bmcc

I've decided to try to stay in Healdsburg in early spring, and am leaning towards Haydon Street Inn. A couple of questions, for which I appreciate any replies:

1. Is it practical to think we can drive ourselves between wineries after tastings? Or do you recommend biking or hiring a car instead? Not sure what most people do to avoid driving if they are tasting...

2. Do most wineries allow drop-ins for tasting? Or is it necessary to map out your days ahead of time and make appointments everywhere? We tend to like our days to be casually unplanned if possible.

3. I'm nervous about dinner options. Must I make reservations for each night months ahead, or will we be able to find restaurants and get reservations once we get there?

4. I've come up with a list of about 10-12 wineries at random just by reading this forum. How many is practical to do in a day without over-doing it? We will have 2-3 days for tasting, but might like to take a break one of those days and do something else.

5. Everyone has faves, so if you post back and have a not-to-miss winery or restaurant please share. In general we prefer pinot noirs and shiraz.

Thanks everyone!

MonicaRichards

If you are planning on biking or driving, just make sure the person driving is really only tasting, i.e. one sip from every glass, and not consuming the entire tasting portion of every wine. What we do is get one glass for both of us and then the driver tastes and the passenger finishes, or you could have the passenger tell the driver what tastes are worth his time. Most wineries allow drop ins except the smallest ones, and even they are likely open on the weekends. I loved Willi's Wine Bar in Healdsburg so make sure you have dinner there one night.

dfrieders

Not sure where you are from, but I don't think I would be staying in Healdsburg for wine tasting. My cousins lived there and it is charming and I'm sure they have lots of wineries, but I'd head to Napa,and Calistoga - at least for the big wineries. That's just my take. St. Helena is a cute town close by. Christian Brothers is a fabulous old structure that now houses the culinary school that prepares meals - it is no longer a winery, but a must see. In Napa, I would not bike since the wineries are off the main two-lane road. Very dangerous. For driving purposes, the wineries are all fairly close to each other. They now charge for tasting and if you are really into wine, it would depend how long you wanted to stay at each place. They all have shops and deli type foods also. Lots of shops to browse through in the towns to break up the tasting. Calistoga is known for their hot springs - you might want to do that too. Then drive over to Healdsburg for the drive and to check it out or vice versa. Some people hire a car (limo's), but personally, I wouldn't want to spend the money. Limit your tasting and buy a bottle that you like and enjoy it in the evening with dinner or whatever. You do not need reservations, it is all drop in. Lots of restaurants in Napa at least, make reservations when you get there or drop in and maybe wait a bit. Unless you plan to hit a really high-end restaurant that is very popular - make a reservation a week ahead or call and see what they require. It is all very casual! I really can't make any recommendations for Healdsburg - but I'm sure someone can. I'm not a wine drinker - but love to go for the drive, shopping and visiting the wineries. It is so beautiful there!! Enjoy and I hope I was a little helpful.

kleroux

You don't need appointments to taste. You only get a very small amount of each wine per taste... usually the total amount of wine is the size of one wine glass. Its perfectly OK to share a tasting. You should figure you can do about 4 tastings at a time. Most tasting rooms also offer water and some sort of cracker. Yes drive, no don't bike. Limo is OK if you want to spend the $$. Lots of tasting rooms around the town square in Healdsburg too.
I'm not sure when the poster "Dfrieders" was last in Healdsburg, but its exactly the place you want to be to taste wine, shop and eat. Just read all the postings here about Healdsburg!! As for restaurants... if you plan on eating at Cyrus, you will need advanced reservations. For every where else you should be OK reserving when you arrive. Your B&B can help with this I'm sure.

MileKing

I’m assuming you are going to focus on the Sonoma area wineries as Napa is about a 1 hour drive from Healdsburg. I would not recommend attempting to visit wineries in both Napa and Sonoma when you only have 2-3 days. Yes, you can drive yourself between wineries….that is what most people do and it is not a problem as long as you taste responsibly. I would not recommend biking unless all the wineries you plan to visit are in Sonoma proper (i.e. “downtown”), Healdsburg proper, or perhaps on West Dry Creek Road.

