It's not Sonoma, but close....if Anderson Valley (Mendocino County) doesn't make you change your mind about CA Pinto Noir then probably nothing will. Lazy Creek, Goldeneye and Navarro are my picks there.
In Sonoma (Russian River Valley) Rohioli on Westside Road next to Hop Kilm is excellent. They also do an outstanding Sav. Blanc
For Petitie my favs are Foppaino just outside Healdsburg.
I know Artesa in Napa County makes a nice Albarino.
Another trip sometime to Paso Robles and the "Rhone Rangers" of that region is something you might think about.
A couple of others in Healdsburg area I like are Ferrari-Carano for many reds, but I'm not a big fan of their Pinot, and Hartford Family.
Enjoy the expereience.

You seem to have a fairly good idea of the wines you want to try so why not google under those vintages. But be reminded: What groes in Southern France/the Med is not always found in Napa.

Chardonnay is my favorite white and it shines in the greater Napa/Sonoma area.

In Sonoma - a fun winery is Gundlach Bundschu. http://www.gunbun.com/

In Sonoma, try visiting Beltane Ranch. They have a nice little Sauvignon Blanc happening there these days. The ranch looks like Brigadoon and is a Bed and Breakfast too.

From WineSpectator 1.5 years ago...

"This year, one winery that stands out is Bedrock. The new releases from this small Sonoma winery are among the most impressive new wines I've tasted in a long time."

They have 22 acres, and 22 different varietals.

This is a link to Sonoma wineries.

http://www.sonoma.com/wineries/featured.html

It has enough details for you to ferret out what you like to drink. Click on the winery itself for a link to that winery.

I'm from the area and have a list where I always take visitors:

This is the north county/dry creek area:

Truett Hurst - good wine, great people, great picnic area
Mazacco - wonderful wine
Armida - beautiful view, nice picnic area on deck
Wilson - Nice wine and beautiful patio
Seghesio - food and wine pairing is delicious

In Kenwood, you must to the mountain top tasting at Kunde - the view is spectacular

Have fun!

If you enjoy Italian style wines, visit Jacuzzi in southern Sonoma. They specialize in Italian type wines. It's a beautiful spot, and the staff are super friendly.

I love Truett Hurst too. Love the river behind the winery. Very nice people. Very good wines. Wished we'd bought some of their port.

This is a nice place with lovely patio seating and helpful staff in tasting room. You can also purchase sandwiches, cheese, bread, condiments.

Their sangiovese is outstanding:

http://www.viansa.com/

There's an interesting event this weekend for the Sonoma Valley:

http://www.reservesonomavalley.com/

Lots of stuff going on this weekend, but this looks like a winner.

otherfootloose, here are a few I bet you've never heard of, all in the Dry Creek area, and all excellent:

Unti- many varietals, all great, esp. the Grenache, the Syrah, and the Zin, but also Barbera, Sangiovese, and a great little port
Zichichi--outstanding zins, some tasted from the barrel
Kokomo- these are the pinots that I think will change your mind about CA pinot, but if they don't, you'll have excellent merlot and chardonnay and zin to console you

None of these have scenic tasting rooms or anything like that, it really is all about the wine. And they're all really small production, which means you're tasting something you're unlikely to see outside the state.

One last tip: to find those off-the-beaten-path wineries, ask the tasting room staff. IME they are generous to a fault in recommending other places to visit, because they're passionate about wine, period.

Enjoy!

bookmarking

Wow! Thanks to all for these responses. I am familiar with some of these, and its nice to have past rec's seconded by new sources...Unti, Truett Hurst and Viansa have been recommended by friends and are on "the list". We have actually been to Kokomo some years back, and liked their wine then...but are they still located in that little enclave on Dry Creek Road? I saw another address for them in Santa Rosa.
As for Bedrock....I would LOVE to try some of that wine, but unfortunately he does not offer tastings as his production is too small. I hear that a few restaurants have his product and if anyone knows who they are, PLEASE share!!
NewbE- I agree that asking the staff is an excellent way to find good places, and as a matter of fact that is how we heard about Truett Hurst and Kokomo. We always try to ask our servers for suggestions.

To repay your kindness in replying, let me tell y'all about some smaller places that we have been and loved...
Sonoma (town) and Valley- Haywood ( now has a tasting room in town but if you can get to the estate you should go), Audelssa ( Glen Ellen), Little Vineyards ( next to BR Cohn)

Russian River- Sunce, Harvest Moon ( both on Olivet Road)

Alexander Valley- FieldStone, Soda Rock

Dry Creek- Matrix, Frick, Passalaqua

If you think of any more places, please post...and oh yeah- does ANYBODY know where one can taste the Cabs from Remick Ridge?

NewbE posted? Welcome back.

Kokomo is still in the little enclave - http://www.timbercrest.com/index.htm

Be sure to visit the Dry Creek Olive Co. I just poured the last of my olive oil from there and am sad...
http://drycreekolivecompany.com/tasting-room/

You're very welcome, otherfootloose, and thanks for the tips in return, I will put them on our (unrealistically long, but who cares?) list

Interestingly, Kokomo was the single most frequently mentioned winery on our recent visit, by staff at other wineries, that is. And yep, they are still in that little grouping. The winemaker and the grower are such nice guys.

Anyway, I thought of another recommendation, Merry Edwards in Sebastopol. She is one of the originals in the valley, and her pinots are very robust, spicy, and earthy.

Oh, and Preston on Dry Creek Road is a charmer, great wines (esp. their pinot gris, IMO), and they bake their own sourdough using decades-old starter, and bottle their own olive oil to go with it.

I could go on and on...

UPDATE!

The new WineSpectator, which just came out today, spends a lot of time on Sonoma. Actually, about 30 pages including all the ads.

Wineries, eats, lodging, and day trips. The caveat is that they tend to be high end. However, I would highly recommend Cafe Le Haye in Sonoma as a splurge place to go.

Get this in-depth review, which is totally up to date.

The issue has Sonoma on the cover and is dated June 15, but we all know how magazines go.

