Wineries
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S O N OM A CO U N T Y Cellars of Sonoma Topshelf winos will want to roll down the tracks and check out this Railroad Square coop that serves product from six small family wineries. The attractive shop features the massive wood bar from the old Mixx restaurant, constantly shifting scenery on an array of flat panel screens ensconced in wine barrel heads and aroma seminars. Check out the dry Gewürtz and Estate Pinots. 133 Fourth St., Santa Rosa. Sunday–Wednesday 10am–5pm, Thursday– Saturday 10am–7pm. $10 fee. 707.578.1826.
Freeman Vineyard & Winery Rundown, trashed—this little winery had seen better times when the Freemans found it. With a spotless crush pad and new horseshoe-shaped cave, it’s giving back the love. Pinot Noir from top West County vineyards. 1300 Montgomery Road, Sebastopol. By appointment only. 707.823.6937.
Inman Family Wines Unique, single-vineyard Russian River Pinot Noir is a good reason to visit Inman Family Wine’s new winery and tasting room in genteel vineyard location; don’t miss the Thorn Road Ranch Pinot. 3900 Piner Road, Santa Rosa. Open 11am–4pm Thursday through Sunday. 707.293.9576.
Martin Ray Focus is on mountain Cab. And continuing the old tradition, folks can pick up a gallon of hearty Round Barn Red for $13. 2191 Laguna Road, Santa Rosa. Summer hours, daily, 11am–5pm. 707.823.2404.
Nalle Winery Rising above the vineyards like some kind of New Age bunker, the rosemary-shrouded winery houses a down-toearth father-and-son team dedicated to low-alcohol Dry Creek Zinfandel. Greeters Lila
and Pella present soggy tennis balls. 2385 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg. Saturdays, noon– 5pm. No fee. 707.433.1040.
5pm. Tasting fees, $15–$25. 707.967.8032.
Portalupi Wine Husband-
Stagecoach Vineyards is of extremes: two miles end-toend. One billion pounds of rock extracted. Seventy wineries buy the fruit; the Krupps release 2,000 cases including Black Bart Marsanne. 3265 Soda Canyon Road, Napa. Tours by appointment, $25. 707.260.0514. Tasting at A Dozen Vintners, 3000 Hwy. 29, St. Helena. Daily, 10am-5pm. 707.967.0666.
and-wife team went the distance, selecting Barbera cuttings from the Italian alps: their Barbera was named best in the world. You’ll also find Vermentino, Pinot, and rusticchic two-liter milk jugs of “vino di tavola” in comfortable downtown lounge; wine education classes for groups. 107 North St., Healdsburg. Open daily, 10:30am–7pm. Tasting fee, $5–$12. 707.395.0960.
Roadhouse Winery Dudes abide at this casual, fun spot. Pinot, Zin, Grenache are hot. 240 Center St., Healdsburg. Daily 11am–7pm. 707.922.6362.
N A PA CO U N TY Beringer Vineyards (WC) This historic winery offers some seven daily tours for nominal fees, most of which end gratefully with a glass and a spin through the underground wine-aging tunnels. Open daily, 10am– 6pm (summer hours). 2000 Main St., Napa. 707.963.7115.
Chimney Rock Winery International beverage man Sheldon S. “Hack” Wilson built this winery in a Cape Dutch style. Now owned by the Terlato Group, produces distinctive Bordeaux-style wines. 5350 Silverado Trail, Napa. Daily 10am to 5pm. $20–$30. 707.257.2641.
Flora Springs Winery & Vineyards Napa Valley’s latest geotectonic eruption on Highway 29 is a stylish place to explore famous Chardonnay, Meritage blend and wineryexclusive Italian varietals. Hip but not too cool, the 30-yearold family winery surely has a sense of humor as well as sense of place. 677 S. St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena. Open daily, 10am–
Krupp Brothers Estates The story of
Monticello Vineyards Thomas Jefferson had no success growing wine grapes; happily, the Corley family has made a go of it. Although winetasting is not conducted in the handsome reproduction building itself, there’s a shaded picnic area adjacent. 4242 Big Ranch Rd., Napa. Open daily, 10am–4:30pm. $15. 707.253.2802, ext. 18.
