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You are here: Home / Archives for 100 year old wineries in Sonoma

100 Year Old Wineries Near Healdsburg

January 22, 2017 by joe

100 year old wineries healdsburg

Korbel on the Russian River near Guerneville, California.

Sonoma County is one of the founding regions of American wine. In the 1800s, there were many vineyards and several wineries. Today, these four 100-year-old wineries represent the magnificent and historical past of California viticulture. The four wineries are a short driving distance from the town of Healdsburg. Plot your stay and trip and visit one or more of these Sonoma 100-year-old wineries.

Four 100-year-old wineries near Healdsburg

Korbel Champagne Cellars

There is a special place in our hearts for Korbel. At the ripe old age of 21, we visited our very first winery, Korbel Cellars. That first visit got us hooked and started our journey of visiting wineries and vineyards around the world. What an impact! Korbel was founded in 1882 by Francis, Anton, and Joseph Korbel. The Heck Family, the current owners, bought the winery in 1954. It is a big-production, sparkling wine house producing over a million cases per year with distribution worldwide. Korbel has an excellent 50-minute tour followed by a tasting. The Korbel tour takes you through the step-by-step process of making sparkling wine in the French tradition. You will also want to check out the fantastic rose garden and the luxurious tasting room. There is also a good deli restaurant, where you can eat while enjoying one of the most beautiful settings along the Russian River.

Tasting Room Hours 10:00 – 4:30 Monday through Sunday. Champagne Cellar Tour Hours 11 – 3:00 Monday through Sunday. Garden Tour Hours 1:00 and 3:00 Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Mondays.Garden Tours offered mid-April to mid-October. (707) 824-7000, E-mail: info@korbel.com, Korbel

Simi in 1966

Simi Winery

Simi is another winery that we visited early on. I could not resist posting this photo taken in 1966. That is my son held by my mother while Janelle and I were inside the tasting room having loads of fun. Grandmothers always come to the rescue. In the photo, you can see that the tasting room was a mega-gallon redwood wine storage tank. We would walk down a few steps to the tasting bar where Isabelle Simi, in her 80’s was handling the wine tasting tasks. Isabelle was the daughter of Giuseppe Simi, who founded the winery along with his brother Pietro Simi in 1876. Isabelle ran the winery from Prohibition until she sold it in 1970 at the age of 84. For those of you old enough to remember Hollywood actress, comedian, and glamor queen, Mae West, Simi had a photo in the tasting room of Mae West with a sexy quote modified slightly: “Come up and Simi sometime.” That’s how fun the tasting room was to visit in those days. Simi Winery offers daily tours (11 am and 2 pm). The Simi tour leads you into the historic stone winery and gives a very informative look at winemaking. Simi owns prime acreage in the Alexander Valley and the Russian River Valley and can produce a lovely array of wines. Simi’s Pizza Café is open, but check the Simi Website to get the latest hours of operation. Today the winery is owned by Constellation Brands.

Tasting room open daily 10 to 5:00, (800) 746-4880. E-Mail: info@simiwinery.com, Simi Winery

Foppiano Vineyards

operated by the Foppiano Family. With the sale last year of the Seghesio Family Winery, that makes the Foppiano Winery the oldest family-owned winery in the Russian River wine region. The family owns 140 acres of prime vineyard property in the Russian River Valley. The best part is that the family owns the land outright. That is one reason why their wines are excellent bargains and value wines. Their signature wine, a Petite Sirah, sells for $25 a bottle, an excellent price for this superb wine. Another great feature at Foppiano is their self-guided vineyard tour dedicated to the late Margot Patterson Doss. You may remember that Margot wrote a column in the San Francisco Chronicle encouraging people of all ages to walk and explore the San Francisco Bay Area. Pick up a brochure at the tasting room and take the walking tour that is probably a mile at the most.

Open daily, 11 to 5:00 Phone: (707) 433-7272 Email: info@foppiano.com, Foppiano

Seghesio Family Winery

Seghesio Winery began in 1895, growing grapes and producing bulk wines. Edoardo Seghesio founded the winery and was said to be the first one to bring in and successfully grow the Sangiovese grape. It was not until 1983 that they began to bottle premium wines under their label. Today the winery is most famous for its Zinfandel wines and, in particular, the Sonoma Zinfandel that has won numerous awards and is in many wine shops for under $20. In 2011 the Seghesio Family shocked the wine world by selling the winery to the Crimson Wine Group. The tasting room contains a lot of memorabilia and is a fun place to visit and taste wine. Seghesio also has a Bocce Ball court, should you feel the urge to have some friendly competition while sipping wine.

The tasting room is open daily 10 to 5, Seghesio

Healdsburg 100-year-old-wineries map

Additional information on this wine country

  • Recommended Healdsburg restaurants
  • Recommended Healdsburg Lodging
  • Wine Country Map 
four 100 year old wineries in Sonoma
Cabernet at Foppiano

Filed Under: Russian River Valley, Russian River Wine Country - Sonoma Cty., Sonoma County, Tasting Rooms Tagged With: 100 year old wineries in Sonoma, Foppiano, Healdburg, Korbel, Oldest wineries in Sonoma, Seghesio, Simi

Sonoma Valley Wine Country has Four 100 year-old wineries to visit

February 16, 2012 by joe

While the Napa Valley gets all the attention as far as popularity, few wine country travelers know that Sonoma County during the 1800’s was the star of California wine country. It all started in the Sonoma Valley wine country when the Buena Vista Winery was established in 1857.

In this first of two blog posts on Sonoma County’s oldest wineries, we focus on four wineries in the Sonoma Valley. Three of the four wineries are located in the town of Sonoma and the fourth just 10 miles away on Highway 12.

Gundlach Bundschu

We begin with Gundlach Bundschu founded in 1857 and today the oldest California winery that has been in continuous operation by the same family. The winery currently has sixth-generation family member Jim Bundschu at the helm. The tasting room is filled with amazing photos and wine bottles from Gundlach’s history. The staff at Gundlach is extremely knowledgeable and very welcoming. The winery certainly has that family feel to it. One added bonus: This is one of the best picnic wineries in all of California. There are three very different and beautiful areas one can choose from to sit and enjoy a picnic lunch. The tasting room is open daily 11 to 4:30.

Our favorite wines at Gundlach Bundschu: Tempranillo and the Gerwurztraminer

Read More »

Filed Under: Sonoma Valley Wine Country, Travel Tips Tagged With: 100 year old wineries in Sonoma, Buena Vista, Gundlach Bundschu, Kunde, Oldest Sonoma wineries, Sebastiani, The Wine Travelers

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