If you go to Kokomo, also in the enclave is Papapietro Perry. They make outstanding Pinots (even though you said you aren't a fan, give them a try) and Zinfadels. also, in the same enclave - Amphora. Rick makes the full gamut. I heard Unti was very good, but we didn't get there. Arista up on River Road is gorgeous. You could also try Twomey. and St. Francis makes some excellent Zinfadels. If at St. Francis, try Chateau St. Jean - they make Cinq Cepages a nice blended wine. And if you want champagne - Iron Horse or Domaine Carneros

Thank you all for your replies.
NewbE- Preston has been on my list for 2 years...and I think I may finally get there this trip. Does he still offer the special blend in the jug on Sundays? I'm going to be really bummed if I'm FINALLY there at the right time and he's quit doing that.
Rasta'- I just got my WS and have commenced reading...good overview of the area, don't you think? Though I have to admit I'm surprised they would recommend the regular tasting room at CSJ without mentioning the reserve room as it's head and shoulders above the tasting bar in the gift shop.

This has been fun and informative everyone- thanks so much for your input! I hope we can keep this going; I love to "talk Sonoma"!

Oh, and starrs, thanks for the olive oil tip.

Thanks Lori.
Hey, meant to ask, has anyone been to Kachina in Dry Creek?

ofl, I don't know about the jug situation at Preston since we weren't there over a weekend--I hope you get to check it out.

I thought of another: MacRostie. You have to make an appointment, and the tasting room is really a conference room in their warehouse, but--you can tour the winemaking facility, talk to the oenologists, and enjoy great chardonnay and pinot (we just got a shipment of the pinot rose, but haven't sampled it yet).

A "wine trip" is my favorite kind of trip!

Mine too, NewbE. Now MacRostie sounds familiar...are they in Sonoma?
We took part in the inaugural Sonoma Reserve event ( Supercilious, was that your reply?) and I believe that they were included in the program. We would highly recommend it to anyone looking for an organized tasting opportunity...good guides and great access to small wineries ( that's how we learned of haywood, one of my personal faves).
We learned of Truett Hurst about 5 years ago through inquiries while tasting at Pedroncelli and both times we have planned to stop by they were closed for a private event! I felt like it was karma that we would never get there. Sounds like we need to try harder!
Starrs- regarding ports...a new interest on our part...have you had the tawny port from DeLoach or Chris Loxton's Shiraz port? Worth pursuing if you have the time!
boom_boom, regarding Mendocino area (totally foreign to us), do you know Jaxon Keyes? and isn't that where Joseph Phelps has the second facility?

Oh, and Bowsprit- my map is old and I didn't know that Beltane Ranch has wine; according to this map they are listed as lodging, not tasting. Are they new to the winemaking business, do you know? We really like Sauv. blanc and would be interested to try theirs.

otherfootloose - Try looking at this link I sent you 3 days ago, if you want an up-to-date map.

http://www.sonoma.com/wineries/featured.html

Also, buy the new WineSpectator, which has maps, and all the specific wineries shown, complete with winery details.

This I mentioned yesterday.

Thanks Rasta'- I didn't ignore your previous post, I just didn't see MacRostie on the list that is presented on the link, and the map doesn't have it either.
That isn't uncommon because most of the webistes that cater to wine tourism promote wineries that subscribe to the services on that site ( winecountry.com; wineroad.com, etc are other examples) and the very small places don't have the budget to participate, so its not unusual for them to be missing. Just makes the search more interesting!
As for Beltane, its on my map, but the legend lists it as lodging, not a winery...that is why I was asking Bowsprit about it.
And I subscribe to WS, so I have that issue at hand, as a matter of fact! Thoroughly enjoying it, too I might add! =) It offers some great ideas, but you may have noticed that not all wineries in an area are mentioned, just those that are "featured" in the article.
At the moment my research bin is not accessible, so that is why I was having trouble with the locations...I'll try to be better prepared next time.
You mentioned Bedrock earlier...have you had the privledge of tasting Morgan's product?

Well Rasta, I owe you an apology- I blew through that list too quickly, apparently because when I took my time I DID indeed see Mac Rostie...my error.

MacRostie is a good wine. Their chardonnay is lovely. Too bad they were recently sold.

About 4-5 years ago, some distributor closed out about 20 cases of the chardonnay for $1 a bottle at my local Big Lots.

I always try to take advantage of steals like this.

I live about 90 minutes from Sonoma, and find great bargains like this all too frequently.

Be sure to visit VJB Vineyards and Cellars in Kenwood on the Sonoma Highway. They make a wonderful Barbera among many other wines. You will love the owners, Vittorio and Maria! The gift shop is filled with Maria's sauces as well as other delights. There is a new tasting room as well. Check out their website.

WOW,Rasta'- I've never been to a Big Lots that sold wine, anyway...but $1/bottle? That IS a deal.
TTOCSGS- When we were last in Sonoma the VJB facility was under some MAJOR construction- is that over with now?

It's pretty much only in California, and mostly in the Bay Area.

BL is a feast or famine kind of place. There will be crap, mostly Fred Franzia's crap, for months on end, followed by a find. It's been crap lately.

The best time, oddly enough, was after Hurrican Katrina. We started seeing high end wine with New Orleans' distributor labels on them. I filled my car cup twice with about 15 cases of wine. Roederer Brut Premier for $6.00 a bottle, and the like.

Speaking of VJB, there's a less expensive version of The Girl and The Fig in Kenwood, called The Fig Cafe. No reservations and corkage fee is zero. The place is packed every night.

Rasta, thanks for reminding me--Dry Creek Kitchen In Healdsburg does not charge corkage fees on any Sonoma wine you bring in, which is a killer deal given the really nice sommelier service they offer.

As for MacRostie, I heard they retained the winemaker after the sale--is that not true? One big change was that they lowered their price points, and are slowly upping production.

I can see that I have found a good Sonoma resource! Thanks for sharing what you know.

Found a couple of apparently very small places to ask about- anyone know (of) Valdez ( could be Valvez, I've seen both) or Davenport and Co?
These are reportedly Rockpile winemakers in the north county. I've been searching for a couple months and have not seen anything about either one.