Most wineries do not require appointments, but there are always exceptions, particularly among the smaller wineries. Although I can understand the desire for your days to be “casually unplanned”, I feel you really need to do some investigation beforehand and have some type of plan to make the best use of your 2-3 days tasting. The reasons for this are many:
- Some wineries are only open on the weekend
- Tasting hours are limited. Typically winery hours are 10 AM – 5 PM, although you will find a number of wineries that don’t open until 11 AM and some that close as early as 4 PM.
- The distances between wineries, particularly in Sonoma County, can be long and driving time cuts into tasting time
- In your case, since you are interested in specific types of wine, note that not every winery offers Pinot Noir and there are very few that offer Shiraz. You don’t want to get to a winery and find they don’t offer either.

We typically plan on 6-7 wineries per day, but that is with a very well planned itinerary that runs 10 AM – 5 PM, orders our winery visits so we don’t backtrack, includes appointments (where necessary), and limits our tasting to one or two varietals at each winery. If you don’t plan in advance, run a shorter day, and taste more than one or two varietals (or taste more than 5-6 different wines at a given winery), expect to visit fewer than 6-7 wineries. At a minimum, I would suggest identifying 15 Sonoma area wineries that offer either Pinot Noir and/or Shiraz so you have some idea where you might want to visit. I suggest looking at www.wineroad.com for ideas.

Our typical approach to a tasting day is to start with a good, large breakfast and have it finished about 1.5 hour before starting our first tasting. Then it’s off to the supermarket for water (for 3 full days of tasting we’ll likely go through about a case of bottled water), cheese, and crackers. Start on the water before arriving at the first winery and consume water and food between each winery. After visiting 3 wineries, have lunch.

Other suggestions:
- Share your tastings (i.e. use only one glass)
- Let your server know before they start pouring that you would appreciate small pours. We’ve found that most pours are well more than needed for a tasting.
- Do not be afraid to pour the remainder of your glass into the bucket (or even spit out a wine), particularly if you don’t like the taste
- Do not feel you need to try everything on the tasting menu. Limit your tasting to the wines you really want to try. You won’t get a break on the tasting charge, but you may be offered (or you can request) a tasting of something that may not be on the regular tasting menu. Not all wineries or servers will comply, but many will.

For Pinot Noir, I would recommend Hartford Family Winery. Enjoy your trip!

StuDudley

I agree with kleroux - I would stay in Healdsburg insted of any town in the Napa Valley. Also, the wineries around Healdsburg are a lot more "inviting" than wineries in the Napa Valley. There are dozens of wineries in Sonoma Co that have lawns & picnic facilities - but only a few that have same in Napa Valley.

In the summer, I would not assume you could just drop in to Cyrus, Dry Creek Kitchen, Ravenous, Willies, Ralphs, Zin, etc and get a table - unless you try it very early in the evening or very late, or get lucky. A reservation a day or two in advance would probably work better - except for Cyrus.

Stu Dudley

LLindaC

I used opentable.com to get a reservation at Willi's before we left for CA. Haydon St innkeepers can help you get reservations to Cyrus...let them know plenty in advance. The fellow who owns that used to be chef at Churchill Downs. Healdsburg is a GREAT town. There are lots of winery tasting rooms within walking distance of the inn....my fav is Rosenblum. No fees, lots of fun. The one winery that you may need a reservation that is absolutely a MUST is Wilson. Since you mentioned pinots...Papapietro-Perry makes THE most delicious ones. We are members of their club and love, love them. We always split tastings, taste only a few and take tiny sips. Also, take water and food with you when you drive around. If you do 3 days, spend one day in Alexander valley and get a picnic lunch at Jimtown store.Your ideas about being flexible are spot on. Some of our best experiences happen when talking to a winemaker and he picks up the phone and sends us to a friend's place, etc. Some innkeepers have special arrangements with wineries and restaurants. The smaller, more personal wineries are our favorites.

