The grounds are absolutely stunning and picturesque. The owners have taken great pride in maintaining the original tea garden settings, and make a great place for a relaxing picnic or sipping on some of there delicious wines. Great staff. Beautiful scenery.
A family-owned winery that released its first Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon with the 2006 vintage. The Pinot Noir grapes are sourced from Amber Ridge Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, Doctor's Vineyard in the Santa Luia Highlands and La Encantada Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills.
Armida Winery main location is located up in Healdsburg (Russian River wine yay!), and they carry a few of the labels in the Capitola tasting room, although Poizon is the ones that will catch your eye. Small, intimate tasting room. Friendly staff, I was grilling them on all my unanswered questions from my last Sonoma trip and they didn't mind at all, were friendly and personable and answered all my questions as far as their expertise would allow them to. They were quite knowledgeable, there was even a young girl in there who was so informed.
Harmony is a must stop every time I pass through Cambria and San Simeon! If you are hitting the Paso Robles wine country area and are up for a pretty drive, definitely include them! They have a beautiful location, visible as you drive under their ornate iron sign and up the hill - it's like you're invited to the party at the mansion on the hill! It's also a privilege to visit a town like Harmony - I believe on my last visit the population was listed as 17. It is an artisan town, the people who live here are all creators. And their homes aren't visible from the road at all - they are all in on some exotic secret. It's pretty amazing.
Armstrong Ranch Wines' Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are grown at an elevation of 1,150 feet on Diamond Mountain in Northern Napa Valley. The 13 acres is comprised of well drained organic soil. The vineyard's steep terraces have five distinct exposures and microclimates, producing grapes that are intensely flavored and rich in complexity.
Arns Winery is definite Must Try and Buy wine and winery stop while in the Saint Helena area of the Napa Valley, CA. I arrived at the winery and was met by John, Sandi and Kathi as well as their lovable yellow lab. I tried their 2008 Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon, and their 2008 Syrah (Melanson Vineyard). The Cab is full bodied, with luscious chocolate n black cherry, tiny bit of pepper, and has one of the most lingering, long lasting finishes I can remember.
AronHill Estate vineyard is nurtured on this beautiful hillside where there is the perfect blend of sun, climate, and soil, resulting in excellent fruit. Judy Aron pride herself on her personal hands-on attention to every detail in the finest winemaking tradition. Judy works hand in hand and with deep gratitude to my dedicated vineyard manager, Richard Sauret, and winemaker, Mikel Olsten, to achieve excellent and premium wines. The dry farmed, low yield, fruit-forward Cabernet Sauvignon is estate grown and touted by Cab lovers as smooth and full bodied with a pepper kick. “Unbridled Passion” is how Judy describes AronHill's Vinho Doce port.
What really made the experience magical was the overall layout and view of the place. The wine tasting counter/bar is backdropped by an amazing window that overlooks the vineyards. The wine tasting room itself is on a hill overlooking the vineyards, so all you see out the window is a sloping valley of gorgeous grape vines.
Had a great time! Russel was a lot of fun and gave us some great info and was really accommodating. Really enjoyed our time. The wine itself was great as well, for $5 (which can go toward purchasing wine if you choose) there were about 6-7 wines. A good variety as well. We even stayed after the tasting to enjoy a bottle of wine from Arroyo Robles right away. They are also open later than some of the other tasting rooms, which is a plus! Russell also gave us some great advice on where to go next.
he winery sits ontop of a hill, right at the napa/sonoma carneros region border. The building, architecture, and scenery are simply breathetaking. If you arive early enough in the morning, you can take a tour, where they walk you around the production facility downstairs. The wines are pretty pricey, but they are pretty darn good. A lot of the wines are estate grown pinots and chards, but they do source some amazing Cabs from upper valley. They are a very busy winery, but they are very attentive to each customer.
Artwork by Wine Artist Agata Zaborowski – Agata Art Gallery