It's really hard to say which wineries and what wines. We've found that in going to the barreltasting event in Sonoma every year for the past ten years or so that, really, the name of the winery doesn't matter very much, nor the type of grape. Each year we've found something wonderful (to our tastes). One year it was Tara Bella and Thomas George. This year it's Route 128, Ramazotti, Rockpile and Matrix. Our long-time favorites are Davis Family, Mazzocco, Rafanelli's, Trefethen, Sunce, and any number of really small wineries. This year, we picked up a case of Armida's "Poizin" ("the wine to die for"), because somehow this year it tasted better than in past years.

That's the fun of going winetasting! It's all such an individual thing - and the production is so varied year to year and winery to winery.

Enjoy your winetasting experiences!

You are SO right, easytraveler! Our focus event has been the Sonoma Harvest Fair...not sure how long, but a number of years now. And we found several of your past favorites there. Its just been in very recent times that we learned that there are REALLY small producers out there who don't meet the production criteria for HF and are thus excluded.
Those are the places that have provided us with the "big rush" with their wines, and they are the ones I'm trying to ferret out. Its like a treasure hunt to us.
Some subscribe to the wine travel sites and if you go to the right site you can learn of them, but some spots you just "luck into" through forum/message board situations like this. and that's why I'm here.
You have memntioned a couple that are completely outside my radar: Thomas George and Davis Family...where are they located?

Here you go, otherfootloose!

Thomas George has this wonderful "cave" - believe it's dug into a hillside.

http://www.thomasgeorgeestates.com/

Davis Family is in Healdsburg but not around the main square. Davis Family is on a side road and by itself and opposite it are a bunch of really small wineries that share space. Camellia is one of the small ones that I remember, we bought a "First Kiss" from them one year - went back the second year and asked if they had produced a "Second Kiss" and they said, alas! no.

http://daviswines.com/

I can't find a website for Camellia, but here are the Yelp reviews to give you some idea. Also the location seems to be called "Old Roma Station", it's one of the highlights for us on any winetasting trip. We usually stock up with something from one of the small wineries

http://www.yelp.com/biz/camellia-cellars-healdsburg

BTW, try the Sonoma barreltasting event which occurs on two weekends in early March.

Their website doesn't seem to be active anymore, and the Yelp reviews are a couple of years old.

I found this by digging. "Camellia Cellars. Our award-winning Camellia Cellars closed in June, 2011. Our family and winemakers thank you for your support."

Take a look at Bennessere. Delicious reds and lots of Italian style wines.

OK, since no one has mentioned it, there is the Annapolis Winery in Annapolis in western Sonoma County which is just up the road from the famous Starcross Monastery which makes award-winning olive oil.

Starcross is well known (CNNN, ABC 20-20, etc.) for its work with HIV positive orphans in Eastern Europe and Africa as well as the U.S. All proceeds from their olive oil go to support their programs.

The Scalabrini family owns Annapolis Winery. Though the patriarch, Basil, recently died, his son and daughter-in-law are carrying on the business. There is tasting and a beautiful area for picnics. They have also won several wards over the years in Bay Area wine competitions

Lisa

Lisa, this is a bit outside the grid for our upcoming visit, but sounds like something that I need to keep in mind for another time. Thanks for the "heads up" on this facility.

denisea-isn't Bennessere in Napa?

BOOKMARKING

Other footloose....you are right...we visited there while staying in Sonoma, so I always associate it with Sonoma (incorrectly)!

Rastaguytoday: That's too bad about Camellia Cellars. California has about 1200 wineries and some were going to be affected by this latest economic downturn - good wineries as well as bad. A bit sad when good wineries like Camellia have to close.

http://www.camelliainn.com/about-us.htm

You know easytraveler, we have been to the area just before and just after 'barrel weekends', and to be honest that just doesn't sound like much fun to me. The conversations we've had with the servers, pre- or post- event are either filled with dread (pre-) or grumbling ( post-). It sounds like its gotten completely out of hand ( I think I saw some info about the problems on a thread here) as so often happens when a good idea gets abused. And, honestly, we wouldn't be buying into futures anyway...we just aren't that savvy yet.
Harvest Fair works great for us because you can try all those wines in one place and there are other interesting activities easily at hand, too. "One stop shopping", in a sense. We have been fortunate to meet winemakers and winery owners at the event over time, and that is always fun.
I would like to get the chance to try some of these other events, like the Taste of Sonoma and Wine and Food Affair, but their timing just doesn't jive with our schedule. Have you ever been to one of those?..Has anyone here been? I'd like to know if its worth making the extra effort to try one of those for a change.

By the way,we have had some talk about the enclave of small Family Wineries in Dry Creek, where Kokomo and Pappapietro are located, but isn't there another one of those in Sonoma Valley as well? I feel sure I've seen a second one advertised somewhere ( probably Wine Country This Week) but for the life of me I can't remember having ever actually seen it or heard about wines offered there. Are there other collectives like that which cater to the really small producers?

There's the Eighth Street Wineries: Anaba Wines, Enkidu Wines, MacRostie Winery, Parmelee-Hill Wines and Vineyards, Stone Edge Farms, Talisman Wines, Three Sticks Winery, Tin Barn Vineyards, and Ty Caton Vineyards. As I said, we visited MacRostie, but, unlike at the Dry Creek Family Wineries enclave, it wasn't clear there were other wineries in the complex, so we failed to explore. Or maybe they're all by appt only??

Looks like there's an Open House in August:

http://sonoma.towns.pressdemocrat.com/2011/07/events/open-house-at-8th-street-wineries/

I'm surprised no one's mentioned DaVero Winery, a small biodynamic family-owned winery in the Dry Creek area on Westside Road that specializes in Tuscan varietals - Sagrantino and Sangiovese, primarily, as well as wonderful olive oils (Mario Batali's a huge fan).

Here's an article on the most recent barrel tasting.

http://healdsburg.towns.pressdemocrat.com/2012/03/news/barrel-tasting-drunkenness-alarms-healdsburg-merchants/

I was up there right after the barrel tasting, and saw this article. If you read the article, some young folks were so drunk they couldn't stand up.

