David Girard Vineyards

Specialties

David Girard Vineyards is perfectly situated at 1,300 feet elevation in El Dorado County, not only for the benefits the land can provide to the grapes grown here, but also the history and culture that surround the winery.

The rolling hills of our 85-​acre estate vineyards provide unique micro climates for producing exceptional Rhone varietals. Focusing on Syrah, Grenache, Roussanne and Viognier, wine lovers can immediately get a sense of these great vineyards. The wines have an intensity and balance that seem to be special from grapes at our elevation with our soils.

Nearly all the wines we make are estate-​grown and small-​lot productions, making our tasting room a focus of our winery. At a mere 5,000 case annual production, we also sell grapes to several local wineries, spreading the character of this amazing location. Although the trend in El Dorado County for many vineyard plantings has been to move up in elevation, David Girard decided the Gold Hill region, ripe with mining and win

History

Established in 2005.

In 1994 David Girard purchased 85 acres in the Gold Hill area of Placerville, just one mile South of Coloma State Park. In 2005 the tasting room opened for business. The talented Mari Coyle Wells is the winemaker. Ron Mansfield is the Vineyard Manager. Together this team produces premium Rhone style wines in the Sierra Foothills.

Meet the Business Owner

David G.

Business Owner

As a boy growing up on the outskirts of Detroit, David Girard thought more about hockey, snow, and auto plants than vines and grapes. But after working in his father’s gas station through high school and college, a stint as an Army enlistee, a Ford manager and accountant, and armed with an MBA from Wayne State University and a law degree from the University of Michigan, a California perspective seemed like a good idea. With wife and daughter Rachel in tow, David moved to Berkeley where he earned his Ph.D. After practicing law briefly, he moved to Europe for a year where he studied and traveled. Upon his return, David accepted a position as a professor at U.C. Santa Barbara in the Graduate School of Education where he taught educational finance and law.

After three years, David returned to Berkeley where his second daughter, Yvette was born. He taught for some six years at U.C. Berkeley before returning to the practice of law, primarily representing schools and colleges.