How far am I willing to go for a bargain? This far.

Antique shops in the Sierra foothills are some of the best.

Peggy Nauts

I resist the idea of new furniture. Give me the time-worn variety any day—chairs that have known countless rumps, tables that have witnessed tipsy dinner parties and sober homework sessions. Plus, there’s the thrill of the hunt. When I’m in the mood for antiquing, I ditch the Bay Area for the Sierra foothills, southwest of Lake Tahoe. There, the prices are right—you can pick up an oak rolltop desk for less than $1,000—and after I reel in my latest find, I can reward myself by sampling some bruiser zinfandels.

Several gold-country towns near Amador’s wine country—Sutter Creek, Amador City, and Jackson—are chockablock with antiques stores. Some feature corny china figurines and other sad effluvia, but if you keep looking, you can unearth some bargains worth bragging about. Two of my furniture favorites are Real Deal Antiques and the Water Street Antiques warehouse, both in Jackson. Well-edited Real Deal sells mostly American and English pieces, with such treasures as a carved English walnut cabinet for $845. An enormous space packed with largely European antiques, the Water Street warehouse holds an overwhelming collection of well-priced bookcases, armoires, bureaus, and more. It sells many of these treasures to dealers in the Bay Area, who then charge a hefty markup. A tank of gas and a touch of persistence pay off here.

I don’t like to rush, so when I’m headed to Jackson, I book a room at the Gate House Inn. The Gate House also works as a jumping-off point for the Shenandoah Valley, known for old-vine zins originally cultivated by gold miners. In the past few years, there’s been a boomlet in wineries, with about eight new ones popping up. And zinfandel isn’t the only wine on the list these days: Winemakers like Vino Noceto, Domaine de la Terre Rouge, and Sobon Estate score medals with their Italian and Rhône varietals. But the more things change, the more they remain the same—cruising around the lush countryside still feels like visiting Napa decades ago. I might see a hawk homing in on its prey and flocks of grazing sheep, and the proud winemakers don’t charge me a dime to taste their goods.

Amador Vintners’ Association: 209-245-6992, amadorwine.com;Gate House Inn: 1330 Jackson Gate Rd., Jackson, 209-223-3500, gatehouseinn.com; Real Deal Antiques: 104 Main St., Jackson, 209-257-1954, cochrans.com/realdeal; Water Street Antiques & Interiors: 11101 Hwy. 88, Jackson, 209-223-4189, waterstreetantiques.com