For History Hounds: The Original Skinner Winery

James Skinner and Family, Circa 1882

We like to indulge in historical reminiscence about the background of Skinner Vineyards, and so we were delighted to find a few notes of interest on the enotes.com website.

For history hounds, you can see parts of the Skinner Vineyard and Winery from the early 1860s at the intersection of Green Valley Road and Cameron Park Drive in Cameron Park, CA.

The original Skinner Winery may not have been located in Cameron Park, as this is a relatively new community. The location that James Skinner chose is in the Northern California Gold Country of the Sierra Nevada foothills. To get there, you’ll drive approximately 30 miles east from Sacramento.

What remained in early 2000's

Currently, when you visit the old Skinner ranch, says enotes, “you’ll see a portion of the cellar (integrated into the Cameron Park Nursery on the northeast corner of the intersection), a tiny remnant of the distillery wall (behind mobile homes in the mobile home park near the southeast corner of the intersection), and the Skinner cemetery (near the south-west corner of the intersection). The cemetery contains the graves of James and Jessie Skinner (née Bernard) and three of their sons. The cemetery is located on a small hill just southwest of the intersection behind the facade of Round Table Pizza. Only remnants of a few headstones remain due to the elements and vandalism.”



Ryan and Kevin Skinner in the original winery

Mike and Carey Skinner have plans to improve the original winery site, so stay tuned! You can learn more about the Skinner heritage on the Skinner Vineyards and Winery website. Click here!