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…]
DRNK‘s vibrant 2020 Sauvignon Blanc and the five Bordeaux varietals found in the 2018 Red Blend are grown on the Kunde Estate’s Wildwood Vineyards in Sonoma Valley. Looking for something different? Try the 2020 Pinot Gris ‘Orange Wine’ from Bennet Valley. A perfect Summer wine, as is the very limited 2020 Rose of Pinot Noir from the Russian Valley. For the traditionalists, the stellar lineup of Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast’s 2017 Pinot Hill Vineyards or 2018 Russian River Green Valley vineyards is always guaranteed to please. 
What was on everyone’s mind, but rarely spoken, was the topic of possible smoke taint in the vineyards. Harvest was already mid-way in RRV with fruit still on the vines in many vineyards
Panelist Connor Best spearheads the International Marketing efforts on behalf of Napa Valley Vintners for its 550-winery members and winegrowers. He notes that there has been a huge transition to e-commerce sales, even with top-end producers. Best also encourages wineries to utilize their front house workers for phone sales, shipping, bottling and other vineyard work to keep staff employed during the shutdown. “Surprisingly, wine club memberships in Napa remain strong with fewer cancellations than predicted,” remarked Best. Despite the 2014 earthquake and the recent Sonoma-Napa wildfires, Napa remains resilient. NPV has a concentric plan in place to start rebuilding the wine tasting room experiences with outreach to local San Francisco Bay area visitors first and will then expand marketing efforts outward as California relaxes the stay-in-shelter orders.
Sonoma County Winegrowers’ President Karissa Kruse, who actively supports the hospitality industry during these difficult times, expressed a similar sentiment. Other than an earlier than usual bud break, the growing season seems to be on track. “Agriculture continues to give and doesn’t understand the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Kruse. She feels positive, however, that Sonoma County is well poised to welcome Bay area day-trippers into wine country soon and that the wine industry will eventually recover. In the meantime, local eateries are pairing take out food with Sonoma wines by the glass and bottle, in the “Keep Restaurants Alive” campaign, which has been well received.
Another panel contributor, Joel Peterson, Executive Director of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance is closely aligned with over 200 wineries in Central California. Again, the big shift was to quickly pivot and go to digital marketing. Many distilleries in Paso immediately ramped up to produce hand sanitizer for the first responders, while wineries delivered wine care packages to those on the front lines. Peterson is working closely with the county on the anticipated roll out plan to re-open the region’s wineries. He also supports the “Home With Paso Wine” campaign and invites wine lovers to connect with local winemakers via Zoom for weekly virtual tastings, vineyard updates and interviews.
Elsewhere in the state, Temecula Valley Southern California Wine Country’s Brand Marketing Partner, Devin Parr, expressed great concern over the lack of distribution and wholesale market for the 40+ wineries. Largely founded by DTC sales, Temecula’s target market caters to the 23 million visitors within a one to two hour drive from wine country. Parr believes that the valley’s “Sip From Home” packages are key to garnering wine sales at this time and has reported moderate success feedback. Many wineries are being more innovative and have reached out to wine club members via various social media platforms to offer free local wine delivery or curbside pickup. And, a big shout out goes out to Wilson Creek Winery for donating 50,000 tasting tickets to Southern California wine lovers.
Washington State Wine Marketing Director David Flaherty had some interesting insights, as Seattle was six weeks ahead of the COVID-19 curve. Unfortunately, one of the largest revenue producing wine events, Taste Seattle, had to be cancelled with short notice. However, on the positive side, Flaherty received huge support from regional wineries with his quick call to action. “We all need each other. The spirit of collaborative union creates a sense of urgency to shake off stodginess of the industry and break down walls,” said Flaherty. A noteworthy digital campaign recently launched by Washington State Wine is SIP GLOCAL, a global movement that rallies around a local bottle of wine, with the hope of closing the social distance between communities near and far.