• Wine Regions
    • Napa Valley Wine Country Guide
    • Healdsburg – Russian River Wine Country
    • Sonoma Valley Wine Country Planning Guide
    • Mendocino Wine Country
    • Carneros
    • Paso Robles Wine Country
    • Santa Barbara Wine Country
    • Livermore Valley wineries
    • Lodi Wineries
    • Sierra Foothills Wineries
    • Monterey Wineries
    • Santa Cruz Wineries
    • Lake County Wine Country
    • Yolo County Wine Country
  • Tasting Room Guide
    • Tasting Room Etiquette
    • Napa Valley on a Budget 2022
    • How to Taste Wine
    • Bocce Wineries
    • Organic Wineries
    • The Wine Country Picnic
    • Vineyard Year
    • Best wine country backroads
    • Winery Wine Clubs
    • Buying Wine at a Winery
    • Wine Varietals
    • Wine Appellations
    • Solar Wineries in California
    • How many bottles of wine in a barrel?
    • Hiking in Wine Country
  • Wine Guide
    • Pairing Food & Wine
      • Which wines for dinner?
    • Which Wine Glass
    • Decanting wine
    • Which Corkscrew works best
    • Corkage Fees
    • Corked Wine
      • Preserving Wine – what to do with the unfinished bottle of wine
    • Hosting a Wine Tasting Party – How to pull it off
      • Hosting a Serious Wine Tasting Party
      • How to Host a Fun and Casual Wine Tasting Party
      • Wine Scoring Sheets | Wine Tasting Forms | Wine Scorecards
      • Checklist for Successful Wine Tasting
    • Wine Gifts for Wine Geeks
      • Best Wine Books
      • Top Ten Wine Cookbooks
      • Best wine fiction books
    • Best Wine Bargains
    • Wine Collection Tips
  • Wine Country Insider
    • Wine Trails off the Beaten Path
    • Quick Getaways
    • Hiking in Wine Country
    • When to Visit Wine Country
    • Which wine region to visit and why
    • Redwoods and Vineyards
  • Blog
  • About Us
  • Site Map
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
You are here: Home / Archives for MacRostie winery

MacRostie’s new digs on Westside Road

June 17, 2015 by Joe Becerra

MacRostie tasting room

The MacRostie tasting room as seen from Westside Road

MacRostie Winery and Vineyards on Westside Road

After 28 years of making very fine Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Sonoma Valley, Steve MacRostie finally has his dream tasting room and Pinot Noir winemaking facility.  It is a beautiful piece of vineyard property located on scenic Westside Road that runs along the Russian River. There are many beautiful attractions along this road, and the MacRostie Estate House adds another element of splendor to the area.

steve-macrostie

Steve MacRostie – wine pioneer in California

Early on in his career, Steve established himself as pioneer winemaker with his tantalizing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines. Steve began making wine in 1974 and soon became interested in producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in a true Burgundian style –  fresh, crisp, and food friendly. In 1987 he established his MacRostie label and began producing wine in Sonoma Valley. He sought out vineyards in the Sonoma Coast region that provided the terroir ingredients of fog and cooling breezes. His main winemaking facility is in a warehouse-style building in Sonoma Valley. The opening of the MacRostie Estate House in the Russian River Valley marks a new era in Steve MacRostie’s winemaking career.

MacRostie tasting room

MacRostie Estate House

What a wonderful spot to enjoy Chardonnay and Pinot Noir! We visited the Estate House last week. As we walked toward the entrance, the doors opened and we were greeted with a delightful glass of Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. This is standard for all visitors who arrive at the tasting room. What a very nice welcoming touch. Beautiful vineyard views of the Russian River Valley surround the tasting room.  Besides the welcome glass of wine, there are two other features seldom found in a wine tasting experience. Wine tasting at MacRostie is sit down, elegant but not over the top. One can sit outside on the terrace or in the main area at tables or on a relaxing chair or sofa. The server comes to you and explains the wine. The staff goes through some serious training, so a tasting is very educational. A second added touch is a side-by-side comparison of wines. There are two glasses at each table setting, sometimes three depending on the tasting. This gives wine country travelers the ability to compare two wines of the same varietal made from different vineyards or in a different style.  We tasted the Russian River Valley Chardonnay alongside a vineyard Chardonnay, the Wildcat Mountain Vineyard.  In the Pinot Noir category, we enjoyed the Russian River Chardonnay and the Goldrock Ridge Vineyard from Annapolis on the Sonoma Coast.  The side-by-side tasting is a great way to educate your palate and to discover the subtle differences in two wines.

MacRosite seated wine tasting

Outdoor wine tasting with fantastic views of the Russian River Valley

The MacRostie Estate House also has a separate small winemaking cellar equipped with state-of-the-art winemaking equipment. This is where Pinot Noir will be made from the 2015 harvest of their Russian River Valley vineyards. These days Steve takes a secondary role in the winemaking, tending to more of the vineyard management and business aspects of the winery.  The main winemaking duties belong to Heidi Bridenhagen, who handles the majority of the winemaking duties.  Steve says he appreciates the fresh ideas that the young people he hires bring to his winemaking methods.

To get to the MacRosite House, take Mill Street under Highway 101. Mill Street becomes Westside Road. Drive for about nine minutes on Westside Road and look for the winery on the right.  Take it slow and enjoy the beauty of this area of wine country.  The MacRostie House is open daily from 11am to 5 pm. Reservations are recommend especially on weekends.

Additional wine country details

  • Westside Road Wine Route
  • Eastside Road Wine Route
  • Most scenic wine country backroad

Filed Under: Russian River Valley, Russian River Wine Country - Sonoma Cty. Tagged With: MacRostie winery

Latest from the Blog

  • Paso Robles Big Three Wineries
  • Where to go in California Wine Country 2023
  • Fun Things to Do in Wine Country in January 2023
  • Washington Reds
  • Wine, Food, and other Delights in Seattle
-->

CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY REGIONS:

Carneros • Livermore • Lodi • Mendocino • Monterey • Napa Valley • Paso Robles • Santa Barbara County • Santa Cruz Mts. • Sierra Foothills • Russian River • Sonoma Valley

Connect With Us

Want to keep up with Wine Country Getaways? Follow us across our social networks!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Sign up for wine country news from Janelle and Joe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 · Wine COuntry Getaways

 

Loading Comments...