For one of the most memorable wine tasting experiences in Sonoma Wine Country, visit Jordan Winery in the stoic Alexander Valley. Founded in 1972, Tom and Sally Jordan had a vision to produce great “approachable” Bordeaux-style California Cabernet Sauvignon.
Inspired and fashioned after a French château, the Jordan Winery is at the top of the A-list for winery tours. No detail is too small, nor overlooked. Guests meet in the stately lobby for a guided walking tour of the grounds and production area, followed by a first-class private seated wine and food pairing in the château.
“Unique amongst Healdsburg wineries, more than three-quarters of the scenic estate has been preserved as natural habitat—an oasis where craggy oak trees pepper the landscape, geese and ducks swim the lakes, and rabbits and turkeys roam the hills. The property includes 112 acres of grapevines, 18 acres of olive trees, a one-acre garden, two lakes and several grazing pastures. The diversity of ecosystems on the estate encourages beneficial insects and other predators that support our sustainable farming practices”.
While the Jordan Estate encompasses 1,200 acres, only 112 acres are sustainably farmed and planted with Bordeaux varieties ~ Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Jordan Estate sources Chardonnay grapes from the east side of the Russian River Valley, to emulate the stone fruit, minerality and high acidity found in the great white Burrgandies of Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault.
Tradition runs long and true at Jordan Winery. Rob Davis has been the winemaker for 40 years and has apprenticed under the legendary winemaker André Tchelistcheff. Over 4,000 barrels of wine are stacked and aging in the winery at any given time.
After a comprehensive tour of the production facility, guests are ushered into the château to sample the elegant, yet versatile 2013 Russian River Chardonnay, paired that day with a cucumber dill laced appetizer which complimented the apple, lemon zest crispness of the Chardonnay.
The perfect ending to the magnificent tour culminated in the stately Jordan Winery library. Massive wood beams above provided old world charm and ambience for the private wine tasting.
Guests were served an array of gourmet cheeses and estate produced olive oil with a vertical pouring of the 2006-2008 Cabernet Sauvignon. Lovely aged reds with soft, rounded tannins, good company, lively conversation and memories to last until the next visit.
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