We will be spending 4 days in Healdsburg in mid-September. We are flying out from the east coast and we will arrive early afternoon on a Wednesday and plan to walk around town and stop in at the various tasting rooms that afternoon. Then start the driving tours the next day.

Any tasting rooms we shouldn't miss? We like pinot noir, buttery chardonnay, big zins and good cabs.

Thanks!

For Zins you will want to hit Rosenblum's tasting room, just off the square. Also, Ridge Lytton Springs north of Healdsburg just off 101 and Quivira. DW's choice for big Chards is Ferrari-Carano as the north end of Dry Creek Valley and Mazzocco, near the airport north of town. For Pinot, check out Joseph Swan and Hartford Family. Also, J Vineyards, just south of town on the Old Redwood Highway is a sparkling wine house, but they also have excellent Pinot and Zinfandel. We'll be there in early Sept. to check them out again.
As an aside, if want something different and don't mind the drive, do a day trip to the Anderson Valley. Take SR 128 west from the 101 at the far end of Cloverdale. Roederer Estate, Navarro, Lazy Creek, Goldeneye and Husch are a few of your choices. There is also a nice brewpub in Boonville, Anderson Valley Brewing Co. Cheers!

Please check out Williamson Wines - 134 Matheson Street - just off of the square. Dawn and Bill are the owners and they are wondeful. Tastings are free of charge and come with small food pairings.

Rosenblum closed their tasting room several months ago, so don't go looking for it! Ferrari Carano has a tasting room on the north side of the Plaza; you don't need to drive way up-valley to visit them. I highly recommend Longboard Winery, which is a few blocks south of the plaza. Their zins are amazing and they produce some great chardonnay, too. Try their syrah as well. La Crema, just a few doors off the plaza, is good for chardonnay as well as almost everything they produce.

Thank you for all of the suggestions!

One of my all-time favorites is in Healdsburg. Davis Family Vineyards has great wines. Syrah, Pinot and Zinfandel are my favorites, and we really liked their Chardonnay, too. Wines are not cheap, but we find them worth the extra cost. We've never gone wrong at DFV.

http://www.davisfamilyvineyards.com/

By the way, a short drive from Healdsburg is the Alexander Valley. Stryker is set in an incredibly beautiful setting. Terrific Zins (I won a wine-tasting contest last Fall with one of them and an incredible Petit Verdot). Last summer, we had a wine-maker dinner in the vineyards there.

http://www.strykersonoma.com/

I was also going to suggest Williamson Wines. I liked that they paired food with each wine serving in a before and after manner. We ended up buying a case and having it shipped home. In full disclosure...I only opened bottles for special occasions and found they didn't taste as well as they did in the tasting room.

When you are out on your driving tours, don't miss the Rombauer winery. I love their Chardonnay and Zin. It is my go to wine for special occasions that I can find locally.