Rasta- that is exactly what I was talking about..the original idea was such a good one...and then some goofballs had to spoil it. I am all about having a good time, but why can't these people act like they have some sense about them? Some of the servers take it in stride, but many that we have talked to just despise Barrel Weekends.

Hazel1- this sounds like a very interesting spot...can you tell more? What is it near on Westside Rd? I have never noticed it. And Sagrantino is a totally unfamiliar wine to me- could you describe it?

NewbE- some of those sound familiar...Ty Caton used to share with Muscardini in Kenwood,and we've been there. By chance is the 8th Street group located in a somewhat industrial area on the edge of town?? A group of warehouse/storage facility type buildings? I think that is where I saw MacRostie...that compound is where the Sonoma Reserve tours started from
each day.

This is incredibly fun, everyone. Thanks so much for continuing! I'm getting new ones for the list everyday.

You asked about an "enclave" of small wineries, which reminded me of something. I just finished a wine last week, the Old Lockeford Winery's "Harvest Wine". Really enjoyed it - but the enclave is in Lodi.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olde_Lockeford_Winery

otherfootloose: As you can tell, I'm not much of a wine connoisseur. My entire family just likes to drink a "good" wine when we have friends over, mostly for dinner, or when we're celebrating something. At other times, we may have a glass of white to go with special fish or a glass of red to go with a special meat. Wine is just part of the overall meal. We don't drink every day and we drink sparingly - no guzzling!

However, living in California, going wine tasting also forms part of the exploration of California. We've gone to almost every single California wine "district" except Temecula (which we'll get to some day!). Personally, over the years, I've also gone up to the Willamette wineries, some of the wineries in Washington state, and up to the Okanagan Valley in BC, Canada (great ice wines!).

All this to say that the barreltasting event is the only event that we go to in Sonoma, so can't help you much with the other Sonoma festivals. Occasionally, we'll go up there to take out of state/country visitors who want to go winetasting (particularly in Napa). However, there are just too many good wineries in California for us to focus on just one district, particularly since we're not connoisseurs. Last year, we did a special on the Edna Valley wineries and were surprised at how good some of their wines were.

On the barreltasting, apparently last year there were some rowdy young people which caused the organizers to change things a bit - this year there were no large buses allowed. Also the wineries did not list what foods they would serve to cut down on visitors who would visit a winery for their food and not their wine. The per person price also went up. That said, we've never witnessed the bad behavior mentioned in that article Rastaguytoday linked to...and we've been going since the barreltasting used to be free if you brought your own wineglass or $5 if you had to purchase one of theirs. We also like the barreltasting because some wineries go all out and theme the event. One year, Michel Schlumberger Winery did a fantastic Alice in Wonderland theme which must have taken a lot of thought, effort and some dollars to put together - better than Christmas even! With the economy, there haven't been as many themes, although some wineries keep their themes every year, like Armida's clever "Heaven" and "Hell" theme.

Sorry for rambling on.

California has so many good wineries - Enjoy!

There are some awesome wineries listed, although I've only seen my all-time favorite mentioned briefly. It's Loxton Cellars. Chris Loxton is an Australian from a wine-making family and is an academic genius, as well as a really nice guy and a talented winemaker. He's got a tasting room off the Sonoma Highway (Hwy 12) on Dunbar Rd near Glen Ellen, and since it's a small production operation, there's nothing fancy about his warehouse/tasting room. He saves his money for the vino. Bottles range from $16 to $38, and I'd put his $16 table wine up against a $100 Napa bottle any day. I don't think you can get a better wine for the price. We're wine club members and ship multiple cases to NC in the spring and fall, so we've had several vintages to drink over the last few years.

You asked about the Port. It's amazing (so is the Port from Wellington next door to Loxton). Don't hesitate to buy it. My husband doesn't drink wine (yes, I drink the multiple cases each year), but he'll ask to open the Port or the Late Harvest Zinfandel, and he'll occasionally sip some of whatever I'm drinking. The Syrah is slap-your-mama fantastic, and I could bathe in the Zinfandel and Cabernet. Even the Chardonnay is superb. None of Chris' wines overpower you with alcohol, yet they're all big, robust wines, including the white. You can actually taste the grapes, the soil, the rocks, the wine. You HAVE to stop in here and buy a bottle or two. He'll take you out amongst the grapes for an agriculture lesson if you ask him to. He's always great about educating his customers. We're headed out there for Memorial Day week, and I can't wait. Can you tell I'm a big fan? www.loxtonwines.com

Good luck with your hunt for the best undiscovered wines! P.S. I'm also sad Camellia Cellars closed. We stayed at the Camellia Inn in Healdsburg while they were still producing. I liked the Sangiovese the best.

easy', I hope that you didn't misunderstand my commentary to be suggesting that everyone who goes to barrel tasting weekends misuses it....I was only meaning to convey that it seems to have outgrown its original intention- to give potential investors the opportunity to taste the wines. I am well aware that not everyone who attends acts like idiots; as usual its the ones who get out of hand and call negative attention that get the attention...if you know what I mean.
I hope that the new guidelines will get the event back to more of its original intent.
If we were back on Left Coast we would be attending more events, but alas...its not feasible now. I actually had itineraries for the Sierra Foothills and Paso Robles areas pretty much worked out just before we were relocated!

NC_Wine_Lover, we too are huge fans of Chris Loxton! I could talk to him for hours. Such an interesting guy...and I do love his "port". Do you know much about the NC wineries?

Does anybody know where to find Remick Ridge wine? And is it true that Blackstone closed the facility in Kenwood?

Easy - have you been to the Clarksburg AVA, District 17? Several wineries scattered about, including Bogle and an enclave at the Old Sugar Mill

http://www.oldsugarmill.com/

Bookmarking

Meanwhile I'm hitchhiking on your query - husband and I are planning a similar trip for mid-October - maybe we'll cross paths.

Well chime on in, luke! Have you started an itinerary?
Our trip will incorporate Harvest Fair at the beginning of the month, so we'll probably be long gone when you arrive, but I will make a trip report...least I can do after getting all this help!
This is so much better than other forum venues.....

