Drinking in Palm Springs, like everything else, is practiced in great style. Here are three unusual spots to get great drinks in Palm Springs, from an underground wine cellar to a bar at the top of a mountain.
Wines under the Desert Floor
If you stay at the Adobe House at Casa Cody in Palm Springs, your visit can include a wine experience for the memory book. Bend down and lift the cellar door hidden outside the Adobe House and descend the hidden staircase to the wine cellar below.
Surrounded by cool stone walls with bottles of wine tucked deep into cubby holes, you’ll have the intimate room to yourself. You can pick a bottle from the low-intervention-style wines of Los Gauchos winery in Mendoza, Argentina stored here. The grapes are farmed without pesticides, with nothing added to the final wine besides minimal sulfur.
Down in the cellar you can settle in at the cozy table and enjoy the wine along with a generous cheese and charcuterie board that will arrive to accompany it.
A Taste of Santa Barbara at La Plaza Tasting Room
For another kind of drinking in Palm Springs, you can visit a more conventional tasting room in an unexpected location at Jalama Wines, located in the La Plaza complex downtown.
In the midst of the casual outdoor shopping center, Mark Cargasacchi brings to Palm Springs his well-crafted wines made in Santa Barbara County.
Cargasacchi brings to his winemaking a vast knowledge of working the land from his family of ranchers and farmers. The family transformed a couple of plots to vine back in 1999 when they discovered the potential for grape-growing in the region.
The fog that settles in the Sta. Rita Hills cools the summer afternoons and evenings, allowing the grapes to ripen slowly and develop complex flavors. The area has since been critically acclaimed, and is now home to some of the best plots in the United States for Pinot Noir.
In the La Plaza tasting room you can sample Pinots, Cabernet Sauvignons, and Rhone varietals, and buy bottles to bring home. Note: Look for Caragaschi’s inaugural Blanc de Noir, a sparkling 100-percent Pinot Noir, scheduled to be released in February 2024. You can schedule a tasting here.
Elevate Your Libation with an 8,500-foot “High”
For a great example of a fine cocktail (and escape from the desert heat), I recommend the adventure of boarding the rotating gondola on the Palm Springs Tramway, to the top of Mt. Jacinto. After enjoying an exhilarating 16-minute ride, trek the trails, or simply take in the views.
When you’re ready, head inside Peaks Restaurant. Take a look at the dioramas of local wildlife and then the mountain vistas. Even when it’s warm in Palm Springs, there may be chilly temperatures and even snow up on the mountain. The opposite side of the restaurant gives you an incredible view of the vast valley below.
Before dinner, belly up to the bar for another great experience drinking in Palm Springs. There’s a nice selection of cocktails and local beer. If I were you, I’d ask bartender Trevor to mix you an Espresso Martini. It will arrive topped with a luscious white crema, and a gorgeous mouth-coating body. You’ll be sipping happily as the sun sets over the desert floor.
The author was hosted at some of the venues mentioned above.
- Read reviews of the Velvet Rope Hotel in Palm Springs.
- Learn about Palm Springs’ spa celebrating native culture.
Beth-Ellen Clausen blogs at OrganicWineTravel.com
