Sonoma - Your Favorite Wines
 

My husband and I will be in Sonoma October 18-21st. With input from razzle, we are staying at the Healdsburg Inn.

I've been reading everyone's winery recommendations re: great views, picnics, friendly tasting experience, off the beaten path,etc. All of these have been helpful.
Now, I'd love to hear your favorite wine.
I'm interested in going to wineries where I can buy or have shipped home to Florida (yes - you can ship to Fl. now). Especially the boutiques that I can't get at home.
Interest in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir - $30ish price range.
Thank you for your suggestions!

Linda

In Healdsburg, I really like the Davis Family Pinots, and the LaCrema Pinots. LaCrema recently opened up a tasting room on the main drag.

wineroad.com and visitwineroad.com are a couple of excellent guides.

I also liked the Merlot at Lambert Bridge. They also have a Sav Blanc garlic mayo that's pretty good. ((b))

The two I really enjoyed in Sonoma were Viansa (the owners are related to the Sebastiani family) and Kline. You can buy picnic food at Viansa and it looked fabulous. There are tables outside overlooking the beautiful vineyard--almost looks like Tuscany. They also have a restaurant in the town and the food was great there. The Kline family is interesting in that the grandfather was Jacquzzi of the whirlpool tub. Enjoy your trip!

Budman:

Sav Blanc garlic mayo?

Linda

I believe nini is probably referring to Cline (not Kline) right down the street from Viansa. Sonoma is great for Chards, not so much for Pinots. Try Imagery, Quivera, Preston, Ledson, J. There are a number of posts on here re: favorites. If you like Zins at all, there are a lot of good ones to be had in Sonoma.

I should probably clarify that we have time to spend one day in Russian River Valley, one North of Healdsburg and one Sonoma and near North
L

I'll have to disagree with the statement that "Sonoma is great for Chards not so much for Pinots."

JMHO, leading edge and highly-regarded Pinot producers, including Rochioli, Williams Sellyem, Kosta Browne, Loring, and Siduri are all making use of Sonoma fruit (among others) to craft some of the best Pinot in the country today.

Yes, sav blanc garlic mayo. I'm having a smoked turkey & swiss with this great stuff. We like it so much, we order it from them on their website. ((b))

Our Favorites in Russian River/Healdsburg area are:
Gary Farrell
J. Rochioli
La Crema (far from botique but still great)
Davis Family
Dutton-Goldfield Winery
Sebastopool/Dutton Estate
Hartford Family

South of you in north Sonoma Valley near Glen Ellen and Kenwood are a few good finds that do great Pinot and Chardonnay

For Botique try:
Eric Ross
Navillus Birney

Some Most) of these tip the balance of $30 for sure but they are certainly worth a stop for the tasting and some of the wines are in your price range certainly...

I'm a big Siduri fan but as a general rule Sonoma is not the best place to find great Pinots. I didn't say there weren't any there...but you'll have to search a little harder than for Zins or Chards.

Thanks, everyone for the feedback.

I have an opened bottle of La Crema in the fridge right now.
Montysc - Some great sounding suggestions (I've looked at some of the websites)

SAnParis - where do you consider the best Pinots from?

Linda

Gary Farrel is a must an absolute must!

SAP, I agree with your choice of Siduri.
If you ever see Porta Grand Reserve PN from CL's Bio Bio Valley, do buy some.
The '04 is gone, but at about $10.50 US here it was a steal.
Spend many hours looking for the monumental '05.
M (SMdA, Gto.)

Great pinot at Papapietro-Perry. GREAT! I like Rosenblum tasting room in Healdsburg Square. Wilson winery has awesome huge award winners. Amphora loads of fun, good wines. Viansa is no longer owned by the family- they divorced and sold it. I dumped their wine club cause I think the wines are pathetic now. They still have a neat gift shop, though. Gloria Ferrer for sprkling and views. Roshambo for a fun and funky place. Foppiano for a great petite syrah and fun place. I'm not into Chard, but Ferrari-Carano has a dynamite reserve. J maakes a good one, too, and I like the food pairing concept there.

I have my Sonoma County wine map out and have been underlining, circling, and making notes. Yesterday I joined Gary Farrell premier crew.

montysc - Hartford Family is res. only?
Is it worth the visit?

L

In addition to Lambert Bridge's sav blanc garlic mayo, do try their mustards-
we picked up a jar last Wed with our
Liquid Assets Club shipment-chardonnay jalapeno-yummy !

There are superb Pinot Noir's around Healdsburg ! I second Pam's suggestion of Gary Farrell and will add:
Thumbprint ( My personal fave find of 2006)
Holdredge
Everett Ridge
MacMurray Ranch
De La Montoya
Davis
Just a few for you to try.

If you are near Sonoma town-seek out Castle for Pinot. Run from Viansa.

The 2006 Sonoma County Harvest Fair winners should be announced before your visit-I highly recommend the Friday night event October 6-anyone want to meet us there ?
:)

R5

I really just love Buena Vista winery, which is really close to downtown Sonoma area. They have a beautiful location (tours dialy from 10am to 5pm) and great people working there. They also have a fabulous Pinot Noir that is in the affordable price range.

"montysc - Hartford Family is res. only?
Is it worth the visit?"

Well I would say it depends on your schedule - the winery grounds and the building are great, and the wines are very nice. If you have the time and are going to be near them (on the way to or from Gary Farrell for example) then it would be worth it. I like the wine, but with all the wineries people are adding to your list you may have plenty to try to visit already. I usually visit them during an event so they are already open!

