Kent is knowledgable, passionate, and an easy-going host. We showed up late, and he was very gracious - asked us to hang while the (on time) folks finished up, and then spent a couple hours with us. He climbs up the racks to steal tastes from varoius barrels, walking you through the parietals, methods, barrels,etc. Then to finish up, he brought out bottled versions so demonstrate the difference. Simply a great tasting experience. Bring a sweater. It's about 55 F.
Martin Ray Winery's Founder Courtney Benham acquired the historic Martini & Prati winery in July, 2003. The tasting room structure, which dates back to the 1900's, used to serve as a stable and bunkhouse where Italian immigrants stayed during harvest.
Richly flavored, hearty red wines. Italian style which means big grapey textures & body. Small boutique production. Some varietals are less than 100 cases per year.
Mat Gustafson, the former winemaker at Sebastopol-Dutton Estate Winery and current co-winemaker at Moshin Vineyards, crafts small lots of Pinot Noir and other varietals from the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast under his personal label. Prior to starting his own label, he had worked for twenty years in the restaurant business and in retail sales. Along with business partner, Paul Sloan, he launched the label in 1999, but by 2001 had assumed full control and began to concentrate on Pinot Noir.
Open from 10AM to 6:00PM, closed on Sunday and Monday. Come visit with us, taste our award winning wines and savor the flavors of our Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Monterey Pinot Noir, Dry Creek Zinfandel, Dry Creek Petite Sirah, Green Valley Sauvignon blanc, Patrona Muscat- Alexander Valley (our lovely summer wine or any time wine), Late Harvest Chardonnay or Portentous (port)-Dry Creek Valley.
If you like Pinot you will love this winery. Just driving to this winery is reason enough to visit! Its a small winery, that isn't super cute, but the service and tastings were great! Our server asked if he could just pour what he wanted and we ended up getting an extensive tasting.
I walked into this place for a tasting, and they handed me a pulled-pork slider that blew my mind. No matter what wine I was handed after that was going to be the best I'd tasted all day. That's cheating. Down and dirty, but it was so wonderful I'm not going to complain!
Horse & Plow Winery merges the best of old and new world techniques to produce authentic, hand-crafted wines from Northern California. Horse and Plow Winery utilizes organic farming, small lot fermentations and traditional techniques to make balanced, food friendly and site specific wines. The North Coast, including Sonoma, Napa & Mendocino Counties, is where they live and work.
Wild Hog Vineyard is at the headwaters of Wild Hog Creek (from which the winery derives its name) 45 minutes west of the small town of Cazadero. At 1400 feet elevation and 5 miles from the Ocean east of Fort Ross, the vineyard avoids most of the summer fog. The climate of the coastal range, in conjunction with our farming practices, helps to produce intense flavorful grapes.far off the beaten path, which, in my opinion, makes the place all the more special. There is no way anyone could find this place on his/her own. (You have to meander for miles on a narrow dirt road.) If you are one of the few people fortunate enough to do an actual tasting at this small, informal winery, you likely will meet the proprietor, Daniel Schoenfeld, a warm, kind-hearted gentleman, who obviously is passionate about wine-making. (He, quite appropriately, self-describes his line of work as a "labor of love.")
Marietta Cellars is located just outside the little town of Geyserville in one of California’s premier wine growing regions, Sonoma County. Owner and winemaker Chris Bilbro initially founded Marietta Cellars in 1978 in a rented cow barn in the Dry Creek Valley. The winery is named after Chris’ great aunt.
