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You are here: Home / Archives for Korbel

100 Year Old Wineries Near Healdsburg

January 22, 2017 by Joe Becerra

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: [email protected], 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: [email protected], 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: [email protected], 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

Redwood Trees and wine country

October 12, 2015 by Joe Becerra

Coastal Redwood trees in Russian River wine country

Coastal Redwood trees in Russian River wine country

Redwood Trees and wine country

One of the most majestic sights in nature is that of the Coastal Redwood Trees of California. The photo of these Redwood Trees was taken in the Russian River region of Sonoma County. Coastal Redwoods depend upon the summer fog belt for their growing environment. They are found along the Pacific Coast from Monterey to the Oregon Border in California. It turns out that Redwood trees and wine country have much in common. The fog belt is where Pinot Noir loves to grow and flourish. In the Russian River Valley, the fog belt creeps in at night from the Pacific Ocean in the hot summer months. It stays until mid-morning and then burns off. To see the Redwoods and wine country, take River Road from Highway 101. At the Hacienda Bridge, look for Westside Road on the right. Take Westside Road back to Healdsburg. There are lots of wineries and Redwoods to view. Another option is to continue on River Road and stop at Korbel. Korbel is a top producer of sparkling wine. There are Redwood Trees and grapes growing side by side. Korbel has a wine tour and tasting, a deli, and lovely gardens. We also suggest you continue on to explore the town of Guerneville. In Guerneville, you can visit the Armstrong Grove Redwood State Park. The tallest Redwood Tree in Armstrong is 310 feet high and the oldest Redwood Tree is 1400 years old.

Additional Redwood Trees and wine country details

  • Westside Road Wine Trail
  • More on Korbel
  • Healdsburg Lodging and Dining

Filed Under: Wine Photo of the Day Tagged With: Korbel, Redwood trees and wine country, Russian River, Wine Country Photography

Hit the Champagne Route

November 7, 2014 by Joe Becerra

sparkling wine route

Follow the trail to good California sparkling wine

Hit the Champagne Route

This is the time of the year to begin stocking up on Champagne or sparkling wine. The holidays are upon us, and what better why to toast and celebrate this time of year but to lift and sip a good glass of Champagne or sparkling wine? When I say “hit the Champagne Route,” I really mean hit the sparkling wine route or trail. We cannot really call our sparkling wine Champagne here in California. By an international agreement, only sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France can say Champagne on the label. There are many wine regions in California where sparkling wine is made exactly how Champagne is made. The big difference, of course, is that in Champagne all the soil is limestone. This gives Champagne a mineral characteristic. The most concentrated area of sparkling wine is made in the Carneros and Napa Valley wine regions. You can follow our “Sparkling Wine Trail” to five wonderful sparkling wine houses. Another wonderful area to explore and taste sparkling wine is in the Anderson Valley of Mendocino County. Roederer Estate and Scharffenberger Cellars make great sparkling wines. In the Russian River wine region, J Vineyards, Iron Horse Vineyards, and Korbel also make sparkling wine. Korbel has been around so long that they actually use “Champagne” on their label. They can do this because they were here before the international agreement was made. It would be nice if they just called their wine “sparkling wine.”

Additional information on the sparkling wine or Champagne route:

  • How Champagne and Sparkling Wine is made
  • Green Valley Wine Trail in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma
  • Westside Road Wine Route and Korbel Cellars

Filed Under: Wine Photo of the Day Tagged With: champagne trail, Korbel, sparkling wine route, Wine Country Photography

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