NORTH BAY BOHEMIAN | MAY 15-21, 2013 | BOHEMIAN.COM
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Wineries
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.
SONOMA CO U N TY Alexander Valley Vineyards At family-run Alexander Valley Vineyards, the Wetzels serve as curators of local history, having restored Cyrus’ original adobe and schoolhouse. 8644 Hwy. 128, Healdsburg. Tasting room open daily, 10am–5pm. 707.433.7209.
Chateau St. Jean Winery Take the educational tour and sample both reserve and premier wines on acres of vineyard with gardens and gourmet food. Famed Riesling and rare Malbec. 8555 Sonoma Hwy., Kenwood. Open daily, 10am–5pm. 707.833.4134.
Dutcher Crossing Winery Barnlike room offers fireplace to warm the mitts on winter days; owner Debra Mathy leads monthly bike rides in better weather. Try the Maple Vineyard Zinfandel; ask the well-informed staff about the Penny Farthing bicycle. 8533 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg. Open daily 11am– 5pm. Tasting fee $5–$10. 866.431.2711.
John Tyler Wines For decades, the Bacigalupis have been selling prized grapes to the likes of Chateau Montelena and Williams Selyem. Now, the third-generation wine growers offer the pick of the vineyard in their own tasting room, brandnew in 2011. Graceful Pinot and sublime Zin. 4353 Westside Road, Healdsburg. Open dail,y 10:30am–5pm. Tastings $10. 707.473.0115.
Mayo Family Winery Excellent place to pair food with wine, as tastings are matched with specific food items. 9200 Sonoma Hwy., Kenwood. Open daily, 10:30am–6:30pm. 707.933.5504.
Nicholson Ranch (WC) Best known for its Chardonnays and a winery tour from the depths of the caves to the height of the property’s
grandmother oak. 4200 Napa Road, Sonoma. Open daily, 11am–6pm; tours by appointment. 707.938.8822.
Hwy., Calistoga. 9:30am–5pm. Tasting fees, $10–$15; tours, $25–$30. Napa Neighbor discounts. 707.967.6272.
Sebastiani The winery is charming and warm, with wines that are mostly straightforward, honest affairs. One of the best picnic areas around. 389 Fourth St. E., Sonoma. Open daily, 10am– 5pm. 707.933.3230.
Folie à Deux A good picnic
Timber Crest Farms Animal labels abound at Peterson Winery’s expanded tasting room adjacent the cellar. Is that a Jackalope, or is that just the Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel? Also on hand is Papapietro-Perry and the six Family Wineries of Dry Creek. Dashe Cellars crafts mainly powerful Zinfandels and other reds. At Kokomo Winery, it’s about the reds. Also look for Mietz Cellars, Lago di Merlo and Collier Falls. 4791 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg. Tasting rooms generally open daily from around 11am to 4:30pm. 707.433.0100. 707.431.7568.
N A PA CO U N TY Bennett Lane Winery The old trope “beer-drinking NASCAR fans vs. Chardonnaysipping highbrows” runs out of gas at a winery that sponsors an annual NASCAR race and has its own car, emblazoned with grapes. A Roman emperor who appreciated hearty vino as much as a good chariot race inspired Maximus White and Red “feasting wines.” 3340 Hwy. 128, Calistoga. 707.942.6684.
Castello di Amorosa Not only an “authentic Medieval Italian castle,” but authentically far more defensible than any other winery in Napa from legions of footmen in chain mail. In wine, there’s something for every taste, but don’t skip the tour of great halls, courtyards, cellars, and–naturally–an authentic dungeon. . 4045 N. St. Helena
or party wine, the Ménage à Trois–white, red and rosé–are tasty blends. 3070 N. St. Helena Hwy, St. Helena. Open daily, 10am–5pm. 1.800.473.4454.
Madonna Estate Millennial contingent of multigenerational family winery, once known as Mount St. John, finds success running it old-school: touristy, oldfashioned, and wildly popular. Refreshing Gewürztraminer for summer picnics. 5400 Old Sonoma Road, Napa. Daily 10am to 5pm; $5–$10. 707.255.8864.
