Wineries
17
S O N OM A CO U N T Y
wine, as tastings are matched with specific food items. 9200 Sonoma Hwy., Kenwood. Open daily, 10:30am–6:30pm. 707.933.5504.
Cline Cellars Great variety,
The Natural Process Alliance & Salinia Wine Co. A beige
easy on the wallet, and fun for the whole family: Pick out a gorgeous fruit bomb Zinfandel, have a picnic, feed the ravenous fish, and get historical at the California Missions Museum. Or just wrap your palate in Cashmere. 24737 Hwy. 121, Sonoma. Daily, 10am–6pm. 707.940.4000.
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.
Fort Ross Vineyard & Winery Pinot meets Pinotage at the edge of the continent. Take the turnoff to Meyers Grade Road and don’t look back. 15725 Meyers Grade Road, Jenner. Open daily, 10am–6pm. Tasting fee, $10. 707.847.3460.
Kamen Estate Wines Key lines from screenwriter Robert Kamen’s features are available on T-shirts, packaged in film cans. Cabernet Sauvignon with intense red fruit flavor over inky tannins. Insert chase scene, destination: 111-B E. Napa St., Sonoma. Monday–Thursday, noon–6pm; Friday–Sunday, 11am–6pm. Tasting fees, $20 and $35. 707.938.7292.
Ledson Winery & Vineyards What warlock, many high-way travelers wondered, within those stone walls broods? Happily, Ledson’s wine-wizard is a Zinfandel zealot, making 10 from the zaftig grape. 7335 Sonoma Hwy., Kenwood. Open daily, 10am– 5pm. 707.537.3810.
Mayo Family Winery Excellent place to pair food with
warehouse and a clean-cut, UC Davis–trained winemaker belie the wild-eyed truth: Unusual, fruity “natural wine” as fresh as next Friday, bottled in stainless steel Kleen Kanteens. Ask for Hardy. 3350 Coffey Lane, Santa Rosa. Friday–Saturday, 10:30am– 6pm, or by appointment. 707.527.7063.
Repris Wines A new crew reignites a blast from the past at historic Moon Mountain Vineyard. A work in progress with fantastic views. 1700 Moon Mountain Road, Sonoma. By appointment only. 707.931.7701. Thomas George Estates Pinot pioneer Davis Bynum hung up the hose clamp and sold his estate, but the good wine still flows in remodeled tasting room featuring a long bar and vineyard videos. Russian River Chard, Pinot and Zin; sweet berry flavors and long-lasting finishes. Wine caves. 8075 Westside Road, Healdsburg. 11am–5pm, daily. Tasting fee, $15. 707.431.8031.
Trione Vineyards & Winery One-time owners of Geyser Peak Winery now wear all the different hats that a small winery requires. A popular stop along a well-liked cycling route, where you’re likely to be greeted with a glass of crisp Sauvignon Blanc, or Bubba the bulldog. 19550 Geyserville Ave., Geyserville. Thursday–Sunday, 10am–5pm. Tasting fee, $5–$15. 707.814.8100.
Westwood Winery Wonky wine scientist crafts soil-driven wines of beguiling complexity from the promising Annadel Estate vineyard, on the western frontier of Sonoma Valley. Tucked away in historic downtown Sonoma, the handsomely furnished tasting
salon is a casual setting for a serious sit-down tasting of food-friendly Pinot Noir and some of the most savory Rhône west of the Rhône. 11 E. Napa St., #3, Sonoma. Hours by appointment; tasting fee $10. 707.935.3246.
N A PA CO U N TY Adastra Wines To the stars! Or, a big old horse barn. Here is a Napa winery that’s organic, authentic and makes a wine that pairs great with mammoth. Tasting is conducted on the kitchen table, “the way it used to be.” 2545 Las Amigas Road, Napa. Tour and tasting by appointment, $25. 707.255.4818. Domaine Carneros Inspired by Taittinger’s Château de la Marquetterie of Champagne, this house of premium sparkling wine is a hard-to-miss landmark on the Carneros Highway. Enjoy a private Balcony Package for special occasions or taste sparkling and still wines paired with artisan cheese and caviar with the masses. Luxury bubbly Le Rêve offers a bouquet of hoary yeast and crème brûlée that just slips away like a dream. 1240 Duhig Road (at Highway 12/121), Napa. Wine flights $15; also available by the glass or bottle. Open 10am–5:45pm. 800.716.2788.
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.
On the Edge A key stop for devotees of the cult to Charbono. 1255 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga. Open daily, 10am– 5:30pm. 707.942.7410.
A Booze Is Born
Sample quaffs by the quarter-ounce at Prohibition Spirits BY JAMES KNIGHT
W
hile visiting friends in San Francisco, Amy and Fred Groth of Colorado were told they absolutely must see Sonoma County. Good call; they loved it. “This place is just like Italy,” they exclaimed, recalling earlier travels. “Everyone’s making wine and cheese.” Typically, the next thing a couple might say to each other is, honey, what this place really needs is another winery. They did not. Instead they asked, “Where’s the limoncello?” At the time, according to Fred Groth, nobody in the U.S. was producing an artisanal version of the popular Italian aperitif, so they packed up and moved to Sonoma. Batches are made by rounding up a party of volunteers to hand-peel 3,500 pounds of fresh lemons, then soaking the zest in high-proof California brandy. “It’s the Tom Sawyer thing,” says Groth. “Oh, let’s paint the fences, that’ll be fun!” A sweet shot of lemon meringue pie in the nose, Limoncello di Sonoma ($25) was such a hit with cocktail makers that Sonoma’s Girl & the Fig restaurant asked if they would make a fig version. Brewed with herbs, FigCello di Sonoma ($25, $35) has shades of Jägermeister, but is something to savor in a signature “Fig Kiss.” They went on to add bourbon and rum to their lineup. Thanks to the Taste California Act, Prohibition Spirits now offers tasting flights at their “distillery and indigenous spirits lab,” located in a workaday warehouse across from Sonoma Skypark. Quarter-ounce pours are strictly measured, and due to antiquated state laws still on the books, visitors can’t purchase any grainbased spirits. It makes no sense, but grain and molasses basedspirits cannot be sold on-site but fruit-based liquor can. Groth says that they entered the red-hot whiskey market by chance, when a bourbon broker specializing in small lots stopped in with a tempting offer. The catch? It would still cost a good sum. Groth reached out to college buddies with whom he used to pitch in a few dollars to buy a handle of bourbon. They pitched in again; after a day on the phone, he’d raised $10,000. Although Hooker’s House bourbon is sourced from an undisclosed Kentucky producer, and Sugar Daddy rum comes from Jamaica and Guyana, the Groths have localized their product by finishing the booze in Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Zinfandel barrels. “We believe we’ve changed it to make it our own,” says Groth. They’ve also savvily referenced “Sugar Daddy” Adolph Spreckels and General Joseph Hooker, local historical personalities to whom somebody, at some point, also said, “You absolutely must got to Sonoma.” Prohibition Spirits, 21877 Eighth St. E., Sonoma. By appointment only; $20. 707.721.6390.
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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.