A related question for all you responders....we have discussed quite a few of the very small producers along the way here...do any of you have the good fortune to have found any of these wines outside of CA....either at a wine event or perhaps a local ( to you) restaurant? You could have knocked me over with a feather when I read ( on another forum) that someone encountered Mauritson's Sauvignon Blanc on a restaurant menu in New York!!! It got me wondering how often that actually happens... ( Makes me wonder if maybe I need to work on my Karma because I NEVER have luck like that)

IME, it's far more common to find small production wines on restaurant menus than in any shops. High-end steakhouses in particular like to have huge wine lists with recherche entries on them. Not that I have made a survey of steakhouses myself! But that's the kind of answer we generally get when we ask if there's any chance of seeing X in our neck of the woods. Anyway, a winery can tell you which restaurants are pouring its wines, obviously.

As for me, we've found a few surprising items here in Tampa, such as a Ken Wright Shea pinot (Willamette)--it does happen!

Remick Ridge.
http://www.smothersbrothers.com/

Blackstone. http://www.blackstonewinery.com/AboutUs
They certainly look open to me.

otherfootloose: Great thread!

I hope that you didn't misunderstand my commentary to be suggesting that everyone who goes to barrel tasting weekends misuses it....I was only meaning to convey that it seems to have outgrown its original intention- to give potential investors the opportunity to taste the wines.

Absolutely not! Never crossed my mind!

I just thought I would give a different perspective from the one in the newspaper. We've always felt welcomed and never got the feeling that the servers were filled with "dread" or "grumbling". If they had been that way, we would not have kept going back. Our barreltasting trips have always been filled with fun and laughter. Like I've said, we've never once met up with the troublemaking young people. Maybe it's just a handful, as you've said.

You're correct that things have changed a bit. The real barrel tasting lasted only a few years; then it was the wineries themselves that started pouring their already bottled wine - think that really made the event take off because a lot more people were buying the drinkable wine instead of having to wait for it to mature.

MichelleY: Thanks for the tip. No, we've never been - but will do so! Is there any particular winery among the eight that you like?

All are friends or acquaintances, so it's kind of like picking your favorite child. Like them for different reasons. Bogle is located at its own tasting room a few miles down the road and have most well known label. Best value . The Sugar Mill is a beautiful space, originally a beet processing facility built in the 1930's. I am most familiar with about 5 of the wineries, who source mostly from the Clarksburg AVA, are locals or have been at this location for 5 or 6 years. Heringer, Clarksburg Wine Co, Elevation Ten are locals and do a nice job. Like Todd Taylor and Three who source out of the area. The others I haven't visited since they are newer to the location.

Trying to get Kal,Mrs. Kal out with Janisj. Let me know when you are Sacto way - mini GTG?

MichelleY: Great idea! You can reach me at bells918athotmaildotcom. Haven't see Kal or Mrs Kal for ages. There are some others in the Sacto area as well - maybe a winetasting at the Clarksburg AVA?

Have had Bogle and Heringer, but the others are all new for me.

Back on topic, there's an interesting phenomenon here on California winemakers, it's the "Franzias".

They're the ones who make Charles Shaw, "two-buck chuck" and many other wines. The parent company's name is Bronco Wine Company. If you scroll down to the bottom of this wikipedia page, you'll see a list of all the different brand names under which they market their wines. If you run across one of these labels, they are NOT a "small winery"!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronco_Wine_Company

I just remembered the Franzias because the other day a friend brought over a bottle of Sonoma Landing Pinot Noir and I had never heard of this label before, so looked it up and - lo and behold! - up popped the name "Franzia"!

Oh, the Sonoma Landing was a bit young, but otherwise perfectly drinkable.

Easy - I will shoot you an email so I am in your book. Janisj has been out to a big event that is held each fall. Here is the AVA link

http://www.clarksburgwinecountry.com/

When I was a kid my dad had sheep. The Franzia Bros. truck would bring cases of "burgundy" to our place for our sheep herders .

Rasta', the smobro link doesn't take you to the winery, only to a website for a distribution co. and for info on their stage activities and such. Still trying though...
Blackstone still makes wine, I knew that, but I think it was Wine Spectator that recently wrote the facility in Kenwood was closed and the operations moved to Ravenswood. Couldn't tell from the site if the tasting room is also moved to Sonoma from Kenwood. That is a cute little tasting area- we liked to go out back to the cabana when the weather was nice.

The SMO BRO link is the closest I can get to the winerey. I'm assuming you were talking about Chateau Leonard Imports popping up.

The only 'solution' I can think of it to email these folks and ask about the winery.

From http://www.bestinsonoma.com/wineries_list.html, I found the address/phone number below. You can also use this website for a bunch of local wineries.

Smothers' Remick Ridge Vineyards
Tasting at The Wine Room
9575 Sonoma Highway
Kenwood, CA 95452
707-833-1010

Thanks for your continued diligence on my behalf, Rasta'; very kind of you.
Actually, I have attempted to e-mail them on 3 occasions over the last year and a half and have yet to receive a response. I will try this phone number, but according to 2 websites, the Wine Room closed some time ago...I believe it was Yelp that states something like 2 years back.
Anyway, I just wanted to try the wine since it got some good reviews over time and because Mr. Arrowood made it and we enjoyed his personal label wines.
I wonder what happened to the other producers that used that place as their tasting room...

It looks like there's some kind of merge with Arrowood Winery.
http://www.arrowoodwinery.com/wines.html

Keeping up with the wine industry and who owns what is a difficult task. This might help.
http://www.winecountrygetaways.com/big-winery-companies.html

Note that Constellation owns Blackstone.

Richard Arrowood pretty much is 'retired', as of 2010. Many years ago he sold his winery to the Jess Jackson group. Jess is dead, so I don't know who's running the show.

MichelleY: Will await your email!

Thanks for the link! It looks a real possibility for a GTG!

Do they hold "events" like the Sonoma wineries? Maybe we could shoot for an "event" for the GTG. However, whatever works best for everyone is OK by me!