Pinots, to me = France or Oregon, although they make some good ones in the south central part of Cal. as well.

ttt for R5

I justed to live close to the wine region and I missed very much.

Everytime we had guest we went to Viansa, Cline, V Sattui, Chandon, Robert Mondavi.

All of them (not Cline.V Sattui) have great views... for tours, Chandon and Robert Mondavi are very good, for friendly testing Viansa and my favorite V Sattui were you can have great picnics.

There are tons of wineries, and I'm sure you will get lots of advice... I'm just telling you friendly places with good wine.

Have fun

We had a wonderful reserve tasting at Chateau St. Jean this summer. The wines were great and the atmosphere and service were outstanding. Our whole group thought it was the best tasting we had ever had in Europe and California.

I have to put in a plug for my wife's favorite chard and my favorite pinot noir since nobody else mentioned it...Schug. It's a no frills south Sonoma winery with a very low key tasting room but a very friendly and knowageable staff and IMHO the best pinots and Chards. It may qualify as boutique-ie...not sure if it is available in the stores in FL.

My husband and I visited Sonoma in mid-August, and it was wonderful. Only wish we'd had more time.

When we were there, we especially enjoyed the Viansa Winery. The grounds are magnificent; you'll think you're in a Tuscan villa. You can only get their wines from them; they are very accomodating as far as shipping it to you, and they also have a great wine program where you can get 2 bottles of white sent to you every month for $38.

The wine that we tasted and absolutely loved was called Frescolina. It's very light, and recommended as an appertif, but we enjoy it all the time. I would also suggest the Imbianco, the Chardonnay, and especially the Arneis.

They also have many products in their cucina, and no matter if you prefer red or white, try the Dark Chocolate/Cabernet sauce. It's amazing. Enjoy! Susan

Sonoma County is WONDERFUL Pinot country and I echo monty's comments plus Joseph Swan for Pinot etc and Iron Horse (west of Sebastopol) for bubbles. Have you already got restaurant referrals? Don't miss dinner at Cyrus even if you have to take a bar table! I love the lamb with bleu cheese burger at Bistro Ralph's for lunch. The Farmhouse in Forestville is also delightful. Oops, I almost forgot The Girl and the Fig in Sonoma--love the patio! Enjoy every ounce of your visit!!

I can't give you any recommendations for great places to eat, but my very favorite wine (so far!) in the whole world is a St. Francis Cabernet from the Sonoma Valley. I can't always find it where we live, but I'm sure the St. Francis winery has to be fairly close to the Healdsburg Inn.
Have a wonderful time. I wish I could be there too.

Susantravels, we went to Viansa about 4 years ago for the first time. It was impressive, with all the food and the grounds, etc, but a bit crowded. We joined their wine club. After a year, we noticed that the wine was not satisfactory, in fact it was nasty. We poured it out. I later found out that the Sebastiani family (Vicky?) had sold it and were divorcing, and they had new winemakers and management. You certainly could tell by the quality of the wine. It tasted like drug store boxed variety. I hope somebody steps in there and improves the quality of the product. Until then , steer very very far away from Viansa.

I'll agree w/Linda, Viansa gets a ton of traffic due to its location. It is also a favorite stop for tour buses as well. They do have a neat little setup & there are a lot of non-wine products to buy there. However, the quality of the wine there has decreased dramatically. Due to the wine-maker, or more likely, due to the fact that they are bottling too soon & not aging their wine properly to try & keep up w/demand.

Thank you all for your input. I'll post my tentative plans in early October and then do a trip report later

Tahoekr - we do have reservations for Cyrus and Dry Creek Kitchen. We are staying in Sonoma one night and haven't decided - Harvest Moon or The Girl and the Fig (my husband doesn't like figs!) I know others have asked - what type of menu does the Harvest Moon have??

Linda

Two of my favorite Sonoma wines can be found at:

www.schugwinery.com
www.nicholsonranch.com

Also, don't miss the chateau at Domaine Carneros.

www.domainecarneros.com

I would recommend Alexander Valley vineyard. We were lucky enough to be able to stay onsight at the vineyard several years ago thanks to a silent auction. We visited the vineyard again two weeks ago. Nice family owned and good wine.

Actually, the entire Alexander Valley is on my must do list. My husband and I dedicated an entire day there last year. For a real hoot- go to the Johnson Family Vineyard. Watch the potholes. Alexander Valley has a signature wine- Cyrus- which is a fun blend. We are members of their wine club and like their wines a lot. Fieldstone is also a good stop...they filmed at the Bartles and James commercials there on the little porch at the house above.

We have visited Chateau St. Jean in the past and love the property. Last night we enjoyed some their Pinot Noir with our meal at the Duck Club at the Monterey Plaza & Spa. It was wonderful! :)

We also love the Ledson wines and the Imagery wines in Sonoma. girl and the fig is very nice as is the Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg. Cheers! ***kim*** ((#))

Buena Vista Merlot!

We thought Benziger was a much friendlier winery, but the merlot at Buena Vista was our favorite.

Loved visiting Joseph Swan, the owner himself poured.
Russian Hill is delicious and a sublime setting, especially in fall.
Cyrus in Healdsburg was just hailed as
one of the best 50 restaurants in the US by Gourmet.
I recommend Seghesio, if you're a fan of Zin, and J for their fabulous pairings