Dawn Baca

A Date at Camp 4 Wine Café

About a month ago an impromptu lunch and errand run to prepare for the upcoming annual man hike lead us over to first Jaunt (a specialty outdoor sporting goods store) for some last minute items, then next door for a glass of wine at Camp 4 Wine Café. It’s an odd shaped building, nestled on a corner street, It has a big mural of a rock climber on the side of it, giving you the feeling of adventure, but we had no idea of the pleasures just beyond the rustic style door inside. We’d passed by it at least a dozen times, always talking about taking a peek, but never managing to slow down long enough to actually do it.

After a spontaneous un-impressive lunch at another establishment in town, we were not thinking of food when we checked in, only thinking a quick glass of wine would be a nice way to end our weekend.

We entered the building to find an intimate open layout. A mixture of small tables in the middle of the floor, to tall tavern style tables on the sides, and a warmly lit bar where we gravitated to, greeted by a friendly warm staff. It was early so they were still preparing for the evening crowd, but still between folding napkins and polishing wine glasses introduced us to the evening wine samples or what they call flights, and the variety of Panini sandwiches. The contemporary colors mixed with the rustic style trims, the low lighting and awesome playlist, turned what was supposed to be a glass of wine into a three-hour visit.

We tasted a couple of flights while they introduced us to Castelvetrano olives, something I suggest everyone try at least once in their lives, then we ordered a bottle of Old Vine Zinfandel that they highly recommended. We stayed so long it was time for dinner so we had some specialty Panini style sandwiches and salads. Because we had been there so long, blending an afternoon snack into dinner, we were introduced to the owner Damon Robbins when he came in for the evening. As a member of the Royal Robbins family, he is no stranger to Yosemite, and it’s camp spot Camp 4. This is where his inspiration for the name came from, his childhood memories.

Then we purchased a couple bottles for the road. It was the first date night we’d had in quite some time, and a fantastic way for us to end the weekend.

This weekend we had another date night. It was a double date with really good friends of ours. We were to attend the annual charity event hosted by Families For Academic Excellence to raise funds for the school. We headed to Camp 4 Wine Café for a quick bite to eat and introduce our friends to our new favorite spot. They managed to find a spot for us even though we’d forgotten to make a reservation.

Our friends were very impressed with this new spot we’d found. We ordered some more specialty Panini’s and swapped half with each other. Running late for the event, we left Camp 4 again looking forward to another visit. And once again it turned out to be the best part of the evening.