Boeger launched the El Dorado County wine scene 50 years ago. Here’s how it’s celebrating

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More than 70 wineries dot El Dorado County today. Fifty years ago, there was only one.

Boeger Winery — and by extension, the modern El Dorado County wine scene — celebrated its golden anniversary last weekend, a party that will roll into Saturday and Sunday.

El Dorado County had 4,300 acres of vineyards in 1898, but just 11 acres growing for out-of-county wineries in the early 1960s.

By the time Greg and Susan Boeger fell in love with the region while drinking a bottle of wine under a fig tree, though, word was getting around: soil scientists had identified the Sierra Nevada foothills as prime growing territory.

The Boegers quit their jobs as state workers and bought the Fossati family’s old Placerville pear orchard in February 1972. They converted it to a vineyard and began by planting French varietals such as merlot and cabernet before adopting the more niche Italian and Spanish grapes such as negroamaro and barbera for which Boeger Winery is now known.

What Bogle Vineyards was to Clarksburg in those early years, Boeger was to El Dorado County. The Bogle and Boeger family patriarchs shared the California State Fair’s 2018 Wine Lifetime Achievement Award.

Boeger championed the foothills’ slopes, high temperatures and cool pockets as ideal terrain for certain reds, and drew outside attention to foothill towns such as Camino and Placerville.

The Boegers co-founded the El Dorado Winery Association and the El Dorado Wine Grape Growers Association, and helped get the region formally recognized as an American viticultural area in 1983. As the awards streamed in, Greg Boeger made a point of sharing knowledge and vine clippings with newer farmers, his and Susan’s son Justin said.

“The great thing about wine industry in general, but particularly in El Dorado (is that) I feel like we’re really close,” said Justin Boeger, the winery’s winemaker since 1998. “A rising tide lifts all ships, so we really try to work and collaborate with everybody to make sure more people are aware of the great wine that come out of this (region).”

Greg still oversees the vineyard, and will have his hands full as the winery ramps up production of whites such as pinot gris and sauvignon blanc over the next five to 10 years, Justin said.

Boeger’s anniversary celebration continues this weekend with vineyard strolls, barrel tastings in the cellar and blacksmith demonstrations at 1709 Carson Road in Placerville – about 45 miles from Sacramento. Visit https://www.boegerwinery.com/50th-anniversary-open-house for more information.

What I’m Eating

Kai and Suji Jung grew up in Davis and South Korea, met while cooking in Hawaii and opened Woodland’s Kuji Asian Grill in January 2019. The menu at 1801 E. Gibson Road merges those backgrounds as seamlessly as “Kuji” combines the owners’ names.

Half of Kuji’s menu is dedicated to takes on Hawaiian plate lunch, similar to a Southern meat-and-three. Fiery housemade kimchi, rice, Korean pickles and bacon bit-topped potato macaroni salad come with entrees such as salmon ($14), cooked beautifully in a sweet-savory sesame glaze with a crunchy layer of skin over the top.

The K-chicken sandwich ($13) is another smash hit, a riff on the trendy dish that ranks among the region’s best. Crisp chicken katsu nestles between two thin slices of toast with a funky slaw, pepper aioli and galbi sauce, with a side of fries that were firm but still fluffy inside.

The pork belly salad ($13) had nice texture contrast between its bright lettuce, garlic chips, dried mushrooms and pickled onions. While the flagship meat was slightly overcooked, it was at least masked by a domineering spicy soy pepper vinaigrette.

The Jungs and Kuji have had a tangible impact on Woodland’s dining scene. To highlight other Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders in the Sacramento region, nominate them for The Bee’s Top 25 AAPI Change Makers by July 22, a new project similar to the Top 25 Black Change Makers list published earlier this year.

Openings & Closings

The Bee’s wonderful utility team and talented interns wrote a ton of opening and closing news this last week while I was working on the story about Naija Boy Tacos. Here are few notable ones:

• Loyal Legion Beer Hall opened at 1201 J St. in downtown Sacramento last Friday. Equipped with 99 taps pouring Northern California beers and a vegetarian-focused menu, it’s attached to a project that includes Cora Coffee and Centrl Office co-working space.
• East Sacramento burger favorite The Shack is closing July 31 at 5201 Folsom Blvd. Originally opened in 1931, its bamboo-enclosed patio and down-home menu helped draw in loyal customers for decades.
• Additionally, I missed Sprinkles on Top in my roundup of June openings, but Inder and Kiran Singh’s Elk Grove frozen yogurt shop debuted June 18 at 9630 Bruceville Road, Suite 103. Look for Taijin-dusted fro-yo cup rims as well as waffles and other desserts.

This story was originally published July 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.