fitzpatrick winery and lodge

When Diana and Brian Fitzpatrick were the originators and owners, this Winery and Lodge was top-knotch! The price for breakfast and lodging was reasonable. Diana treated each customer like family and Brian (Vintner) loved making wine and sharing his knowledge and humor!! Prices now are over $300 a night and new owners don't care.

We stayed at Fitzpatrick/Gold Mountain Winery and Lodge in November, 2014 and had a wonderful time. We stayed in the Log Room on a Monday and Tuesday night. The first night, we were the only guests and on Tuesday night there was only one other couple although we never encountered them until breakfast time. The setting is high up on a hill so the views are wonderful. The quiet and solitude amazing! A very friendly cat stationed herself on our deck and the manager's dog, Paddy, was a joy. We visited local wineries during the day, returned to the Lodge, and then ate at the local Pub/cafe nearby for dinner. The Pub offered simple, good food and only required a drive of half a mile. Most of the patrons seemed to know each other and it had a cozy, small town feel about it. We had read on the Internet about concerns about specific rooms at the Lodge and did note those when we took a tour of the various rooms. However, the Log Room specifically, was great! We would definitely return.

We visited 4 wineries during the one day we had available and this one was by far our favorite. And if you're looking for a B&B Lodge, this is certainly one to consider. A quiet Lodge in the foothills and centrally located in the Wine country. Wine selection was excellent and the Manager was so helpful filling us in on details of each variety. Wonderful experience.

We especially liked the place - very impressive. It, too, is a B&B, but we had already made arrangements to stay somewhere else. This place looks nice, and we will give it a try on another visit. We had their Smoked salmon/cheese plate, which was excellent.

The Pizza was very good and we love Tempest's performance. We'll be back to see them next year. Can't wait.

My wife and I were taking my recently gradated niece to see the Amador wine country. She enjoyed it despite the greeting we got at Fitzpatrich Winery. We had already been to two wineries where we were greeted most friendly and graciously and bought wines there. At Fitzpatrick we decided it was a good place to lunch and view before tasting. The manager? came out and told us that this wasn't a State Park and they had to make a living and the deck area was only for "paying customers." We changed our plans after this rude greeting and packed up leaving potential customers never coming back and telling their friends and family not to as well.

If you are willing to drive a little farther you will be rewarded! This family winery is beautiful and the bed & breakfast lodge is so comfortable. All the rooms have recently been updated and they are beautiful. The staff are all so very nice and make you feel at home. The web site is great and what you see is where you really will be. The views are amazing and the wines very tasty!! I will be going back!!

From the minute we walked in Mike and Kate made us feel welcome and very happy to be here. Welcoming glasses of wine, good conversation and a stunning room with a gorgeous view have us sold. I see this as a permanent addition to our wine country travels

Set high on a hillside overlooking the vineyards, Fitzpatrick Winery and Lodge is known for its log lodge, Irish hospitality and organically produced wines. From the spacious deck and wood-burning pizza oven to the pure flavors of its varietals, blends and ports, Fitzpatrick offers something for every taste and palate.Pull up to the hand-hewn log tasting room and lodge, and you will already feel the differences that personal touches of the owners/winemaker make in everything they do. The tasting room is intimate, and it is almost always staffed by one of the owners or part of the family. The long wooden bar opens up to a seating area that’s great for enjoying the ploughman’s lunch offered on the weekends. The deck area features reservations-only Friday night pizza parties and live music during the summer, a great venue to enjoy its stunning views. For some palates, wines produced using organic practices can be a learning experience. The flavors and textures can be a little different from wines production using more common practices using chemicals and additives. Fitzpatrick is best known for its reds, and the Merlot, Syrah, Cab Franc and Zinfandels in particular are rich and yummy. In its varietal wines, 100% of the grape is the varietal – no blending of small amounts of other grapes is included. Try the port-styled dessert wines as well, as the fortifier is made specifically for these treasures. The tasting list is extensive and constantly updated, with reds favored.

people were snobby, food was good! would go back! Wine was decent!