Olabisi & Trahan Wineries In the fancy heart of downtown Napa, a low-budget “cellar” where wines are shelved, with clever economy, in stacks of wood pallets; vibes are laid-back and real. Carneros Chardonnay and fruity but firm and focused Cab and Merlot from Suisin Valley, Napa’s much less popular stepsister to the east. 974 Franklin St., Napa. Open daily, noon–5:30pm. Tasting fee, $15. 707.257.7477.
Stony Hill Vineyard In the 1940s, advisers from UC Davis told them, “Under no circumstances plant Chardonnay.” So they planted Chardonnay. Intimate tastings in the flagstone-studded, Eisenhower-era McCrea living room; Chardonnay and White Riesling are legends. 3331 St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena. By appointment, Monday through Friday, weekends when available. $25. 707.963.2636.
Storybook Mountain Vineyards (WC) Jerry and Sigrid Seps and a few likeminded winemakers founded Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP), through which they continue to proselytize on behalf of “America’s heritage grape.” 3835 Hwy. 128, Calistoga. By appointment. 707.942.5310.
Amista Vineyards Up Dry Creek Without a Zinfandel BY JAMES KNIGHT nyway, like I was saying, Syrah is one versatile grape. You can press it, crush it, punch it down, co-ferment it, saignée it, méthode champenoise it. There’s red Syrah, Syrah rosé and even sparkling Syrah. That’s about it. Amista’s got them all.
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Proprietors Vicky and Michael Farrow envisioned Amista— which loosely means “making friends,” although my translation widget suggests “fabricación de amigos,” a winery name one notch cooler, don’t you think?—as their retirement project. I’m guessing that they made fast friends with a viticultural adviser in thrall to the late-’90s “boom” in Syrah, because they ended up planting a good deal of it. So what if people come to Dry Creek Valley mainly for the Zinfandel? The Farrows made “sparkling Syrah”—and it made them a lot of friends. Amista’s just off Dry Creek Road, at the end of a long, purely functional gravel driveway separating two vineyard blocks. Conveniently close to the Dry Creek General Store, Amista’s shaded patio is a popular bring-your-own-picnic spot. Wine club members often make reservations for a small patio party. Inside, clues abound that the tasting room was intended to be a 10,000case working cellar—the center drain, the roll-ups, the ventilation— but, well, retirement isn’t supposed to be a full-time job. Staff are friendly, and I didn’t overhear any heavy wine-club pitches. All wines are from the estate’s Morningsong Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley, unless noted. First up, there’s a bonus bubbly, the NV Blanc de Blancs ($34). Made up of estate-grown Chardonnay, and fizzed up at Hopland’s Rack and Riddle, this solid sparkler smells of dried apple wafers and sour apple candy—bright, green Granny Smith flavor and just half a teaspoon of sweetness on the finish. Amista gets its Zin grapes from down the road. The 2008 Saini Farms Zinfandel ($34) is toasty and sweet, raspberry jam on graham cracker, with malted carob ball—I’m just grazing from the bulk bins today—and a warm, well-knit finish. I’m told that the NV Sparkling Syrah ($32) makes a really good mimosa. But not a sunrise mimosa: this isn’t that blood-red sparkling Shiraz; it’s pink, creamy and vaguely aromatic of seashell or oysters—or maybe that’s just the food pairing. The 2011 Rosé of Syrah ($20) is sound, crisp and dry; unusual for Dry Creek Valley the 2006 Syrah ($30) displays the wild, smoky, animal-fur and oldlawn-clipping aromas of a cool-climate Syrah, with substantial tannin, in comparison to the 2007 Syrah’s ($30) juicy, claret-like berry liqueur with vanilla highlights. But that’s how it is with vintage years. You never know what you’re going to get. Amista Vineyards, 3320 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg. Daily, 11am–4:30pm. Tasting fee, $10. 707.431.9200.