Alex, as others have mentioned to get to Rafanelli after what will likely be two lengthy visits to Extradimensional and Bedrock (or Darling) would be a mistake, the drive is a pain in the butt especially after tasting multiple wines.
I don’t really have a vineyard experience I can recommend along that Rt 12 corridor. For me the wines at places like Landmark, Kunde, Chateau St. Jean and others are not my style though the vineyards and properties at all three are beautiful!
One last kinda crazy suggestion. About a 5 -10 minute drive from the town of Sonoma is Jolie Laide a working winery set in a warehouse area. Vineyard experience, nope, sexy tasting room, nope but you will be tasting in a pristine working winery which if you haven’t been is very informative as to how wine is made.
Best of all, the wines of Jolie Laide and owner-winemaker Scott Schultz are excellent. White, Red, Rosé are all excellent. An appointment is absolutely necessary.
Tom
PS: When you are up in the Dry Creek Valley area, be sure to go to Ridge. Gorgeous property and great wines!
And Rafanelli isn’t much of a winery vineyard visit. You walk in a small cellar room to taste and you’re out in not much more than 30 minutes. One time Dave was there and invited us back into the caves and that was pretty cool, but it was definitely the exception. If you’re looking for a winery/vineyard experience, you might want to pick something else.
Dont sleep on their merlot. Last time I was there they had 4 cases left of the 21 merlot and it was rocking good. They would only sell us 4 a person or we wouldve both left with a case. I already drank two of them
I can’t help you on travel tips, but I had a 1997 Rafanelli Cabernet Sauvignon almost exactly 1 year ago (NYE 2024). It was alive, pleasant, and a nice example of tertiary development. Perhaps a story to share and maybe they’ll open something old for you. Cheers
As much as I love Bedrock’s wines, I wouldn’t prioritise their tasting room. I’ve visited a couple times and found the experience to be fine but not outstanding. If you like the Darling idea you could just hang out at EWCY! and there for the morning portion. Another Sonoma Valley option to consider could be Hamel - bit steep on pricing but very nice wines and very pretty. Will Bucklin’s place is lovely though you’d want to get in touch with him about visiting since I don’t think they’re generally open to the public.
If you are already members at Kosta Browne and like their wines, the I might replace this stop with the Williams Selyem idea, which would be a beautiful stop. That way you could have day 2 be, say, breakfast at Quail & Condor - Rafanelli - lunch in Healdsburg - Williams Selyem - