Meeker Vineyards
The tasting was a blast, the guy behind the counter was knowledgeable and funny. Why can't all tasting rooms have this kind of service? He listened to what we said and altered our tasting to fit our palate. Excellent service.
The tasting was a blast, the guy behind the counter was knowledgeable and funny. Why can't all tasting rooms have this kind of service? He listened to what we said and altered our tasting to fit our palate. Excellent service.
Hidden Jewel of Sonoma County. Pezzi King Vineyards Family owned since 1993. Winemaker Chris Barrett is a native to the Sonoma County wine country. He has seen this area grow from a few wineries to the prestige that the area holds today.
Step foot into their "cave" and see how the other half lives. The barrel tasting was fantastic and you couldn't help but hang out inside this cavern all day. The conversation was friendly and light while the service remained educated and proper keeping true to most Napa Valley wineries without actually being in Napa. The furniture lightly dressed the hallways as you make your way back out and into their tasting room. The space is equally as refined as their wine-makers palate.
Back in 1995, when Victoria and Russel started (Russell Bevan and Victoria De Crescenzo), dating in Des Moines, their favorite game was “Guess the Wine.” They would take turns bringing a blind wine and make the other person guess the varietal and region. When the couple looks back on those dates, there is little mystery about how they arrived where they are today. "We started taking regular trips to wine country in California, where we met many of the finest winemakers. We were so inspired by them that to this day we follow many of their principles. Soon enough we were searching for property in our native California. Victoria spent three years trying to find the right site. Finally, she found her dream home on eight acres of land in Bennett Valley..."
The day was gorgeous and couldn't have been more perfect. Both indoor and outdoor surroundings were beautiful. The architecture and the courtyard were very impressive. There were plenty of shaded lawn areas that were perfect for picnics or for the guests to simply sit and hang out at.here were just a few cars in the parking lot when we arrived, and the tasting room was warm and inviting. There's a really cute patio and fountain outside, so if the weather was nicer I can see that being a great place to relax with some friends and a glass of wine. We found a spot to stand at the counter/bar and ordered 2 tastings to share. They are a red only producer, so we tasted 4 different vintages from the Alexander Valley.
When in wine country, some enjoy a Disneyland experience -- fake castles & dungeons, tram rides, huge gift shops, docents, buses, limos, and a million things to distract you from the wine. And then, there's Coturri. The production is tiny. The facility is a garage. Check out the Syrah, Zin, or anything that they might happen to have on hand to share...and you'll get a great bottle of hand-made wine with little intervention of any sort.
Located in Sonoma County, California, one of the world's premier wine producing areas, McIlroy Wines is a small, family based winery that creates outstanding wines. Only a small number of cases are produced each year.
Ray is the owner and winemaker, has been in this location for 16 years. He sources fruit from a variety of places, and has some varietals (wine types) he always makes, and also mixes it up sometime. Besides the 4 varietals usually pouring the current for sale list will have chardonnay, several pinots, gewurztraminer, zin, and more. Total case production for D'Argenzio is only 3k cases a year.
What a great experience. I love this tasting room. A must if you are going wine tasting in Sonoma County. Downtown Healdsburg is as quaint as can be and the wines here are excellent, and the people working here are super friendly.
In the cool climate of Bennett Valley, at an elevation of 1200′, Eric Flanagan hand-tend the beautiful vineyards. By creating a healthy, balanced vineyard the vines are allowed our to express themselves.