New Tasting Rooms in Sonoma County

Would you like to visit some newer places and maybe discover some new favorite wines? Heck, maybe you just wanna get out of the house and do anything! Here are some recent additions to Sonoma County wine tasting. I haven't visited any yet as I've been, you know, at home.

image from Aperture Cellars

Aperture Cellars Healdsburg

In person and virtual tastings are available (ah, the pandemic life-style). The father is a famous photographer, son is the winemaker. Jesse has quite a resumé as a winemaker and has been making the Aperture wines for over a decade. They seem to specialize in Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux-style blends and also currently offer Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc (both whites are barrel-fermented).

Bricoleur Vineyards Windsor

Since they opened during the pandemic they've set up their services to work under these conditions. There is the regular tasting at the winery, but you can order wine and do a virtual tasting with someone from Bricoleur, you can even order pizza and pasta to cook at home with suggested wine pairings. They farm a couple vineyards including the Kick Ranch which is kinda in my neighborhood. Current wines available are Chardonnay, rosé, Viognier, Brut, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel. Alcohol levels in the reds seem a bit high, for me anyway, so we'll see.

Chenoweth Wines Sebastopol

From grape grower to winemaker is a path a lot of folks take, including this family. The husband grows the grapes, the wife makes the wine, the kids work there, too. Mostly Pinot Noir with a Chardonnay, Savignon Blanc, and rosé.

Goldschmidt Vineyards Healdsburg

In a co-op of tasting rooms in Dry Creek Valley; what used to be called the Family Wineries is now the Pour House. The Goldschmidts have been making wine for a long time and now have their own tasting room. They currently have a lot of different wine offerings from Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Malbec to Merlot, but their focus is on Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley and Oakville over in Napa. Their Sauv Blanc is from Marlborough in New Zealand (he's a consulting winemakers in several countries).

Nick Goldschmidt walking the vineyards
image from sonomamag.com

Wait, there's more!

A few others, not quite as new as those above, but if you don't get to Sonoma County too often they may be new to you. All are small producers of top quality wines. 

Bedrock Wine Co., Sonoma
Idlewood Wines, Healdsburg
Pax Wine Cellars, Sebastopol
Ryme Cellars, Forestville

I may have missed a couple tasting rooms here, not intentionally.

Enjoy