Mrs. D and I are headed west soon, and we’ll have time to visit two RRV producers.
Which two would you select?
Which RRV producers make the best wines at any price? How about best values?
Which RRV producers are most accessible to visitors?
Cheers and thanks for ideas.
Swan and Inman Family wines would be my top choices. Inman needs an appointment and swan does to unless its a weekend. Another appointment only producer worth going to is WesMar.
Most of the nest RRV wineries don’t have tasting rooms.
Rochioli is cool for the view and the non-vineryard designants they pour are B+ wines.
Holdredge is also somewhere in RRV but Ive never been.
Visit John Holdredge…twice.
No, just kidding, you should visit him, but it would be tough to pick only two for me. Lynmar, Hartford, C Donatiello, Siduri, Copain, the list goes on.
No affiliation or compensation, BTW, before you ask, tough guy 
J/K. Love to see you posting on here. Keep 'em coming.
Also, two good places with tasting rooms are Moshin and Gary Farrell. Both make solid RRV wines and are right next to each other. We made a reservation and got a killer tour of Moshin. Must have barrel tasted 15 wines.
Siduri has amazing open-houses but Im not sure what it would be like to visit on a scheduled appointment. He has an amazing array of pinots and syrahs that many people really like so its a good way to get a sense of the terroir of california. Im sure there is a limitation on what they can open at an appointment tasting though.
Great stuff already - thanks. My wife asks a pertinent etiquette question: If you book an appointment, is there an unspoken expectation that you’ll purchase X bottles or spend X dollars? Does that expectation change based on time spent with the winemaker or owner as opposed to a regular staff member? We’re obviously coming from a wildly different landscape here in the Finger Lakes, where it’s common to book an appointment, meet the winemaker, taste from barrel, chat about styles and approach - and there is no expectation of purchase.
Now, to state the obvious, our intention would be to walk out with a nice bounty, assuming we enjoy the wines and the experience.
But I thought the etiquette question was an interesting one.
Ha! Thanks - I stumbled out here under rather, er, unusual circumstances, but I’m certainly glad I did. Outstanding community, even when accounting for the obstreperous presence of Dan P. 
You pose one difficult question and one easy one. Easy first, no expectations to buy that I have ever perceived from a winemaker or winery tasting room. Maybe I’m just dense.
Hard one: to select two destinations among an embarras de richesses. I’d suggest Rafanelli. No other way to taste, not a tour, but I buy the limit and never regret it. Even the Zin pleases my non-Zin loving wife. John Holedredge is the most entertaining and a 180 from Rafanelli.
Otherwise, my choices would be based on enjoyable experience rather than best wine/best value. It’s always rewarding to visit Preston.
And enjoy the food. RRV is more than wine.
I would hit Lynmar in Graton (near Sebastopol). Terrific Chardonnay, Pinot and Syrah. Beautiful setting with the vineyards, the gardens and the tasting room and very nice people. Open to the public.
Then when you are done, I would head down the street to Underwood Bar & Bistro for lunch.
THen make an appointment for Littorai in the afternoon. Some of the best Pinots coming out of the Nor Cal. Littorai’s tasting room/winemaking facility is in Sebastopol about 10 minutes from Underwood and Lynmar.
Otherwise, for a completely different experience, head to Siduri/Novy for terrific wines too, albeit in a true garagiste setting. Literally in an industrial park. Great wines across the board from Chardonnay to Pinot to Grenache to Syrah and a few things in between.
No affiliation either but we love all three places.
Hartford is another good stop - open to the public.
I would avoid Rochioli. We stopped in the other day and they were only pouring the estate Chardonnay.
If you need to be up in that area, i would suggest stopping at Arista (Westside Road in Healdsburg and down the street from Rochioli). Great Pinots, a pretty good Gewurtz and under their other label a pretty good Cab Franc. Ask for Mark McWilliams - a good Texan and super nice guy. No appt
Tough to narrow it down to only two, but one I’d very highly recommend that hasn’t been mentioned yet is Scherrer. Oh yeah, Arista is another one! Of those that have already been mentioned, Copain, Inman, and Holdredge would be among my picks, but there are so many good ones.
Tony posted just before I did - I’ll second his recommendation to eat at Underwood in Graton.
Yes, Scherrer! Contact Fred and see if he’s available - there, you’ll enjoy wine and music, with him playing guitar and singing, and you joining in if you want…
I am not a fan of Joseph Swan. The wines are fine but that tasting room two weekends again was so inundated with fruit flies (and the accompanying smell) that it was off putting for me
Copain is outstanding. Open to the public on weekends, but have never found it crowded, perhaps cause it is off Eastside Rd., rather than Westside. Can make appt for other days, if someone is going to be around. Views are spectacular, and their Tous Ensemble wines have a great QPR.
A. Rafanelli is actually in Dry Creek Valley, not RRV. Wineries along Westside Rd. can get a bit hectic on weekends.
Hartford Court and Lynmar are further south and are excellent choices, especially if you like Pinot and Chardonnay.
Would also consider Marimar Estate (a couple of miles west of Graton and actually in Green Valley AVA) for their food and wine tasting experience. Make appt for that; wine tasting open every day.
Lunch in Graton at Underwood is a good idea. Mexican joint next door is also a price/performer. Sebastapol has lots of great restaurants.
Many to mention. Holdredge. Also, beautiful wines at Inman. Hanzell (not RRV but great).
Scherrer also on the list! Just make sure you get proper navigation equipment with your rental; a little hard to find otherwise, (IMHO).
My favorites in RRV / vicinity would be: Swan, Dehlinger, Copain, Holdredge, Scherrer. I am pretty sure you need an appointment at Dehlinger, dunno about Scherrer but guess the same. Rafanelli is a great suggestion but not in RRV, as pointed out.
Arista and Copain.
They are close to each other, so a third winery stop may be possible.
TTT
I can’t imagine just doing two, Evan, to be honest. If you do one thing, I’d be inclined to say drive down Westside Road and take in the view and stop wherever strikes you. Obviously, I’m partial to a lot of places in RRV – Joseph Swan, Siduri, WesMar, Holdredge, Inman Family … many others. The usual suspects out of my mouth (er, or keyboard). It’s a treat, and I’d be willing to bet you decide you can’t just try two, or, if you do, you’ll be back. Enjoy the trip.
Occupational hazard of tasting and making wine in the same room. I like the rustic charm.
Not really, Berry. I’ve been to many places that taste in the same space where the wine is made - and worked in several as well - and I’ve never seen the deluge of fruit flies that I also experienced at Swan a couple of years ago. I visited around the same time of year, the very end of crush season, so I don’t know if that’s an issue at other times of year. But I’m with Tony on this, the wines are ok (although not my favorites from RRV) but my tasting experience left something to be desired.
How does one control fruit flies when you are fermenting wine?