POSTED ON December 11, 2007 | IN Russian River Wine Country - Sonoma Cty. | BY Joe Becerra


Stryker is fairly new winery in the Alexander Valley of Sonoma County. The first impression when you walk toward the entrance is the elegance. The owners obviously spared no expenses. The building is a beauty nestled among the vineyards of the Alexander Valley. The tasting room is a large and spacious open room. Picture windows behind the tasting counter fill the tasting room with light and gorgeous views of the vineyards.

Best of all, the elegance of Stryker extends to their wines. Stryker has a good selection of estate vineyards, like their old vine Zinfandel just outside the door. But many of their wines are produced from grapes purchased from specific vineyards, like Speedy Creek in Knight’s Valley. Stryker makes a large number of different wines. They have around 15 different labels of wines and most of them are made in small size lots. In total they make as much as 20,000 cases annually.

The wines we tasted on our visit were all tasty but two absolutely blew us away. The first was a Sangiovese with a screw top. The price is $25 for this delicious full-bodied Sangiovese. The second wine was a Petit Verdot from the Speedy Creek Vineyard in the Knights Valley. This is a 100 percent Petit Verdot and it has layers of juicy flavors throughout. The price is $32.

If you like to enjoy a picnic lunch, we highly recommend Stryker. Their picnic area is among the best and most attractive in the Alexander Valley.

Stryker is located on Highway 128. See Google Map for directions.


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Comments

  1. Brian says

    Thanks for the great review! Just to clarify, we are bonded for 20,000 cases but production peaked at 9,500 in 2005 and with the transition to mostly Estate grown fruit this year we will stay in the 5,000 case range. Come visit again soon…You will have to try the Rockpile Petit verdot as well!

    • Joe says

      We always enjoy a visit to Stryker. It is so peaceful and the wines are always good. This is a favorite spot of ours in the Alexander Valley.