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Inside Carpe Vino
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Welcome to Carpe Vino

This web site is your direct connection to wines of the Sierra Foothills and a slice of history in a tiny enclave called Old Town Auburn. It's where we've set up shop as Carpe Vino, latin for "Seize the Wine."

Carpe Vino auburn Our goal is to provide an always-on link to this little time warp of a world, where change is an unwelcome visitor. This is a community of antique shops and restaurants and bars housed in rough brick structures that date back to the early 1850s, hastily constructed after gold was discovered nearby in 1848. Old Town was once home to bawdy saloons and bordellos, but rowdy gold miners and dream chasers are long gone, replaced by modern day hell-raisers who roar into town on their Harleys.

I-80 is virtually at our doorstep, so as many people find us by accident as those who do on purpose. Bikers head single-mindedly to our two watering holes, the Shanghai and the California Club, where they find comfort in draft beer and community in their brotherhood of riders.

Many travelers simply stop for gas and something to eat as they ply the concrete of I-80, which transverses the full width of the country. For most, encountering our ancient rest stop is a welcome diversion, especially those who enter Carpe Vino.

Shanghai As much as we appreciate the travelers and tourists who visit our shop, our admiration is unrestrained for the wine enthusiasts of Auburn who have responded so warmly since we opened in August of 2002. Our neighbors have helped turn Carpe Vino into a new social center for the community, giving our business the legs it needs to prosper.