7505 Wise Rd.  |  Auburn  |  530-823-1159  |  LoneBuffaloVineyards.com

Walk into the tasting room at Lone Buffalo Vineyards in North Auburn and you’ll feel like family. “It’s the experience that matters” is the mantra. On any given weekend you will find the winemaker behind the bar and be greeted with a smile by his wife and daughter as well. Owner/Winemaker Phil Maddux has been making wine for over forty years - his roots go back to Sonoma County in the 1970s where he learned to make wine alongside some industry greats. He kept it as a hobby until about ten years ago when he and wife Jill decided to go commercial after they planted a small vineyard in South Auburn which produced five different varietals - their first commercial production was a mere 100 cases. Now, having outgrown that space, they operate a new facility which includes the winery, tasting room and homestead on a twelve-acre parcel in North Auburn right in the middle of the Placer County Wine & Ale Trail and produce about 2,000 cases/year. “We still want to stay small enough where we can do everything ourselves and be true to our small production, artisan values” says Phil, who not only enjoys the craft involved in winemaking, but also, the farming aspect of being a grape grower. Nowhere is the re-emergence of the winemaking tradition in Placer County more visible than at Lone Buffalo.

Open Fri-Sun 12-5pm