If you are thinking about your first wine tasting trip to Sonoma County, it can be a daunting task with so many wineries spread out over a large area. Where to go? There are hundreds of wineries (not all have tasting). Also, the county is very large, so you should probably concentrate on one or two regions. It might come down to what kind of wines you like. Let's say you're also fairly new to wine tasting trips and are really exploring the possibilities.
 |
| Sonoma Plaza, lined with restaurants and tasting rooms from sonomavalley.com |
Here is a list of wineries for first time visitors suggested by Sonoma Magazine.
Following is my list. Some from Sonoma Mag I agree with, some I don't. These wineries have a mix of history, visual aesthetics, and reasonable prices. This is in no way a definitive list, but consider it one more data point in putting together a good itinerary for yourself. They are scattered throughout the county, but grouped by region.
 | |
| Vineyard tram tour at Benziger Winery image from benziger.com |
South Sonoma County (includes the town of Sonoma)
Buena Vista History and the interesting touch of the owner, Jean-Claude Boisset (he owns several wineries in Sonoma and Napa counties).
Benziger The tram vineyard tour and tasting is cool.
Gloria Ferrer Sparkling wines, views, and food pairings.
Gundlach Bundschu Vineyard tours and several tasting options. Their family Rhinefarm Vineyard was founded in 1858; that's a long time by California standards.
 | |
| Wine tasting in the caves at Deerfield image from deerfieldranch.com |
Central Sonoma County (includes the city of Santa Rosa)
Chateau St. Jean You may have seen some of their bottles in retail shops. If you visit, be sure to taste the wines only available at the winery. Some are exceptional.
Deerfield Ranch Tastings are in the cave.
Kendall Jackson Yes, you've no doubt seen their inexpensive Chardonnay and a couple other wines on the store shelf at home. They make a lot more than that.
Korbel Everybody knows the Korbel Brut you see for under ten bucks in every alcohol retail outlet in the country, so it seems. They make many more sparkling wines. Tastings, tours, and a nice deli.
St. Francis A wide selection of wines available. Tastings, food pairings, and vineyard tours available.
VJB Great setup with food available. Wines tend to be Italian varietals, and you've probably never heard of some of them.
 | |
| It ain't Napa fancy at Preston, but you'll feel right at home image from prestonfarmandwinery.com |
North Sonoma County (includes the town of Healdsburg)
Dry Creek Vineyard A good selection of wines. Nice grounds.
J A few whites, several Pinot Noirs available, but it's mostly about the sparkling wines.
Pedroncelli Good wines, reasonable prices and nice people. A favorite of mine because of value.
Preston A farm store, wine tasting, and picnic grounds. I know of only a handful of people besides Lou Preston who do a great job of making excellent wines that sell at reasonable prices.
 |
| Early spring in Sonoma Valley |
No comments:
Post a Comment