Hart's Desire had absolutely exceptional wines, and very many at that. They had a lot of varietals that you rarely find elsewhere in Sonoma County except for in blends, such as Malbec, Claret, and Cabernet Franc. Their tasting room has beautiful artwork and has an old school jukebox playing great tunes!
Husch Vineyards is a small, family owned and operated winery. It is the oldest winery in the Anderson Valley appellation, located in Mendocino County (Northern California) just 2 1/2 hours north of San Francisco. The tasting room is in a hobbit cottage straight out of the Shire. Worth stopping just to see it. People were friendly. The wines were very earthy and herby, almost gamey. Definitely distinctive. The tasting is free, which is rare even in Anderson Valley, so you have nothing to lose but a little bit of time and room in your stomach for something else.
Neighboring the city of Sacramento, and nestled along the Sacramento River, the Clarksburg appellation provides a premier location for growing high quality grapes. Delta breezes provide a microclimate that brings out the true potential of the grapes. Clarksburg Wine Company is committed to producing world-class wines from these signature grapes and willing to place their wines shoulder to shoulder with wines from California’s other great wine growing regions.
Foursight Wines is located on a beautiful piece of land and it is one of those wineries that just transform you to another place. Plus the staff is incredible there. Family run and friendly dogs. Fine Pinot, yummy DRY gewurz and a wide range of wines to sample. The pours are generous, repeated and free. Hard to find at retail level, this is a must stop in the Anderson Valley.
Anthony Faustini has been a wine collector for many years. Looking to make the jump from serious collector to wine maker he began his research on Long Island in New York, visiting wineries and trying a number of wines. Looking to expand his palate and wanting to make a California wine he came to the Napa Valley where he was introduced to Crushpad in San Francisco. Faustini's first commercial vintage was small - merely 50 cases in 2005 from the Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard in St. Helena. This vintage was a teaser for Anthony and made him realize how much he wanted to be in the business. He started taking remote courses through UC Davis and because of his work for Cisco frequently found himself in California. While here for work - he also started nurturing vineyard and wine making connections. Today he lives in New York and commutes to Napa a number of times each year. Faustini currently focus on two labels, Play Date and Faustini with plans to expand. Each one of their wines involves a unique story.
Fitzpatrick Winery and Lodge is located in the Fair Play AVA (American Viticultural Area) at the heart of the California's Gold Country, in the beautiful and idyllic Sierra Foothills of El Dorado county, nearby historic Placerville. We feature fine hand crafted wines made from organically grown premium wine grapes and a unique Irish Bed & Breakfast. 37 years in Fair Play. Fitzpatrick Winery & Lodge became Fair Play's first winery in 1980.
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.
Meander is the personal project of winemaker Amy Aiken, who has been crafting wines in Napa Valley since 1989. Starting in 2000, her exclusive focus has been limited production, ultra-premium Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Established 2003 Cases/year: 400 Winemaker: Amy Aiken
The beautiful terraces of Nuns Cliff Vineyard arise at 1400 feet, high above the cliffs overlooking Nuns Canyon. The west facing vineyard slopes are planted in red volcanic soils, considered by many winemakers to be the best Cabernet Sauvignon ground on the Mayacamas Mountain Range dividing Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley. Blue/black in the glass, this wine exhales a heady perfume of juicy black fruits, toffee, and spicy notes of peppercorn and sage.
Besides a great Sauv Blanc, Syrah and Cab, perfect California weather, comfortable outdoor seating, and peaceful views of the mustard-filled fields that embody the wine country; a great staff awaits you for a tour and tasting. They provided tasting notes on a card for each wine they served - providing us information while the server was helping someone else. I thought this was a very nice touch as it allowed us to take the notes with us and just add our personal comments. Other wineries provide the same info on a sheet of paper, this was just more convenient for us.
