Best Sonoma wineries you've never heard of
Sep 6th, 2012, 07:41 AM
#81
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 17,801
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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?
A question: if you found it at a restaurant, does that mean a wine shop can get it for you through the same distributor?
Sep 23rd, 2012, 04:59 PM
#83
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 406
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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.
Sep 27th, 2012, 10:42 AM
#86
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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!!!
Sep 27th, 2012, 10:53 AM
#87
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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.
Sep 27th, 2012, 02:46 PM
#88
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 124
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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.
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.
Sep 28th, 2012, 05:44 AM
#91
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,375
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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.
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.
Sep 28th, 2012, 07:34 AM
#92
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!
I think their champagne helped me snag my DH!
Sep 28th, 2012, 04:47 PM
#93
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,375
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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....................
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....................
Sep 28th, 2012, 05:04 PM
#94
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,375
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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?
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?
Sep 28th, 2012, 08:13 PM
#96
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,375
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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.
Sep 29th, 2012, 04:20 AM
#98
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,375
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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."
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."
Feb 2nd, 2013, 05:02 PM
#99
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,306
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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
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