Peju Province Vineyards Talented staff, terrific food pairings and fantastic Cab. 8466 St. Helena Hwy., Rutherford. Open daily, 10am–6pm. 707.963.3600.
Raymond Vineyards Burgundy scion Jean-Charles Boisset has put his stamp on staid Napa producer. See the Theater of Nature, depicting biodynamics; feel the Corridor of the Senses; luxuriate in the members-only Red Room, party in the gold-plated JCB Room; or just taste good Cab in the club-like Crystal Cellar. 849 Zinfandel Lane, St. Helena. Daily, 10am– 4pm. Fees vary. 707.963.3141.
Rubicon Estate Despite the celebrity hype, the wine is award-winning. 1991 St. Helena Hwy., Rutherford. Open daily, 10am–5pm. 800.782.4226.
St. Supéry Expect to find the tasting room crowded with a harrassed staff, but St. Supéry features an interesting art gallery with changing exhibitions. 8440 St. Helena Hwy., Rutherford. Open daily, 10am– 5pm. 800.942.0809.
Old Redwood Brewing Company On holiday from the grape BY JAMES KNIGHT
T
oday in Old Downtown Windsor, the pop-up development styled equal parts Mediterranean, Mayberry and Old West, there’s more than tumbleweed drifting down the street. This morning, the sweet smell of beer mash wafts down the street. In a prime corner location across from the train station—where, say, a saloon and hotel would be in a real back-lot set—four partners on the frontier of nanobrewing have set up shop.
“We got an awesome deal on the rent,” says Robert Anderson, while brewing a new batch in the humid, one-and-a-half-barrel brew room. Good thing, too, because the front of the house, run by friend Adam Derum, is spacious but furnished only with a small bar, bar stools and a few barrels. This is no brewpub, not even in the making. Old Redwood is built on the winetasting model and geared toward signing up beer-club members, who receive a new release each month, bottled in 750ml, flip-top bottles. No surprise, cofounder Dominic Foppoli is brand manager of his family’s several wineries and adept at networking with other local tasting rooms. A recent afternoon found Foppoli, behind the bar, trying to set up a group of women on a winetasting tour while they, in turn, thrust iPhones over the bar, trying to set up the 30-year-old with a likely prospect. Co-brewer Mike Stewart rounds out the team. Anderson and Derum, both from Sonoma County, didn’t meet until they were assigned the same dorm in military training, in 2000. Back home after several tours, Anderson tried his hand at homebrewing. Luckily, the first batch went well. Self-taught, he’s scaled up to a one-and-a-half-barrel operation successfully; in September, they ran out of beer. “It’s all fun and games until you try to make a business out of it,” he laughs. They reopened midOctober. The Windsor Wit ($23) is dry and pale pink, lightly flavored with fresh raspberries. The Compromise ($13) (so-called for the brewers’ meeting in the middle of their favorite styles, Belgian and IPA), served up in a mini-Belgian style glass, has a fruity hop aroma, sweet body with shades of apricot nectar and a bitter hop finish. The Highway ($19) is a robust, nutty, malty IPA, while the caramel and chocolate-flavored Fortress imperial stout ($22), is spiced with a good helping of piney hops. These brews are diverse, flavorful, and well-made And a darned refreshing break from wine. Old Redwood Brewing Company, 9000 Windsor Road, ste. A, Windsor. Open Wednesday–Sunday, noon–7ish. Tasting flight, $10, four four-once pours. 707.836.3186.
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Most reviews by James Knight. Note: Those listings marked ‘WC’ denote wineries with caves. These wineries are usually only open to the public by appointment. Wineries in these listings appear on a rotating basis.