RV Lifestyle Unlike any other wine region, you can literally do wine country on foot inMurphys. There are more than 25 wineries here and 20 of them have tasting rooms within walking distance from one another alongMurphy’s historic downtown. Picturesque vineyards and destination wineries are nestled in the nearby rolling hills. Ironstone Vineyards, on the outskirts of Murphys, attracts visitors year-round with wine tastings and events such as the daffodil festival in the spring. Explore the seven-level winery, its extensive wine caves, museum and outdoor mining exhibit, before you grab lunch at the deli and picnic on the grounds. Then, belly up to the elegant 1907 bar to sample Ironstone’s Obsession Red Blend, Cabernet Franc and Zinfandel. You can see a fully restored 769-pipe theatre organ, originally made in 1927 for Sacramento’s now-defunct Alhambra Theater. Mercer Caverns boasts all of the awesome cave accessories – stalactites, stalagmites, draperies and columns. It’s 161 feet, down several flights of stairs, to the bottom. When you emerge from this dark hole in the ground, consider a visit to something soaring high above ground – the giant sequoias. You’ll find them 14 miles up Highway 4 fromMurphys in Calaveras’ Big Trees State Park. It’s both humbling and thrilling to prowl among the planet’s largest living things. Tourists from around the world follow the well-trampled trails through the North Grove. CSANews | WINTER 2016 | 41
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