Well Rasta, I actually have a bit of "scoop" on that as we had the privledge of meeting Mr. Arrowood at his new winery, Amapola Creek, last spring. He and his wife have started a brand new venture in Sonoma Valley and he is very active in the winery. He is "retired" from his namesake winery, but Amapola Creek ( in Sonoma Valey) is alive and well and so is he. If you ever have the chance to meet him, it is a really great experience. I think its tons of fun to sit and learn about how the winemakers think.
We were able to participate in the Sonoma Valley Reserve the first year, and Mr. Arrowood's winery was on one of the tours that we took; its great opportunities like that which make that event one worth going for.
I was given a subscription to Wine Spectator last Christmas and I found that there is a part that gives wine country news like sales and such. Its in the front of the magazine, usually. That is where I saw the piece about Blackstone having closed in Kenwood.

Easy' and Michelle- isn't there a big event around July 4th in that area? When I was hoping to get a trip made up for over there I seem to recall a big summertime festival that sounded like a ton of fun.

Knowing the history of Jess Jackson, Arrowood was probably forbiddent to start a new winery for at least 5 years after the sale of his winery.

The most famous case was Jackson's winemaker, Jed Steele, who wanted to leave. Steele accidently 'invented' the Vintner Reserve Chardonnay, that became wildly popular.

Jackson, an attorney, sued Steele for taking Jackson's intellectual property. The intellectual property he sued for was Steele's winemaking ideas.

Steele was banned by the court for 5 years from working at another winery. Jess was famous in the 70's and 80's for buying distressed vineyards by desperate owners.

To this day, I won't touch any of his company's wines.

As far as festivities go, here are some listed, but there's probably more.

http://www.sonoma.winecountry.com/special_interest/current_events/jul.html

http://santarosa.about.com/od/attractions/a/JulyFourth2007.htm

Too bad the pillow fights have been cancelled.

I have a question for y'all. Has anyone heard about the Pagani family starting their own wine production?
And do any of you know about the new winery of Gary Farrell? His is one of the few Pinots that I would actually like to seek out.

Event coming up at the Old Sugar Mill, Clarksburg AVA:

http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/1280531/21a1945742/571066745/d5818e6f7d/

There's a new Gary Farrell winery, i.e. another one? I love that winery (which seemed to be a fairly new, modern place, so maybe that's what you're referring to) - here's my previous post that got quoted in Fodor's California 2012
"Just got back from a weekend in Sonoma and I really have to recommend Gary Farrell Winery. The winery is on a hillside on Westside Road south of Healdsburg and the view from the tasting room is stunning. But of course, the star is the wine, and they have some incredible Pinot Noirs that we tasted (and bought) along with Chardonnays and a Zinfandel. Not cheap, but excellent."

Well, I don't know hazel. I saw something on another travel forum situation and I can't recall where I saw it! But I have the idea that this is a totally new venture, unrelated to his old place that went by his name and was sold.

Found that other mention on the winecountry messages board and the person didn't know if the spelling is right, but the winery is Ayerie, or something like that...is that where you went, hazel?

Hello All.
I just received word about Remick Ridge. I had asked about them way early in the thread, and finally have received word from them that they are no longer producing wine and actually stopped production several years ago...I think she said it was 2004.
So, there is none to be tasted anywhere; if you'd like to try it you'll have to buy a bottle if you can find one.

Read on another forum about St. Anne's Crossing in Sonoma, but can't find anything more than lodging information...anyone know this place?

check out Unti Winery in Dry Creek for excellent California examples of Italian Varietals

Thanks!

Lol, I only recommended Unti 3 months and about 65 posts ago--see above. Does that mean we've come full circle?? But they are very good indeed. We just opened an '08 Syrah, and it was just as good as we remembered.

Full circle, in Sonoma? Does that happen? It seems like there ia always something new there.
I just learned that St. Annes Crossing will open this week in Sonoma Valley. Nothing more as yet.

Anyone ever heard of B.Wise in Sonoma?

Bookmarking...........my daughter is attending SSU, and I think I'm going to love visiting her!

I am bookmarking as well, but also wanted to mention that we had an Unti wine in a restaurant in PA a few years ago. We were surprised to find it on the wine list.

Wow, Suki, that's very interesting! I wonder what their largest=production wine is, and if that's what you had?

A question: if you found it at a restaurant, does that mean a wine shop can get it for you through the same distributor?

I'm looking at wineries toward the coast of Sonoma County and wonder if anyone knows any of the following...
Wind Gap
Balletto
Benovia
Baker Lane
REd Car
Littori

I totally agree that the Pinot Noirs from Anderson Valley will change your mind and Navarro is one of our Favorites. Truett Hurst near Healdsburg has the best Red Zinfandels also known as Primitivo in Italy.

I loved visiting Matanzas creek outside Sonoma, especially when their lavendar are in bloom. Gorgeous setting. I think I bought a couple of bottles of their sauvignon blanc.

ncounty~I visited Matanzas Creek in August after they'd harvested the lavender. It was still beautiful. I bought the cab...........

I live in Sonoma County and do my fair share of "research" for visitors. I have been to Balletto and definitely recommend it. Haven't heard of the others on your most recent list, but I'll check them out. If you make it up West Dry Creek to Preston (Which I love and yes, they do jugs in the side room every Sunday for $34), make sure to head 50 more yards up the road to Bella and check out their caves and amazing zins (they usually have music and some type of food bite pairing on weekends too). If you hit the Kokomo enclave, be sure to pop in to Peterson for some fantastic wine. Also, in the Sonoma Valley near Viansa you will find Cline and Jacuzzi. Cline has fantastic rhone style wines at decent prices. They are a bit larger winery, but their grounds are stunning with the tasting room in an old farm house and a mission museum on site. Enjoy your trip!!!

One more thing...Just visited St. Anne's Crossing for the first time last weekend. It's where Blackstone used to be and is much better in my opinion. Really nice picnic/sitting area for tasting and the "Naked wines" at the same site are not to be missed. All small winemakers using a co-op type forum to get their wines out for tasting.

Holly,
Thank you so much for replying. This is great information and will be quite helpful.
I did have Preston on the list for this trip, but they are sold out of every one of the wines that I wanted to try. I am SO bummed.
I did not expect to hear that St. Anne's Crossing would be a co-op...will definitely make a point to stop in.
The "last list" of my inquiry is from the wineries on a site called westsonomacoast.com; we are coming up via the coast this time and were looking for some new places to stop along the way.