MileKing

Papietro Perry is a good choice for Pinot Noir. Wilson does not produce either a Pinot Noir or a Shiraz that I am aware of, although they have some good zinfandels. No appointment needed. Rosenblum is very good for zinfandel, but I believe they only have one Pinot Noir and don't produce Shiraz.

bmcc

Wow - thanks everyone for some great info. I just booked the Haydon Street Inn and will work on narrowing my winery list. Again - thanks for all the advice.

jnjfraz

"We typically plan on 6-7 wineries per day" I think you palete died at about 3-4 wineries.

Austin

See, I think 6 to 7 wineries is fine. Of course DH is always the DD. He loves CA and loves to drive. He tastes, I taste and drink...

We personally do not like Napa. Too many tourists and lots of traffic. I think the atmosphere of the wineries is a bit snooty.

Healdsburg is great, and there are dozens of wineries nearby - especially on Dry Creek Road and West Dry Creek Road. http://www.inetours.com/PagesWT/WTar...reek_Road.html

Most all of them are open from about 10 AM to 5 or 6 PM. No appointment necessary. If you feel like driving a bit, you can head south about 20 minutes or less to River Road and the Russian River Valley and you'll find many more wineries. http://www.winecountrygetaways.com/r..._details2.html



It's so much fun and so beautiful.

jojo46

People on this board seem to know so much about Healdsburg, a favorite place to visit which I also think is a GREAT base for winetasting and exploring the region. Please would you give me an update on Bistro Ralph? Used to love it, great food and casual atmosphere, then I felt snotty factor went up and food quality down. How is it now?

MileKing

jnjfraz, the number of wineries is not so much the issue in whether your palate can continue to distinguish between different wines. It's how many wines you taste, how much you drink vs discard, keeping properly hydrated (constantly be drinking water throughout the day), and eating food between visits. There is a big difference between tasting and drinking. If you are trying and consuming everything a winery has on its tasting menu, then I agree your palate is likely to be shot by the third winery.

janiekins

When you mention Willi's restaurant are you talking about Willi's Seafood in Healdsburg or Willi's Wine Bar in Santa Rosa?

kleroux

Willie's seafood in Hbg..it also has meat and vegetable dishes. Its a great place. There is also a Willie's in Santa Rosa..actually now 2 or 3 other Willie's. As for Bistro Ralph... it used to be about the only game in town. Now there are LOTS of other good restaurants. Its still good, but there are other, maybe a bit more interesting places to eat. I don't think its snobby.... only Cyrus seems to fit in that catagory.

jnjfraz

Didn't mean to be so over reactive to 6-7 winerys a day, guess we just prefer to go a little slower AND we're in the business so we have been spoiled by private tours.

LLindaC

We've easiily done 6-7. We're on EST and get up around 5 am, lol. Hit 3 wineries bewtween 10-12:30, do lunch, then hit a few more. That's usually if you are just "sipping" or tasting a few. The schedule changes, of course, when you're given a barrel tasting or are taking a tour. (I recommend taking one tour, btw.) Then there are some wineries, such as hess in Napa, which have art galleries. Some have nice gift shops and others have delis. A place such as Papapietro-Perry is basically a counter and once you are through tasting (and buying and joining the wine club) you are through.

Austin

What Linda said...I could never do 6 to 7 in a row (well,maybe if you FORCED me...) You can do a few here and there, drive a bit, see the scenery, shop, eat, stop again, etc., etc.

ppierce

Not sure what one of the above posters was refering to but I believe Healdsburg is THE best area for wineries and tastings. Its the epi-center for 3 of my fav wine regions in Ca. Russian River, Dry Creek and Alexander Valley. Napa is crowded, commercial and expensive. In the healdsburg area, you'll find far more smaller, family owned wineries, with more character, less expensive and sometimes superior quality wines. I won't stay in Napa anymore.

LLindaC

me either