A great location to bring your mom for Mother's Day. The view from the deck is nice and the food was very good.

I stayed at the Fitzpatrick Winery and Lodge in May 2008...The location is unbelievable...In the forests of the Sierra foothills, there is an area of wineries and vineyards...with very good wines...overlooking the entire valley and vineyards is Fitzpatrick Winery....WOW. Beautiful, breathtaking views...as far as the eye can see. The lodge is an incredible log cabin building with a great deck and outdoor wood fired pizza oven with live music on some Friday nights...(check their website for calendar) The wine and the food is organic, locally grown, creative and delicious. I will come back to this place again and again. A perfect vacation spot.

Our first “destination trip” (April 2008) to Fair Play in El Dorado County was really enhanced by our 3 night stay at the Fitzpatrick Lodge. Since this trip was focused on visiting wineries in the area, the fact that Fitzpatrick produces a number of organic varietals was very attractive. The hilltop property is absolutely beautiful with panoramic views over the vineyards and trees all the way to the mountains. Each morning we took a walk around the private perimeter road, accompanied by Marley, the resident Golden Retriever. There are expansive decks to sit out on and enjoy a glass (or 2 or 3) of wine, watch the sunset or star-gaze. There’s also a large hot tub on the deck which allows you to totally relax while gazing out at that view! The lap pool located a little ways from the building was not yet open for the season. Sadly, we missed out on the famous house-made pizzas (people come from all over to enjoy them, we heard) that are served out on the deck, baked in the custom-made wood-burning oven. ”Pizza season” begins in May and we were there just a bit too early. The interior of the Lodge, with its massive beams and 2-story high Great Room was also very comfortable and inviting. And of course, we spent some time each day in the Fitzpatrick Winery's tasting room! Our room was the Winemaker’s Suite, a spacious, light-filled room with a private balcony, and large dormer windows (with window seat) which afforded a fabulous view of vineyards, forests and mountains. Soaking in the huge tub in our bathroom was also a delightful experience. Just what one needs after a “hard day” working the tasting rooms! Our room was quiet at night and the king-size bed with its beautiful, artistic metalwork frame, was quite restful. The owners, Diana and Brian Fitzpatrick, were great hosts; very welcoming and helpful. Thru them we found some excellent restaurants (dining places being relatively limited in the immediate area). We had dinner at a different restaurant each night and very much enjoyed all of them: the Gold Vine Grill, the just-opened Bocconato Trattoria, and Taste restaurant--the last-mentioned being located in the town of Plymouth in Amador County, an easy 20 min. drive south of Fair Play. And on the subject of food--we had delicious, hearty breakfasts each morning, courtesy of Diana’s culinary skills. It was really nice to have a choice of several entrees, each consisting of fresh local products, and all cooked to order. We keep thinking of the beautiful scenery and all the wineries we visited in El Dorado County and in Amador County, having ordered futures at TooGood Estate, and having brought home a couple dozen bottles in total, including wine from Mount Aukum, Granite Springs, Single Leaf, Colibri Ridge, Sobon and Shenandoah--and of course, from Fitzpatrick Winery! We keep thinking of all the wineries we DIDN’T have time to visit... and knowing that a return to Fair Play is most definitely called for. When we plan our next trip, without a doubt, we’ll be staying again at Fitzpatrick Lodge--and next time it’ll be during “pizza season”!

We stayed at the Fitzpatrick Winery and Lodge during the week of March 15 and really enjoyed ourselves. The room was nice and large and we slept like babies on the wonderful bed. After a tour of the bed and breakfast, we tried the different wines in the wine tasting room. We each chose our favorite wine, and then stepped out to the patio to enjoy the wonderful view with our selection. The Gold Vine Restaurant just down the road provided a delicious evening meal with lots of interesting entrees. Even on a Wednesday evening, the restaurant was busy, but the service was still good. The next morning we were able to choose the time for breakfast and we were given several unique choices for our entree. Each one was delicious. We would highly recommend touring this part of California and the Fitzpatrick is an excellent place to stay.