A Visit to Rodney Strong Vineyards

In a completely different section of the winery, the other 20% of the wines are produced. These are single-vineyard or specially-selected grapes for the upper tier wines. These wines are aged in French oak barrels for two years.

Battaglini Winery in Russian River Wine Country

At the Battaglini Winery, things are done the old-fashioned way. Italian native Joe Battaglini is the owner and winemaker. Joe and his wife Lucia purchased the then-abandoned winery in 1988 and produced their first vintage in 1994.

Healdsburg to Guerneville best wine country backroad

What is your favorite backroad in all of wine country? We have many that we like on our list, but we think this one certainly qualifies as one of the best. As you read about the points of interest along the route from Healdsburg to Guerneville, you surely will agree and want to give it … Read more

Porter Creek Vineyards Review

image of porter creek tasting room
Our visit to Porter Creek Vineyards

Our last visit to Porter Creek Vineyards was in 2002. We enjoyed the smallness of the winery and the family atmosphere. However, we thought the wines were a mixed bag of quality, particularly the Pinot Noir wines. After all, Porter Creek is situated in the land of Pinot Noir grapes, the Russian River Valley. Perhaps it was because we had just previously visited Rochioli Winery, where we tasted “out-of-this-world” Pinot Noir wines. We felt that with the Russian River Valley terroir, the Porter Creek wines should have been better. For that reason, Porter Creek Vineyards did not make it onto our list of wineries on the Russian River Valley Wine Trail.

Last week we revisited Porter Creek Vineyards. Much remains the same as it was years ago. It is the same tiny, cozy tasting room, and it is the same family running the winery. However, this time the wines were much better overall than we had remembered, and we were impressed with the Pinot Noir wines we tasted. So what changed over the years? In 1997 Alex Davis took over the winemaking duties from his father and founder George Davis. It took a few years for Alex’s winemaking skills to come forward and show their style. Alex studied winemaking at Fresno State University and then spent several years in the Burgundy area of France learning the winemaking practices of the legendary Pinot Noir region.

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Lancaster Estate Winery in the Chalk Hill AVA – Review

Lancaster winery in Sonoma wine countryAlmost shocking to hear, but not unexpected these days, the Lancaster Estate winery, a family-owned winery, has been sold to a large wine conglomerate. In this instance the buyer is Bill Foley, whose Foley Family Wines owns several wineries including the neighboring Chalk Hill Winery and Chateau Felice, as well as the Sebastiani Family winery located in the town of Sonoma.

This sale happened earlier this month just before we were scheduled to visit the winery for a tour and cave dinner, an event sponsored by the Wine Tourism Conference held in Santa Rosa. Despite the sale, the event took place as planned and we were certainly impressed with the beauty of the winery and its setting in the Chalk Hill area of Sonoma County.

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Paradise Ridge winery – best sunset and sculpture

Review of Paradise Ridge Winery

Great views, an amazing outdoor sculpture exhibit, and delicious wines is what the wine country visitor will find at Paradise Ridge Winery in the hills of Santa Rosa. We visited Paradise Ridge last Tuesday evening for a special winery dinner event. It is a fun spot and a destination where you can spend several hours; there is that much to do and see. A wonderful excursion!

The winery is located in a residential area in the northeastern hills of Santa Rosa. One would never know a winery is hidden in this modern housing tract. It is far off the beaten path of wineries and is the only winery in this area of Santa Rosa. There are few signs to guide you to the winery, so be sure to have your map in hand, pinpointing the winery on your GPS system to guide you.

Spirit of the man sculpture exhibit at Paradise Ridge
Spirit of the Man
The first thing that catches the eye is an amazing metal sculpture as you drive up the entrance to the winery. It is part of the exhibit “The Spirit of the Man.” Our next article on the Wine Travelers will give you complete details of this not-to-be-missed art exhibit. Once you park your car and head to the tasting room, you will be completely mesmerized by the view from the deck of the tasting room. You’ll have a great look at the vineyards below, the Russian River Valley, and the city of Santa Rosa. On Wednesday evenings during the warm weather months, the winery hosts an event called “Wines and Sunsets in Paradise.” Visitors pack their picnic dinners, savor Paradise Ridge wines, and enjoy the fantastic sunsets. We were lucky enough on our visit to witness one of the more spectacular sunsets at Paradise Ridge.

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Winemaker Brian Maloney zips and dashes between DeLoach and Buena Vista wineries

I met with Brian at the DeLoach winery located on Olivet Road in the Russian River Valley near Santa Rosa, CA. He says the workdays are long but rewarding. On many days he travels to both wineries, plus the Raymond winery in the Napa Valley.

Diavola Restaurant – The Little Restaurant that Could

For the past four years, Dino Bugica has been running his little amazing Italian restaurant, Diavola Pizzeria & Salumeria, in the quiet town of Geyserville. When it first opened, few thought that this tiny town could support more than one upscale restaurant.

Armida Winery – one of the best picnic wineries

Enjoying a picnic lunch at a winery is one of life’s finer pleasures. We have our list of favorite wineries with great picnic areas and views, and the Armida Winery is one of those that head the list. Armida is located on the edge of the Dry Creek Valley on Westside Road, a couple of miles from the town of Healdsburg. It is small family-run winery producing 10,000 to 12,000 cases a year.

The winery is situated high on a hill affording a spectacular view of the Russian River Valley area. Yes, although the winery is situated in the Dry Creek AVA, the view is of the neighboring Russian River Valley. The winery has a good-sized deck with several tables that afford this wonderful scene. A pond just below the deck adds to the beauty of the vineyards off in the distance. Once people experience this beauty, they return again and again to enjoy this spot. Saturdays are very popular here, especially from Spring to the early Fall months.

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Harvest Film at Sonoma Film Fest and other Wine News

The 15th Annual Sonoma International Film Festival is April 11 to 15. For you wine lovers and wine country enthusiasts, the festival will debut the film “Harvest,” a feature-length documentary that follows five Sonoma County family wineries and their experiences in the harvest of 2011. I have not seen the film but I have watched the trailer. It looks like a terrific documentary. I won’t be at the film festival, but I sure hope I have the opportunity to see this film later in the year at other venues. Check out the trailer.

Benziger Family and Earth Day
Benziger Family Winery will host a winery event and nationwide wine tastings to spotlight sustainable winemaking in commemoration of Earth Day. At the winery, the event is called “Earth Day at the Estate” and will be a wine tasting with Mike Benziger. The event will take place April 21 from 11:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Benziger Family Winery, 1883 London Ranch Road in Glen Ellen. The cost is $40.00 for Wine Club Members and their guests and $60.00 for the general public. Seating is limited. To reserve a spot call 800-989-8890 or email buywine@benziger.com.
Throughout Earth Week (April 22-28), select wine shops and stores nationwide will offer “green flights” of Benziger Family Winery’s award-winning wines at in-store tastings sponsored by the winery’s distributor, Kobrand Corporation. For a complete list of participating locations visit www.benziger.com/earthday. Profits from both events will go to supporting the land and the community of farm workers who tend it.

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