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Glen Ellen Wine Trail
- Sonoma Valley
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Tour Details:
This
wine tour offers a great mix of wineries. The wine trial
begins in the Carneros Wine Appellation and then travels
along Arnold Road to the quaint town of Glen Ellen. There
are some outstanding restaurants and places to stay in
Glen Ellen. The Glen Ellen Market is upscale and is an
excellent place to pick up a picnic lunch to go along
with a great day of wine tasting.
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Winer Descriptions, Driving directions, Tasting Room Hours
From the Golden Gate Bridge, travel north on Highway 101 for 20
miles. Take Highway 37 towards Vallejo. Travel for 7 miles and
take the left turn directing drivers to the Infineon Raceway and
Sonoma. This is Highway 121. Travel another 6 miles and there will
be a major intersection. At this intersection take a left on Bonneau
Road to visit the first winery, Schug Winery.
Schug Winery
This winery is located at the northern end of the Carneros appellation
just before the Sonoma Valley and Sonoma Mountain appellations
begins. This is a lovely drive along Bonneau to the Schug Winery.
The winery is a small family owned winery specializing in Pinot
Noir and Chardonnay from their estate Carneros vineyards. The tasting
room atmosphere is friendly and Schug is one of the few wineries
in the area that does not charge a tasting room fee. The estate
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are consistently good and priced at around
$20 per bottle.
Tasting room open daily, 10 am to 5, (707) 939-9363 ext 202
Email:david@schugwinery.com Schug
Winery
Valley of the Moon Winery
From Schug, turn left onto Highway 116
and take Arnold Drive towards Glen Ellen.Travel for about 6 miles
and turn right on Madrone. The winery will be on the left in just
a very short distance. As you approach the tasting room, you will
be able to see the stone portion of the original winery built in
1887. The tasting room is a lavish room with many items for sale
including various art pieces. There is also a modern winemaking
facility off to the right of the tasting room. Revitalization is
the key word at this winery, and a collection of premium wines
represents a dramatic change in wine productions at this historic
winery. The wines are reasonably priced and we especially love
their Pinot Blanc.
Tasting room open daily, 10 am to 4:30, (707) 996-6941
Email: luna@valleyofthemoonwinery.com, Valley
of the Moon Winery
Eric Ross Winery
From Madrone, turn right on Arnold Drive and travel
about one mile. The Eric Ross tasting room is located in Jack London
Village. The Eric Ross Winery is a very small production winery
owned and operated by two former San Francisco Chronicle photographers,
Eric Luse and John Ross Storey. At the the quaint Jack London Village
you can taste some wonderful wines and do some browsing as well.
Several of the wines come from vineyards over from the west side
of Sonoma in the cooler climates of the Russian River Valley AVA.
The Zinfandels are tops here.
Tasting room open Thursday through Monday, 11 am to 4:30, (707)
939-8525
Email: jstorey@ericross.com, Eric Ross Winery
Benziger Family Winery
Just a short distance beyond Jack London Village on Arnold
Drive, watch for signs pointing toward Jack London Park and the
Benziger Winery. You will turn left onto London Ranch Road and
drive for about three quarters of a mile. The Benziger Winery is
a very fun winery to visit. If you have only a limited time to
visit one winery, choose this one. There is a lot to do here as
well as being a great spot for a picnic lunch. We recommend you
take the tour for $10. You will learn a great deal about winemaking,
and it includes a tasting of some fine reserve wines. Spend some
time at the Vineyard Discovery Center. You will learn about the
various trellis systems and why each type is used. Benziger practices
biodynamic farming. The tasting room has lots of merchandise
including framed art work. Visiting Benziger is an enjoyable
and educational wine experience.
Tasting room open daily 10 am to 5, (707) 935-3000
E-mail:
greatwine@benziger.com. Benziger
Mayo Family Winery
To reach Mayo from Benziger,
take a left onto Arnold Dr. You will travel through the heart of
Glen Ellen. There are several good restaurants and places to stay
on this stretch. Mayo is located at the end of Arnold Dr. where
it meets Highway 12. Mayo recently opened this Glen Ellen tasting
room and limited production wine facility. Mayo specializes
in single vineyard wines and small case production. Mayo’s
Zinfandels have been a favorite of many of the locals. From Mayo,
one can loop back on Highway 12 to either visit the town of Sonoma
or eventually take Highway 121 back to San Francisco.
Tasting room open daily 10:30 am to 6:30, (707) 938-9401
E-mail: jeffmayo@aol.com Mayo
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