My wife and I are heading out to the area for 3-4 days.
It will be our first time in the area, other than cycling. Thought we would focus on some really good Pinot, maybe some interesting whites, Syrah’s etc., really anything except Cab (although I will drink it if they pour it!)
I have assembled a list of prospects based solely on google and reading this board. I would be interested in feedback, especially as it relates to access. Do they offer comprehensive tastings (I prefer to taste a range of wines)? Is the winery impossible to get to? Can you purchase?
Anyway here are the ones I am thinking of. I have no desire to hit all of these, but any help paring it down would be awesome. Other than Arnot-Roberts I have never tried any of these producers.
Arnot-Roberts
Ceritas
Cobb Wines
Copain
LaRue Wines
LIOCO
Littorai
Peay
Red Car
Soliste
Wind Gap
Papapietro-Perry
Scherrer
Rochioli
Roadhouse Winery
Drew
Knez
Peay is a bit of a hike to get to. Rochioli is worth a stop. . . . the tasting is free, but they don’t pour their really, really good stuff, just the really good stuff. It’s not on here, but skip Hop Kiln. It is right next door to Rochioli, but they don’t pour anything that is worth the trip/time/effort of traveling to RRV for.
retraction: Peay’s tasting room (not vineyard) is actually in Cloverdale.
If you enjoyed AR’s wines, you should try Copain. A wonderful winery and a wonderful tasting experience. Call to arrange a thorough tasting, rather than just stopping in. I had only recently signed up for their list, nicely told them I was a member of this forum and had heard lots about the winery. They set up a tasting for me that far exceeding my expectations, and as it rolled out and they could tell I enjoyed their wines, they kept popping more. I think I tried 12+ wines over a 2-hour period. Pretty setting, too. That was about 3 years ago. I am on their list and buy the SVD syrahs.
Rob, Hirsch sits atop a mountain on the Sonoma Coast. It’s an interesting drive up the hill but the views are worth it, particularly if you can get an appointment with Jasmine Hirsch. Also a good place for a picnic lunch.
+1 for Scherrer and Joseph Swan. Also Adam Lee of Siduri in Santa Rosa posts frequently here and would be a great guy to talk to about Pinot.
Don’t know when you’re headed to the area but Scherrer only does tastings via their open houses as far as I know. The open houses are over the next two weekends and the next sets are August and November.
I live in San Francisco and head up to the Russian River Valley 2-3 times a year. I would recommend limiting yourself to 3-4 wineries a day, and figuring out a good driving plan. The area isn’t huge (assuming you are sticking to the Russian River Valley and not venturing up to Anderson Valley or out to the Sonoma Coast), but places are still pretty spread out. Some of the places you mentioned are a good 45 minutes away from Healdsburg and in the opposite direction from most of the other wineries on your list (for example Peay, which is one of my favorite wineries, but which is no where close to most of the other wineries on your list).
Many of the best tasting experiences require advanced appointments. For example, you can drop into Copain and Merry Edwards, but both provide much nicer appointment tasting experiences, and both are free, at least last time I went. Copain and Merry Edwards would also give you a nice contrast in styles, with Copain being much more in line with the “Berserker” style of restrained, moderate ripeness and less oak, and Merry Edwards being riper, more Californian, but also very well done (she used to be a winemaker at Mount Eden, which is highly thought of on this board). I definitely second the Iron Horse recommendation; great tour, and the sparkling wines are a nice detour from all the pinot and chardonnay. If you know anyone who is a WS List Member, you can also schedule an appointment at Williams Selyem, which does a great tasting, usually including some aged wines and some wines that are not available apart from the winery itself. I haven’t visited Arnot-Roberts, but agree with the consensus that they make great wines.
My recommendation is to make 2-3 reservations – 1 in the morning, an early lunch in Healdsburg, and then 1-2 in the afternoon. Then pick 1-3 other wineries you might like to check out that are conveniently located to your reservations, so you can fit them in as you go (1 more in the morning, and 1-2 after lunch). A few recommendations for dropping in:
Rochioli – Like the above poster mentioned, they usually only offer their estate cuvees for tasting, but occasionally they offer a single vineyard; I’ve gotten lucky a few times.
Porter Creek – My wife and I LOVE tasting at Porter Creek. The wines are excellent values, and they pour some lesser known varietals. It’s also very rustic and harkens back to not long ago when the Russian River Valley had only a few wineries and a lot more apple orchards.
Lynmar – one of the most beautiful tasting settings you’ll find anywhere. They are expensive – frankly I have a hard time justifying purchases at the price anymore – but don’t let that stop you from going. They make very good wine and its a fantastic place to spend an hour sitting out in the sun looking over their vineyards.
Definitely, particularly if you can coordinate a time when John (Holdredge) is there in person. Terrific wines at very reasonable prices, as well as being a fun stop.
As far as non-artisinal/wine geek places, Seghesio is a very nice visit. A great lineup of zins and Cal-Italians, with a walk-in tasting room right in town, so easy to hit as a fairly short but worthwhile tasting visit. And Gary Farrell is another one, with great chardonnays and pinots at fair prices, plus a beautiful tasting patio on a hilltop next to the Russian River.
Email ahead to Holdredge, Copain and Arnot-Roberts and make appointments. They would make for a good day with minimal travel and Roadhouse has a tasting room in H’brg.
Iron Horse is a great visit, nice view and a break like mentioned previously. Littorai is in the same general area as are Red Car and Merry Edwards so that could be one day.
Many of your choices like Ceritas, Wind Gap, Scherrer (Littorai, A-R) don’t have tasting rooms so advance communication is necessary.
+1 on Porter Creek. Always good. While on Westside Rd you might try Arista which is halfway to Rochioli from Porter Creek.
Good driving plan is a must. For example, if you’re going to hit Papapietro (which I would recommend particularly if you’re hunting Pinot), you’re going to be in the midst of several different wineries right away, including Kokomo which just keeps getting better and better. Or you could head down River Road to Olivet Drive, which would get you Inman and Hook and Ladder, among others. Taking the backroads from there will get you to Dutton-Goldfield and Red Car. I’ll second Gary Farrell for the Pinots and for an amazing view. But yes, plan ahead on the route.
Copain is by appointment only now, but that’s not a problem, you just need to arrange it (and I highly recommend this, it is a great location, great people, excellent wines, a very nice way to spend a couple hours). Peay and Ceritas don’t have tasting rooms, but it can never hurt to email them and try to arrange a visit to their respective winery locations (Cloverdale and Santa Rosa, respectively). Probably helps if you are going to be there during the week, as opposed to weekends. A drive down Westside Road is always nice, and Rochioli is a really nice stop (especially to sit and eat at their couple of picnic tables overlooking the valley).
