Russian River Wine Country – Sonoma Cty.

April in Wine Country – Piner Road/Olivet Road

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This is one of our favorite months in wine country. The weather is warm and California poppies are proudly blooming among the vines. The main event this month is bud break. It signals a new growing period for the vines and it is the perfect time to savor the beauty of wine country.

We have a couple of suggested trips for this month. We’ll start with one in the Santa Rosa region. We’ll call it the Piner Road/Olivet Road Trail. In our next blog post, we will tell you about a great set of interesting wineries in the Geyserville area in northern Sonoma County.

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Merry Edwards Tasting Room – Awesome Sauvignon Blanc

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Drop by any day of the week and you will likely find that the Merry Edwards tasting room is a very busy place in the Russian River Valley wine country of Sonoma County. The draw here is the owner and winemaker Merry Edwards.

Francis Ford Coppola Winery — A Hollywood Touch

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Movie director Francis Ford Coppola of the famed Godfather movies is big on wine. So big on wine that in fact he owns two wineries. At his majestic and historic Rubicon Estate Winery in the Napa Valley he concentrates on making the finest wines possible from his estate vineyards in the Napa Valley. Near the town of Geyserville, about five miles north of Healdsburg, Francis Ford Coppola is nearing the completion of numerous renovations to the famous and former Chateau Souverain that he purchased in 2008. At this venue he makes and bottles thousands of cases of wine made from grapes sourced from throughout California. These are really good wines but more intended for the average wine consumer.

Since his purchase, this winery has gone through a couple of names but now he has settled on the Francis Ford Coppola Winery. The famous director has left no stone unturned in his quest to make this winery into one of the most popular tourists attractions in this neck of the woods of Sonoma County. Yes, once it is done people will flock here as they did on the recent Labor Day weekend when at least 1000 visitors were served in the restaurant and in the tasting room.

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Robert Rue Vineyard – A Must Visit

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The Robert Rue vineyard is unique in character in that not only are the Zinfandel vines are over 100 years old but also the vineyard is sprinkled with Petite Syrah, Alicante Boschet, and Carignane.

Benovia Winery Pinot Noir and Photography

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How often does a winery sponsor a photography class? I don’t recall any winery offering this type of class or experience. Benovia Winery located in the Russian River Valley AVA just might be the only winery ever to venture into this territory. The class was a great treat for the 32 wine and photo buffs who participated in one of two daylong sessions this past Saturday and Sunday. The attendees were instructed by Con Keyes, a long-time and now retired photographer with the L.A. Times. In addition, Bob Mosby, Benovia’s General Manager, and Tucker Catlin, vineyard developer, were present to lead us around the winery and give us insights into winery operations. The winery even went as far as bringing in some vineyard staff to work the vines, drop late-developing fruit and do some shoot thinning. They were instructed to work slowly so we could capture the “moment”with our digital cameras.

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Visit to Merriam Vineyards in Healdsburg

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Merriam Vineyards is one of the newest wineries in Healdsburg wine country. Owners Peter and Diana purchased several vineyards in 2000 and this year opened a very attractive New England style winery and tasting room. We visited this winery on Wednesday with friends, took a quick tour, and had the chance to taste all of the Merriam wines. Should you put this winery on your “must visit”list?

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The Best of the Eastside Bunch

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They call themselves the “Eastside Bunch.”Who are they? The Eastside Bunch are eight wineries located near each other (within 2 miles) on the east side of the Russian River in Sonoma County. Each year, they hold an open house called the Summer Fest. We managed to visit most of those wineries at the Summer Fest event and went back again to a few during the week to get a better visit when things were not so crowded. Here is my quick review of each of these wineries.

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Life on Limerick Lane in Russian River Wine Country

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We are renting the Santarini House on Limerick Lane very near the town of Healdsburg. Limerick Lane is a small country road that is only about two miles in distance. Meitz, Christie, Christopher Creek, and Limerick Lane wineries are located on this beautiful vineyard-lined country road. Limerick Lane runs into Old Redwood Highway and on this road are located the wineries of Foppiano, Acorn, Rodney Strong, and J Vineyards, all within 2 miles of one another.

This area of wine country is at the northern end of the Russian River Valley AVA. It is a little warmer at this end of the AVA so you find less Pinot Noir growing here than you will find farther south. Pinot Noir is the grape that has made the Russian River Valley a notable AVA. On Limerick Lane there are mostly Zinfandel vineyards but you’ll find some Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah.

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More on Dry Creek Valley, The Trip Planner, & Robert Mondavi Summer Concerts

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We recently blogged about Montemaggiore and Quivira wineries, two biodynamic wineries in the Dry Creek Valley. There are at least four other wineries practicing sustainable and organic farming in the Dry Creek Valley. If you are interested in touring the sustainable wineries of the Dry Creek Valley, I have outlined a suggested two-day tour of these wineries on WineCountryGetaways.com. One thing that is very nice about visiting wineries in the Dry Creek Valley is that most of the wineries are small and family-owned. If you visit during the week, you might even find the winemaker or owner in the tasting room.

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Montemaggiore in the Dry Creek Valley — Russian River Wine Country

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We explored the Dry Creek Wine region this past weekend and for us it’s always like being there for the first time. The beauty and splendor of this area never ceases to astonish us. Exploring the Dry Creek Valley is fun and easy to do. The Dry Creek Valley is an easy drive from the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. Drive north on Highway 101 for 65 miles and take the Dry Creek Exit and head west. There are two roads that follow the Dry Creek Valley. The main road is Dry Creek Road and on the opposite side and west of the creek (Dry Creek) is West Dry Creek Road. Most of the 60 or more wineries can be found on these two roads. We highly recommend a getaway to Dry Creek Valley. Put it on your calendar and book your lodging in the nearby town of Healdsburg where you will also find gourmet restaurants and high-end shopping.

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