Day Trip – Three New Wineries near Healdsburg, CA

We decided to investigate three new wineries near the wine country town of Healdsburg in north Sonoma County. Only one of these wineries is actually new, the other two are under new ownership.

From the Golden Gate Bridge we head north to the town of Healdsburg. We take the Dry Creek Road turnoff from Highway 101 to the right and then shortly a left turn onto Healdsburg Avenue. In about four miles we take a right on Highway 128, the Alexander Valley Road.  Shortly after crossing the Alexander Valley bridge over the Russian River, we take a left on West Sausal Lane and drive another five miles on this road to Murphy-Goode.

Murphy-Good Estate Winery

Murphy-Goode Estate Winery was sold to Kendall Jackson in 2006. Fortunately, Kendall Jackson has kept the former staff intact.  The winery, established in 1985, is best known for Fume Blanc. The Fume is a big production wine found in many wine shops and supermarkets. What we discovered on this trip was that Murphy-Goode makes delicious red wine. These red wines are made from selected vineyards in the Alexander Valley. Our favorites were the Claret Wild Card and Liar’s Dice Zinfandel. One cannot go wrong selecting any of the Murphy-Goode wines.

Mosaic Vineyards & Winery

Continuing north along the same road we visit the Mosaic Vineyards & Winery , formerly known as DeLorimier Winery. An investment group headed by two former brewmasters purchased the winery in 2006. The winery name is officially Mosaic but they are using the DeLorimier name to designate their estate and higher quality wines. There is a tasting fee of $5 or $10 depending on which wines are tasted.  The majority of wineries in this area do not charge a tasting fee, so this is a bit out of the norm.  The wines we tasted were decent but we thought only one wine was exceptional and that was the Sangiovese. It is a delightful wine but at $24 too high priced for a Sangiovese.

Lunch in Geyserville.

This is only a tiny town but it does a have few interesting places to shop and dine. There are two tasting rooms in town. One is Locals, a tasting room featuring several local boutique wineries. The other tasting room is Meeker Vineyards, housed in an old bank office. This place is really a kick!

Santi Restaurant is one of the best restaurants in the Healdsburg area. During the slow season they close for lunch on weekends, so the next best choice is the Hoffman House next door to the Geyserville Inn.  Santi is a gem of a restaurant, and if you are in the area be sure to try this Italian treasure.

After lunch we continued north on Geyserville Avenue and go under Highway 101 at Canyon Road. Canyon Road takes us from the Alexander Valley over hillside vineyards to the Dry Creek Valley. This is an absolutely beautiful area.

Amista Vineyards

Our mission on Dry Creek Road is to visit a new winery called Amista Vineyards . We called ahead and scheduled our visit with owners Vicky and Michael Farrow. The Farrows are using their home as a tasting room until the completion of their winery nearby. We had a wonderful time tasting and making friends with Vicky and Michael. They are very cordial and welcoming and definitely have a passion for what they are doing. Amista means making friends and Vicky and Michael approach to making wines is just that.

The Farrows opened four wines for us to taste. The Chardonnay ($22) is a non-oaky and fruity wine. The Cabernet ($26) is a very light and enjoyable wine but quite different from most Cabs. The Zinfandel ($22) and Syrah  ($24) wines are both excellent. We anxiously await the grand opening sometime later this year of their new facilities.