UNCORKED WINE TRAVELS

Musings Along The Wine Trails

2021’s Top 10 Winery Picks off Russian River Valley’s Iconic Westside Road

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Thought I’d share my favorite Top 10, most fun, top notch wineries along Russian River’s highly touted Westside Road.  If you’re new to Russian River Valley and love artisanal Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon, I highly recommend planning a few days wine tasting on Westside Road.  Starting from the far west end of Westside Road, moving toward Healdsburg, here are my top 10 picks for 2021 ~ Cheers!

1.  Moshin Vineyards – One of my all-time favorite wineries at the far west end of Westside Road!  Look for the giant metal hummingbird hovering over the treetops to guide the way to the tasting room.  Moshin is always fun and funky, with unique local art displayed in the tasting room.  There’s a wide range of of small production wines available for tasting, including sparkling wine and a great line up of Pinot Noir.  Friendly wine hosts engage with the guests and are eager to share their stories.

 2.  Porter Creek Vineyards – No trip is complete without a visit to Porter Creek.  The dollhouse-like tasting room holds about six people comfortably but long-time wine host Jonathan will always make room for more.  The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines are meticulously crafted by winemaker Alex Davis, who studied viticulture at the Université de Bourgogne before taking the reins at the family winery.  Other varietals produced include Viognier, Syrah, Zinfandel and Carignane.

3.  Thomas George Estates – Plan ahead and reserve a cave wine tasting or take a wine safari aboard a vintage Pinzgauer to the top of Baker Ridge vineyard to revel at the panoramic view.  Enjoy an estate four course picnic lunch, complete with a select bottle of estate Pinot Noir.  Thomas George was originally a hop kiln in the 1920s, later owned by the late wine pioneer Davis Bynum who planted some of the first Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Grenache Noir in Russian River Valley.  Truly a spectacular property with gorgeous lush gardens and towering trees, and of course, a wine cave.

4.  Landmark Vineyards at Hop Kiln Estate – Heading toward Healdsburg at a hairpin turn, you’ll find the historic Walters Hop Kiln.   Built in 1905 by a crew of Italian stonemasons, it represents the finest existing example of its type, consisting of three stone kilns for drying hops, a wooden cooler, and a two-story press for bailing hops.  In the late 1890’s, the property was a stagecoach stop.  Here you’ll find mostly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Grenache and Pinot Gris.  Now corporate-owned by Landmark, the ambience is still rustic and worthy of a quick stop to grab a glass and marvel at the restored hop kilns.

5.  MacRostie Winery & Vineyards – Hands down, some of the best views along Westside Road, looking out to Mount Saint Helena and the Mayacamas.  One of the newer wineries, MacRostie, is always packed to capacity, so reserve days ahead.  The tastings are seated and not rushed, with great individual interaction with entertaining and knowledgeable wine hosts.  Guests are greeted with a cold glass of Rosé or Sauvignon Blanc, depending on the season, and escorted to a view table. Side by side tastings are common with the many single vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines.  Can’t say enough about MacRostie ~ it’s top of the list for me! [Read more…]

Cannabis in Wine Country? NIMBY.

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Courtesy of ehn.org

Oddly, the hot topic of discussion in wine country nowadays seems to be all about cannabis.  While legal for recreational and medicinal use for the most part in California, like it or not, cannabis farming has become a $4.4 billion booming business and is still growing.  No pun intended.

While somewhat reluctant to broach the subject while wine tasting in Sonoma County a few days ago, the banter was always lively and engaging, no matter who you asked.  In a short time, I learned that the majority of cannabis was grown in Humboldt County, processed in Mendocino County and distributed widely in Sonoma County, and that Napa County was not at all amused.

Courtesy of The Press Democrat

While Driving along Highway 116, I caught several wafts of fresh cannabis on alternating days, which caught me slightly off-guard.  A fun fact – Santa Rosa Jr. College offers an agricultural hemp program to teach students about the hemp industry, focusing on plant science, soil and plant nutrition and cultivation as well as marketing hemp products to consumers.

Another fun fact – apparently, there is a specialty market called Solful in Sebastopol where “soccer moms” reportedly line up for cannabis infused products.  I’m not sure why this surprised me, but it did.  All this may be the makings of a good Netflix series.

Last photo of my favorite old barn in Russian River Valley

Like anything controversial,  there are several train of thoughts about whether cannabis should be melded with California’s $42 billion retail wine empire.  A random sampling of tasting room hosts, winemakers and cannabis and wine enthusiasts along my travels, all felt very strongly about their reasons for keeping the two industries separate.   Speaking on behalf of the wine purists and those not interested in having cannabis farms near their homes, schools or place of business, this collective group was opposed to the pungent aromas permeating the air, even detectable with indoor growing operations. [Read more…]

Book Review: Sonoma Wine And The Story Of Buena Vista

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For the discerning wine geek on your holiday list, Sonoma Wine And The Story of Buena Vista would be a most welcome read.   Modern California wine historian Charles L. Sullivan offers a fascinating detailed perspective on the state’s 200+ year viticulture history complete with vintage photos and colorful anecdotes.

Sullivan engages readers with in-depth tales of the ginormous entrepreneurial wine pioneers and overwhelming financial hardships encountered in Alta California’s La Frontera del Norte in the 1800’s. 

Many Italian immigrant farmers found their way first to the “promised land” and successfully planted the vineyards with their native grape varietals, many of which remain today.  Others with “deep pockets” and little farming skills became large winery owners or shipping magnates.

By far, the most intriguing chapters of Sonoma Wine trace the tumultuous early years at Buena Vista, California’s oldest premium winery, through the acts of brillant, yet quixotic founder Agoston Haraszthy in 1857.  Add the aftermath of the Gold Rush, the devastating plague of phylloxera and the dry years of Prohibition to the mix and it becomes a novel worthy of historical fact and reflection.

Etude Winery Artfully Handcrafts World Class Pinot Noir With Old World Elegance

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On a recent jaunt to Napa Valley, I stumbled upon Etude Winery on the very outskirts of the Napa city limits.  Tucked off a sleepy two lane country road, I thought I’d stop in and check out the old Remy Martin Brandy Distillery site which is now home to Etude Winery.  Out with the Cognac and in with the Pinot Noir.

For a better appreciation of the wines, it’s key to understand the terroir.  Carneros AVA is shared by Sonoma County and Napa County and is revered for its cool growing climate, replete with fog and maritime breezes off the Pacific Ocean and San Pablo Bay. The combination of  low daytime temperatures, an array of volcanic, coarse sand and gravel soils and the influence of the Petaluma Wind Gap,  make for ideal growing conditions for both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Etude‘s flagship Grace Benoit Ranch is planted to seven clones of Pinot Noir, nine+ clones of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and two clones of Merlot and Malbec.

Nothing prepared me for what I was about the discover inside the old distillery.

Not only was Etude‘s tasting room a show-stopping masterpiece, but the wine tasting experience was one of the best I’ve encountered in a long time, thanks to Greg Sweval, Hospitality Sales Manager and the amicable and knowledgeable Wine Club Ambassador, Angel Aguirre-Benites. [Read more…]