Russian River Wine Country - Sonoma Cty. Archives - Page 2 of 6

Healdsburg to Guerneville best wine country backroad

February 20, 2013 by joe

Scenic Westside Rd.

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 a go yourself.

This lovely trip begins in the chic wine town of Healdsburg. If you have not been to Healdsburg, you’ll want to spend at least half a day. The town has many boutique shops, art galleries, restaurants and tasting rooms. See more on Healdsburg.

This drive will take you through breathtaking views of vineyards, Redwood trees, barns, and historic wineries. From the Healdsburg Plaza, go south on Healdsburg Avenue and turn right on Mill St. Take Mill St. under the freeway. Mill St. will lead you to Westside Road where your journey begins.

The first few miles will take you through the western edge of the Dry Creek Valley. The rest of the way you are in the Russian River Valley wine region or AVA. We will highlight a few of the best stops along the way but, if something else strikes your fancy, be sure to stop and take a look.

At Mill Creek Winery you’ll find a water wheel that will fascinate all age groups. The wine is great and so is the view. The next stop, just a short distance from Mill Creek, is the Armida Winery. Armida has one of the top scenic views in wine country, and a Bocce court to boot. A picnic lunch on the Armida deck, a game of Bocce with a glass of wine, and life can’t get much better.

Continue travels along Westside Road and stop at any winery that strikes your interest, but four miles after Armida are two wineries that should not be missed. Hop Kiln Winery is a hop kiln barn built in 1905. New owners have taken the wines up a couple of notches. Next door to Hop Kiln is Rochioli Vineyards, famous for its Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. The Pinot is so good, there is a long waiting list to buy their vineyard-designated wines.

The meandering road will take you past Porter Creek Vineyards and the MacMurray Ranch. You can visit Porter Creek and taste delicious Pinot Noir. MacMurray Ranch is not open to the public, but as you drive by, you can catch a glimpse of where movie and television star Fred MacMurray and his family would come for rest and relaxation.

In a few miles you will come to River Road at the end of Westside Road. Turn right on River Road and drive two miles to Korbel Cellars. Korbel Cellars is the home of sparkling wine and beautiful gardens. It is one of the oldest California wineries, with a starting date of 1872. Drop in to taste and, if you have time, take a tour of this amazing winery.

Korbel has a nice deli and terrace to enjoy a snack or lunch. A few miles ahead is the resort town of Guerneville. It is an interesting town that has changed little over the past 50 years. It is a very nice change of pace for wine country travelers.

Porter Creek Vineyards Review

January 17, 2013 by joe

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.

Lancaster Estate Winery in the Chalk Hill AVA – Review

November 27, 2012 by joe

Almost 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.

Paradise Ridge winery – best sunset and sculpture

November 17, 2012 by joe

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

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.

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

September 13, 2012 by joe

French open-top barrels

In 2003 Jean-Charles Boisset purchased DeLoach Vineyards and quickly revamped the winery, gaining certified biodynamic status, adding new wine making equipment, and most importantly hiring a young winemaker by the name of Brian Maloney. About a year ago Jean-Charles purchased Sonoma’s historic Buena Vista Winery, founded in 1857 and, as he did with Deloach, is making major changes and restoring the winery to its former glory. Brian Maloney was doing such a fine job as winemaker at DeLoach, it was an easy choice for Jean-Charles to make Brian the winemaker at Buena Vista as well.

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. The Raymond facility is where some of the wine for both DeLoach and Buena Vista is made. He says he is fortunate to have skilled assistant winemakers at each location, who can take over when he is not present.

The focus at both DeLoach and Buena Vista is to make top Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines, using wine making techniques that have been around for centuries. This means large wooden open-topped tanks where Pinot Noir ferments, where workers take turns punching down the fermenting grapes by hand. After fermentation, watchful barrel aging takes place. The key is in the vineyard, where organic and sustainable farming enables the terroir to fully represent itself in the wines.

I asked Brian if there will be any differences in the way the Pinot Noir from the DeLoach Russian River vineyards and the Carneros vineyards of Buena Vista will be made. Here is what he had to say:

At DeLoach 90,000 cases of wine are made annually. A large production of entry level wines is placed in many supermarkets and wine shops, while the second tier of wines is sold through the tasting room or offered on the wine list at select restaurants. Visitors can taste wines for a $10 tasting fee. Check the DeLoach Website for other tasting and tour options. Travelers can make a full day of wine tasting on Olivet Road. In addition to Deloach, on this three mile road, there are four other small and family-run wineries: Olivet Road Wine Trail.

Diavola Restaurant – The Little Restaurant that Could

June 1, 2012 by joe

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. The established and highly-regarded Santé restaurant was a few doors down, and Dino had been the head chef there. In just a short time, Diavola has become a very popular spot among the locals, as well as the workers and visitors to the nearby wineries of the Alexander Valley and the Dry Creek regions. We have been raving about this spot since it opened. Last week we organized a dinner at Diavola for our 8th annual WCG Bocce Tournament. Sixteen of us wined and dined to our delight, devouring a variety of delicious foods prepared by Dino and his crew.

