she prefers a more restrained style that pairs well with food.

The partners named the winery Idle Hour after Anna Marie’s paternal grandfather (Augustinho dos Remedios’) Chinese Junk, a sailing and fishing vessel that she enjoyed as a young child with her family in Hong Kong, her birthplace.

STAY AT OUR INN & GET A COMPLIMENTARY WINE TASTING

ABOUT CALIFORNIA WINE

When you are surrounded by natural wonder, it’s pretty easy to smile. Of course, a glass of California wine always helps.

California is almost three quarters the size of France and accounts for nearly 90 percent of American wine production. There are more than 1,200 wineries in the state today, ranging from small boutique wineries to large corporations with global distribution. Over one hundred grape varieties are grown in California. The State is a very geologically diverse region and varies greatly in the range of climates that can be found. Most of the state’s wine regions are found between the Pacific coast and the Central Valley.