Bummer about Preston! You could still stop by for some of their famous sourdough bread...

Wilson Winery from Dry Creek owns St. Anne's Crossing.

Great info - thanks all. Rasta - have to hand it to you on this one - as you do keep up with the wineries, etc.

Hey - so many more choices/options than when we used to ride bicycles around the Napa valley back in the 70's and think if we hit 8 - 10 wineries in one day - we had done somthing.

And my favorites remain the wineries where you can actually go into their cellars. Also loved the Hans Kornell champagne tour (may that great vitner RIP) where he showed us how they "riddled" the champagne bottles. Old style - and labor intensive - but what great Champagne he made, and reasonably priced to boot. Sehr Troken was my favorite.

Tom - I loved the Hans Kornell cellar tour also and loved their Rouge. I loved to barbecue lamb chops and serve the Kornell Rouge with the meal. This was in the '80s though I think their champagne helped me snag my DH!

Michelle - then that was perhaps their best bubbly vintage ever - at least for ye, eh? Great story.

A group of us (3 or 4 couples) were riding our bikes around and stopped to picnic once at Sterling was it? Back then anyway - they had a big lawn and we were having a great time - ignoring the sign that said no picknicking.

There were even apples falling from the tree and one of my buddies climbed up to pick a few that were very ripe. He was no sooner up in the tree when this little old security guard came out of the building - maybe 50 plus yards away - and was yelling - what are you doing - no picknicking on the lawn. And when our buddy jumped down - the guard about had a coronary - saying - What - you are picking the apples too?

We jumped on our bikes and rode away laughing - only leaving a small footprint - some bent grass that I am sure straightened out in an hour or so.

Those were the days my friend....................

BTW Michelle. If your family raised sheep - by chance are you Basque? Used to love to go to the Basque Hotel and couple other places along Broadway in SF in the 70's - for their greaat - yet inexpensive - communal dinners.

And reading about the atty Jackson reminds me of the 70's and 80's - when some of the more successful litigators in the City would buy a small/botique winery if they won a big case/fee. Went to a couple grand opening parties - and had a great time and I don't remember any of the Lawyers I knew screwing those in the wine biz - but hey - beware of Sharks in buyer's clothing eh?

Yes Tom, I am part Basque. My hometown still has one of the few old fashioned Basque restaurants left. They are cea and far between.

One of my Regis classmates is Basque and they used to have a Liquer company in SF years ago. Amer Segalas - if you ever heard of it? He's very funny. Lived in Paris for a year after college - and despite speaking French since birth - said the Parisians thought he had a "southern" accent.

Never heard of it. I am probably too young

Michelle - neither has Rasta would be my guess.

Here is a little more info about the Amer Segalas - which was treasured by some. (see below)

In the late 60's - when we drove from Regis College/Denver - back to San Francisco (where I would pick up my two sisters who went to USF and finish driving up to Oregon) - the guys always said - let's drop Charlie off first - even though it was down the peninsula in Hillsborough.

Well, I soon found out why. Mrs. Segalas, may she RIP, was just a dear - and she would regally welcome us with a feast (she/they loved their only son) - and it was a grand ending to the 24 hours we drove - straight through. We took shifts in a 2 or 3 car min-caravan - somebody driving and another in the front seat - while somebody slept in the back seat, and we stopped to "burger up" every 8 hours or so and rotated drivers Oh - the energy we had back then.

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-5030.aspx,

"I see that Amer Picon is down to 18% (365 proof). Oh for the grand old days of Amer Segalas, the premier Picon that had been manufactured in San Francisco since the 1860s, but unfortunately the family couldn't compete with the big distributors. They were 78 proof and better taste that the French diminishing proof version."

This thread is fantastic and you all are a wealth of knowledge -- reviving this thread b/c DH & I are planning a trip to Sonoma in August 2013. Our very favorite wines tend to be chardonnay (preferably little to no oak) and pinot noir (tend to prefer smoother tannins), and we also like sparkling wines. If you had 48 hours and wanted to taste some special wines, especially those that might be harder to find here in Washington DC -- which Somona wineries would you visit? (Nice views would be a bonus.) Some of our favorite wines that we've tasted have been from MacRostie, Grgich Hills, Chalk Hill, Gundlach Bundschu, and we tend to like DeLoach for everyday pinots.

Last time I was in Sonoma was about 10 years ago and I went to Gloria Ferrer and hit it off with some of their staff and ended up doing an after-hours jaunt to a bunch of places I'd never heard of whose "tasting rooms" were in garages and the like -- I would give anything if I could remember any of the names, but it was fun

Thanks for topping, lisa............planning a trip to go visit DD in the next month or so, and tasting is on the agenda!!

I would suggest these 2 as my favorite Sonoma wineries:

Ram's Gate (http://www.ramsgatewinery.com) - Amazing architecture, small bites of food prepared in their kitchen, lots of space, great design, tasty wines, and a perfect place to post up for an hour or five with a bottle of wine

Viansa (http://www.viansa.com) - Good winery for a different style of wine that you might normally find in Sonoma. Unpretentious and affordable, with a great marketplace of olive oils, food, and gifts

I went to Viansa when I moved her down there. I loved it, especially the olive oils! I'll have to try Ram's Gate when I go down next month.

@tenthumbs definitely try Ram's Gate. They are still a young brand but doing very well, and the location is just spectacular. Glad you liked Viansa - a bit different than many other Sonoma wineries in a way that's more broadly appealing I think.

Also, with the latest drama between Mr. Galloni and his Sonoma wine reviews that he plans to publish on his site, we might have some new gold to mine through.

Thanks for the recommendation! I'm going down there in a few weeks, I'll be sure to try it.

