August is upon us; where has the summer gone? There are only a few precious weeks left for those fun summer trips and before the kids go back to school. If you are short on time and still want to revel in the fun of summer, consider a quick day trip to the Auburn area.

Auburn is home to numerous family owned wineries that are still entertaining guests in their tasting areas, and, more importantly, have time to spend with you before their busy harvest season.

One recently established local vineyard hosts Fawnridge Winery.

Stewart Perry and his wife Stephanie purchased the property in 1988 when they moved from Tahoe. They initially raised sheep on the property.

"Upon hearing that local grape growers were bringing back the wine industry, as it was during the historic Gold Rush era, we decided to develop vineyards on the property," says Perry.

The Perrys have been avid wine enthusiasts for more than 30 years and, with the help of friends, they planted Syrah and Barbera in the summer of 2002. In 2004 they realized their dream and built the winery next to their new vineyard.

"California has an excellent climate for growing grapes. The Sierra Foothills are particularly well suited for Rhône and Italian varietals like Syrah and Barbera," says Perry. "The latitudes between southern France, Northern Italy and we here in the Foothills line up making our growing climates similar."

As their vineyard was not yet mature enough to produce the quantity of grapes they needed, the first few vintages came from grapes purchased from local vineyards as well as other areas in California. Fawnridge knows that excellent wine comes from high quality grapes.

The Fawnridge wines are, not surprisingly, well received by customers and wine competition judges alike.

"We made 350 and 500 cases of wine our first and second vintages respectively, and sold out both years," says Perry. "Our third year should be in the 1,200 to 1,500 case range; year four, who knows."

Fawnridge currently has eight wines to choose from, of which one has already sold out.

One of the two grape varietals that they have in their vineyard is a local Foothills favorite - Syrah. The current Fawnridge Syrah release is not from estate fruit.

"Next year will be our first vintage of estate Syrah," says Perry with pride. "(This wine is) a well-aged Syrah with a fruit-forward quality and creamy texture. A soft, balanced finish makes this wine great alone or with food."

Barbera is the other estate fruit. Perry describes this wine as, "A fruit-forward classic with traditional spiciness and a nicely balanced acidity. Aged in French oak to bring out its full-bodies richness."

The Merlot exhibits spicy flavors of plum, blackberry and black cherry. It has a well-balanced acidity and soft tannins.

For their Chardonnay, half was fermented in stainless steel tanks and half in French oak barrels. This wine will appeal to a broad range of Chard drinkers.

"It's made from Sierra Foothill grapes grown at 2,500-foot elevation," says Perry. "This wine greets you with fresh fruit that merges to flavors of ripe pear and pineapple with a hint of spice and subtle buttery, vanilla finish. Not too much oak, it has a soft mouth feel. A great wine with food or to sip all by itself."

The Old Vine Zinfandel is the recipient of several awards from California's Orange County Fair and New York's Finger Lakes wine competitions.

"The grapes come from Amador County where the average age of the vines is 100 years old," says Perry. "Classic berry, spice and pepper aromas. Classic 'old vine' finish with a touch of chocolate from one of our Hungarian oak barrels. It's big!"

This year is their first release of a local favorite - a Sierra Foothills style Port.

"This is our first release of a Port wine and we think everyone will like it," says Perry. "It is a blend of Amador and Nevada County grapes with a few from Mendocino and Napa. It is delightfully fruity, with a semi-sweet creamy finish."

The Fawnridge Sangiovese is another medal winner.

"It has a fragrant nose of fresh ripe strawberries," says Perry. "It's a bit spicy in the classic Italian tradition with wonderful fruit throughout. This well-balanced wine pairs nicely with your favorite pasta or can be enjoyed all by itself."

The last in their line up is a red blend named Le Bon Temps Rouler, which is French for "Let the good times roll."

"This is our first table wine we named after the great Louisiana saying encouraging everyone to have fun," says Perry. "This wine is a blend of award winning Cabernet and great Merlot from the Sierra Foothills. It's another one of our fruit-forward wines that is full of bright berries, plum and a cherry finish. Well balanced acidity and tannins and a silky finish."

As both Stewart and Stephanie Perry still maintain full time jobs (outside the wine business), visitors should call in advance before visiting the winery. Finding the winery isn't difficult, but visiting their Web site (www.fawnridgewine.com) for driving directions is recommended. The winery is located at 5560 Fawnridge Road, Auburn.

You can also find Fawnridge wines in several Auburn and Tahoe restaurants and in local wine shops.

For more information, call (530) 887-9522.