The vineyard is nestled in the breathtaking Esmeralda Valley of Calaveras County, in the Sierra Foothills of Northern California. The noteworthy Sierra Foothill region is now experiencing a resurgence of accolades, with the “Gold Rush” coming from medals and awards for handcrafted wines of the highest quality and recognition for grape growing.

The Esmeralda Valley was originally planted with low-field crops, fruit and nut trees when Gay Callan, owner and native San Franciscan (as well as 5th generation Californian) started her adventure. Today the vineyard boasts 14 varietals of grapes planted on 65 acres including, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Syrah, Brunello Sangiovese and 5 Portuguese varietals.

The Esmeralda Valley’s warm days and cool evenings provide the perfect climate for cultivating premium selections planted in the vineyard. The variable soils from clay to sandy loam and “shallow” rocky strata, have all proven to produce award-winning grapes for Chatom Vineyards. Chatom began producing wines under a custom crush program in 1985, but quickly out-grew itself. This growth justified the construction of the Winery and Tasting Room, which opened in early 1991. The winery is located just 2 miles west of Historic Murphys on scenic Highway 4 in Calaveras County. The rammed earth winery and crush pad were designed with the focus on creating quality wines, both produced and bottled on site. The Mediterranean setting offers an open and friendly tasting environment along with beautiful gardens and picnic grounds create a welcoming, unhurried atmosphere for guests to enjoy while sampling the wines.

In 2004, Chatom Vineyards was honored to bring in Mark Kunz as the winemaker. Mark’s 20 years of experience in winemaking has given him the patience and knowledge needed to produce our quality Chatom wines. He started his career at Piper Sonoma, then worked at B.R.Cohn, and was at Matanzas Creeek for over a decade. Chatom is certain that Mark’s experience, knowledge and handcrafted artistry will continue the long history of award-winning Chatom wines.

We invite you to plan your next adventure to Calaveras County where you will be able to experience the high caliber wines coming from the Sierra Foothills. Once in Calaveras... we invite you to visit our tasting room where you will sample Chatom’s wines, while becoming a member of the Chatom family. The complimentary tasting room is open 7 days a week from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.