Hi.
I would recommend the following places for Pinot Noir: The tasting rooms for WALT and R2, in the town of Sonoma ( they source from all over the state so its a great way to experience many different terroir and the fruit from multiple areas in the state); Sojourn, also in the town of Sonoma and requires an app't; Nicholson Ranch, in Carneros almost to Napa ( short drive from Sonoma); Matrix if you head up to the Dry Creek area. Sunce', next door to DeLoach also has made a very nice Pinot in the past. And of course,
Merry Edwards is a fairly go-to name, but she is now available at Total Wine, so I don't know if that fits your criteria.

For crisp Chardonnays- Haywood, in the town of Sonoma; Glen Lyon- shares tasting room space with Two Amigos in the town of Sonoma; Hawkes- has tasting rooms in Sonoma and in north county next to the Jimtown Store; Iron Horse in Russian River- they are best known for their sparkling wines, but the still Chard is lovely- we just had it last night.
For more ideas, look up the results from Harvest Fair on either the Fair website or the Press Democrat.

Just got back from a weekend in Sonoma with DD and my mom. I visited Ram's Gate~beautiful place, great wine. I didn't get to spend much time there as I arrived at 3:30 and they were closing at 4 for a private function. I bought a bottle of the Chardonnay even though it was a bit out of my price range. Unlike some of the other wineries, they did not waive the tasting fee if you buy a bottle. I would like to go back when they aren't so rushed.

We're going in a few weeks, and I plant to comb through this thread before then for some fresh ideas. We visited WALT when it was Roessler--hit or miss, I thought, but it's a different winemaker now, right? Merry Edwards is sold at Total Wine? How on earth? They don't make that much!

Merry Edwards produce more than 15,000 cases a year.

This weekend is April in Carneros

http://www.carneroswineries.org/events/

A few of the 8th Street wineries will be open - Enkidu, Tin Barn, Ty Caton and Talisman.

Merry Edwards produce more than 15,000 cases a year.

Are you sure? The Prince of Pinot pegs production at 6k cases, though maybe that is only the Pinot production?

Merry Edwards is sold at Total Wine? How on earth?

You would be surprised at what they carry at Total Wine. I only wish they had a store in MA.

We attended a seminar hosted by Merry herself in the spring and she announced that her wines would be available through Total Wine. She didn't specify which wines, other than it would be Pinot and would be sold at the same price as is available at the winery.
WALT is indeed a different winemaker now. That would be the folks at HALL. The Roesslers are producing under the label R2.
Some other unoaked Chardonnay producers are Windsor Oaks, Bennett Valley Cellars and Mayo Family; I haven't had these, but they won awards at Harvest Fair last fall.
If you don't care for the oaky Chards, you might like the Sauv. Blanc at Wilson, Mauritson or Martin Ray's Angeline line. These are the crisp, citric style, not the "grassy" New Zealand style.

My wife and I are headed to Sonoma for the first time in mid-July and this thread has been invaluable.

Has anyone ever tried Williams Selyem? Any thoughts in advance?

Has anyone ever tried Williams Selyem? Any thoughts in advance?

I have upwards of 4 or 5 cases of it laying about. Great stuff. Easily one of the best producers of CA Pinot.

But... I take it you aren't on the mailing list? If so, then I am pretty sure you can't visit or buy wine from them. Note that there is a waiting list to get onto the mailing list, so just signing up today won't get you in in mid-July.

@travelgourmet - I'm very glad to hear the excellent review of Williams Selyem. As for a tasting, thankfully, we were introduced through someone who is on the mailing list and have a tasting set up already.

In that case, enjoy the tasting and buy whatever they will sell you. I also really like Papapietro Perry for Pinot.

@travelgourmet - my wife and I are quite fond of pinots. Any other Sonoma pinot winemakers you would recommend?

@travelgourmet - my wife and I are quite fond of pinots. Any other Sonoma pinot winemakers you would recommend?

Littorai would be good. Paul Hobbs is good too, though not exactly under the radar. I love Kosta Browne, but pretty sure they aren't open to the public. I also like Fritz.

Bookmarking for my trip this fall (happy dancing!!!).

Though not currently known for her Pinot, Carol Shelton released one last year that was very good. And if you don't already know them, Woodenhead may surprise you.

My husband and I drove up to Sonoma in April (I was speaking at a conference there), mainly because we knew we'd buy a little wine while we were there (we had to ship back about 2 cases of wine from Napa four years ago during our belated honeymoon). We booked a Sonoma Valley Wine Trolley Tour (www.sonomavalleywinetrolley.com); four boutique wineries in the greater Sonoma area, catered lunch from the Girl and the Fig (awesome place for dinner too, BTW), and no driving (and no risk of DUI)!! What could be bad about that?

The largest winery we visited was Benzinger-- well worth it. The wines were quite good, and we really got a good education in wine country agriculture and wine making. A Benzinger sibling runs a smaller outfit called Imagery-- original art for the labels, small runs of very, very, VERY tasty wines (we really liked this place), artisanal olive oils and spreads, a tiny run of port (which they sample accompanied by buttons of fine artisanal chocolate from Seattle). The third was Buena Vista, which was fine but not mind-blowing. However, the fourth was an offbeat little roadside tasting shack for Paradise Ridge, whose main facility is a super-picturesque, super-popular destination winery in Santa Rosa. The Paradise Ridge wines were superb; I was totally blown away by a wonderful sparkling shiraz (or was it zinfandel?), and normally I hate sparkling reds.

Two cases of wine bought, much money blown. Worth every penny and the slight hangover.

BTW, the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn was heavenly. Even given the lobby renovations. And the hotel restaurant, Santé, was just phenomenal. We are totally in love with Sonoma now. To the point where my husband wants to retire up there, buy a house with vineyards and lease them to a winery. Good god almighty....

I just started planning my trip to Sonoma today and am writing down all these wineries for reference. My question is, where is the most convenient location to stay while visiting? I just looked at a map and there is Sonoma and Glen Ellen way down south and Healdsburg and Geyersville up north. If I stayed in Sonoma how long would it take me to get to Healdsburg on a weekend (in November). What area has the most wineries that you recommend?

We absolutely love the Dry Creek AVA, so we stay in Healdsburg. Like Sonoma (the town), it has a lovely town square, load of restaurants within easy walking distance, and so on. Sonoma is about a 20-30 minute drive from Healdsburg.