The wines are great. There are two basic tasting menus, the market list and the reserve list. The market list is wine you can find at your local store. Most of these wines are good, but for the really good stuff you won't see in stores spend a bit more and sample the reserve list.
Since 1927, when John Pedroncelli, Sr. purchased vineyard and a small winery in Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley, two elements remain unchanged: the exceptional place the Pedroncelli family farms vineyards, and the family's dedication to making fine wines.
Our tasting room is temporarily closed, though our online store and wine club membership remain open. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions and please check our website for updates on reopening.
For five generations our family has been growing sustainable winegrapes in the Lodi Appellation and in 2006 we opened a winery to showcase our passion for growing winegrapes – because great wine starts in the vineyard. Building on our successes as a vineyard management company, the winery was our first step into crafting wines made solely from our estate vineyards. Since opening in 2006, we have continued to expand our state-of-the-art winery to keep up with the demand for our LangeTwins wines as well as private labels and custom winemaking services. Unfortunately, our winery is closed for public tastings. If you are visiting the Lodi Appellation, please visit the Lodi Wine & Visitors Center to try our wines as well as other great Lodi selections.
Their wines were good, and actually moderately priced. The one that really stood out was their Gemini a Zinfandel-Syrah blend? We also picked up a bottle of their Full Moon a Zinfandel, Syrah and Cab Franc blend. Worth a stop if you are in Paso.
Midnight Cellars had its origins in a slightly tipsy, laughter-filled moment on the back patio at Domaine Carneros during the summer of 1993. While enjoying a family getaway to Napa and Sonoma and after several winery visits, Rich made a whimsical statement that would later prove to be life-changing: "Hey old man, when you retire you should buy a place like this and have us run it for you."
Initially laughed off and soon forgotten, the idea resurfaced years later when Robert, ready to retire early from his career as a patent attorney, still brimming with energy and passion, recalled Rich's suggestion. He approached Rich with the proposition, "If you were serious about this winery idea, I'm in."
At the time, Rich was newly married and living in Chicago with his wife Michele, and their first reaction was a firm "no way, Dad." However, after considerable reflection and several glasses of wine, Michele and Rich decided to embrace the unconventional plan. They sold their new house, one of their cars, and made the move to California to start anew. Despite how improbable it sounded, they followed through with the plan. They arrived in California on July 31, 1995, and immediately immersed themselves in country life—one that lacked bars, restaurants, and shopping. The city dwellers from Chicago experienced a significant culture shock.
Each family member took on a specific role and began learning their responsibilities: Robert and Mary Jane focused on the overall operations, Michele managed the tasting room and later took on bookkeeping duties, while Rich learned the intricacies of planting, maintaining, and harvesting the vineyard, as well as winemaking.
After 29 years of steep learning curves, the family remains committed to making wine accessible, affordable, and enjoyable for everyone.
Decor at Baily Winery is fun with an amusing assortment of gargoyle and medieval statuary scattered about the very pleasant grounds. We ate on the lovely patio (Carols) with refreshing breezes and the sounds of wind chimes. It was a spectacularly sparkling day and the patio was just delightful.
All of the wines are crafted from grapes grown in the estate vineyards by Winemaker Phil Baily at a state-of-the-art production facility. Specializing in Bordeaux varieties—Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon—Baily's red wines are renowned for their smoothness and expressive varietal character. This is achieved by aging the wines in barrels for 24 to 30 months, significantly longer than the typical industry standard of 12 to 18 months. Baily's white wines are celebrated for their crisp, clean freshness and distinctive aromas. The consistency of the wines, honed over more than twenty years of production from the same vineyards, is a quality that few wineries in the region can match.
Additionally, all of Baily's wines are sealed with Nomacorc®, a synthetic cork that offers the benefits of natural cork while eliminating the risk of tainted wines or bottle-to-bottle variation.
Kendric Johnson was my Dad and is the person for whom this enterprise was named. He died in 2001 just as we were getting started. Naming the company after him is meant to both honor his memory and to impose his high personal standards upon the undertaking.
Bob and Sylvia Pestoni
In the mid-1990s, Bob and his wife Sylvia were presented with a rare opportunity. A small winery adjacent to their family´s Rutherford property had become available for purchase. Over the years, Bob and Sylvia had always grown grapes on their land, but they had always sold their fruit to other wine producers. They hadn´t been interested in becoming vintners before, but the acquisition of this new property renewed Bob´s admiration for his family´s business – and for his heritage. In 1994, they opened the doors to Rutherford Grove Winery and resumed making the single vineyard, hand-crafted artisanal wines Bob´s father and grandfather had created there for more than a century before him. In 2017, in celebration of their 125th anniversary of Napa Valley winemaking, the winery was renamed Pestoni Family Estate Winery.
Rios-Lovell has grown into much more than an award-winning winery— it has become a Livermore Valley destination. Our picturesque grounds feature an event center, concert center, tasting room, picnic grounds, gazebo and gift area surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens and an outdoor Tuscan style village. Rios-Lovell Winery’s unique charm makes it the ideal place for everything from tantalizing your palette to hosting your special event.
Bodega del Sur is the culmination of a dream of Evelyn and Victor Reyes-Umana. Victor began his love affair with wine in his native El Salvador. Moving to California and later in life, traveling around the world, solidified his appreciation for wines and increased his curiosity for the various wine styles of the different regions of the world. While visiting some friends in Chile in 1993, Victor and Evelyn had the great opportunity to visit many of the small, family-owned wineries, and it was then that Victor uttered the fateful words, "This is what I would like to do when I retire".
Image - Randy Caparoso
