Value Wineries in Sonoma County

Prices have everyone bummed. There are plenty of people complaining about wine and wine tasting prices. Following are a few relatively inexpensive wineries that offer what I consider excellent wines for the price. There are no doubt others that could be listed here, but these are ones I'm familiar with.

As a bonus, they are family-owned.

Hank Wetzel, founder of Alexander Valley Vineyards,
helping with the 1969 grape harvest
image from avvwine.com

Alexander Valley Vineyards
This is one of the best bargains around. Cheap tasting fees; whites, the rosé, and many reds priced in the low-$20s. The high-end reds run $50 to $60.

Cline
Probably the best-known winery on the list because they make a lot of wine. They also make many different wines, something like 40 are currently showing on their webpage. Cline is famous for their excellent wines priced in the $20s, and they still make those, but have others reaching up to $60.

Balletto
Their specialties are chardonnay and pinot noir. Prices of the pinot have gone up in the last few years, but not nearly as high as today's norm. Many whites are priced in the mid-20s. They have several chardonnays ranging from the $20s into the low-$40s. My favorite is the cheapest because it's unoaked. Reds go from the $30s to the single-vineyard pinots in the $50s. The bargain is the Russian River (vineyard blend) pinot noir that's $35 at the winery and usually less in stores.

Balletto's website has a section called Meet the Team
that includes the dogs
image from ballettovineyards.com

Pedroncelli
Wines range in price from the teens to the $40s. They make many different wines, but you go here for the zinfandel that's priced from $24 to $48. The $24 Mother Clone zin is a bargain.

Preston
Priced in the $30s and $40s and worth every penny IMO. Their farm also has fruits, vegetables, olives, chickens, sheep, and more. The most expensive wine is the L Preston Rhone-style red blend at $48. Even at that price, it's a deal compared to other similar wines.

Lou and Susan Preston
image from prestonfarmandwinery.com

Trentadue
Prices run from $18 to $60 with several wines in the $20s. Their La Storia wines, mostly in the $30s, overdeliver for the price. They make everything from sparkling wine to port. The best bang-for-the-buck reds for me are the La Storia cuvee and zinfandel, both in the mid-30s. I find many of their wines at the local wine warehouse for about $10 off retail prices.

Shared Wine Making

There are custom crush and co-op facilities in Sonoma County. These offer winery production for anyone too small to have their own winery, so it's a space shared by several tiny operations. Some have tasting, such as Grand Cru, Sugarloaf, and Vinify. These won't be fancy, they are working winery production facilities.

Family Wineries

Whatever your price range and whatever wine you're looking for, don't miss on visiting a few of the many small family operations in Sonoma County. The big boys have the big marketing budget to draw you in, but be sure to try out a few of the ones you've never heard of. This is where you might find that one memorable wine. Sure, memorable views and memorable architecture is nice, but that memorable wine discovery is something you can savor for a while at home.

image from sonomamag.com