We began our dinner with three orders of salami and cheese. The salami and sausages are house cured and wonderful. Then came the salad that was so amazingly good: The asparagus and egg salad has a lightly fried farm fresh egg, crispy pork belly, truffled pecorino and lemon vinaigrette. Oh, my!

Dino Bugica chef of Diavola in Geyserville

Dino working the pizza oven. Is Brian Wilson a fan?

For the entrée, we had a mix of tasty pizzas and creative pasta dishes. The pasta with the slowly braised pork, beef, basil, and pecorino cheese was without a doubt the crowd’s favorite. In our dinner party of 16 we had one person with dietary restrictions, and for her, Dino whipped up a farm fresh arugula salad and the most awesome pizza a vegan has probably ever seen or tasted, for that matter.

Here are a few testimonials from our party
Ray says: I thought the food was authentic artisanal Italian with fresh ingredients. The restaurant itself had the feel of a bistro while the service was excellent and well paced.

Mike says: Given the size of our group (number not weight) I thought the price was more than reasonable. They were very poised in their service and plates came at a good pace. I was most impressed by the individual style of each dish and how clear the flavors were displayed without any one flavor being dominant. Close your eyes and you could be in a country inn in Italy, the only thing missing was hearing Italian spoken. Comparing Diavola with other wine country restaurants, this is a clear winner. I highly recommend Diavola.

Janelle says: The food is delicious and innovative, the place feels friendly, and the prices and service were good.

Vegan Pizza

Tita says: Daviola was delightful. The chef was able to accommodate my vegan
needs with a beautiful fresh asparagus and tomato pizza without any
oil, dairy, meats. The salad was freshly prepared with artisan greens
and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Delicious. Special thanks to the
Chef.

The latest accolade for Diavola’s was the inclusion of this restaurant in the recent issue of the Wine Spectator magazine featuring the Sonoma County wine country. I’m not sure which will bring more business to the restaurant, this blog article or the full-page photo of a Diavola pizza in the Wine Spectator.

Menu and other information can be found on the Diavola Website. If you want to visit wineries in the Geyserville area, we have a terrific wine trail to follow. Bring back a bottle of your favorite Geyserville wine to Diavola and enjoy a fabulous Italian feast.

Armida Winery – one of the best picnic wineries

May 26, 2012 by joe

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.

Harvest Film at Sonoma Film Fest and other Wine News

April 5, 2012 by joe

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.

April in Wine Country – Piner Road/Olivet Road

April 2, 2011 by joe

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.

Merry Edwards Tasting Room – Awesome Sauvignon Blanc

November 11, 2010 by joe

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. She is one of the most respected winemakers in California, and when wine travelers on Highway 116 see the Merry Edwards winery entrance, they can hardly resist stopping by. The winery has been open about two years but the name Merry Edwards goes way back and has been renowned for making great Pinot Noir wines.

When the winery and tasting room first opened in 2008, guests were admitted by appointment only. With so many wine buffs eager to taste, it is hard to turn away the ones who just decide to drop in. We stopped by on a late Thursday afternoon without an appointment and had to wait in the business office while others finished their tasting.

Coopersmith Vineyards and the Winery

As I mentioned earlier, Merry Edwards Pinot Noir wines have long been a favorite of many and have received well-deserved accolades from the wine community. But it is the Sauvignon Blanc that really stands out above all others. The current release is the 2009 and it is nearly sold out. We were fortunate that there was a little left for us to try. So here is the deal on the Sauvignon Blanc. At first the aromas are quite similar to a good New Zealand-style Sauvignon Blanc, but that is where the similarity ends. When you taste this wine, it is a mouthful of rich elegance with a tad of oak and just the right acidity. Sometimes an S.B. will bowl you over with its high acidity but this one is made to perfection. As you might have guessed this S.B. does not come cheap. It is $30 a bottle while most Sauvignon Blancs are priced well under $20. Most of the grapes for this wine come from 30-year-old vines and the juice is barrel fermented in French oak, eighteen percent of which is new. This wine is like no other Sauvignon Blanc I have tried. We tried this wine with a recipe on the Merry Edward Website for “Roasted Corn Soup.” The paired combination of the Sauvignon Blanc and the soup is perfect.

If you plan to go to Merry Edwards, make an appointment to be sure you can get in to taste. With an appointment, you have a room to yourself and a more relaxed time to taste and enjoy these terrific wines. Nearby are two other outstanding wineries that make Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. They are Dutton Goldfield and Lynmar Winery. We also suggest you take the backroads if you are coming from San Francisco. Take the Sebastopol exit off 101 and travel west on HWY 116 for about 12 miles. The winery is just before the crossroads of HWY 116 and the town of Graton.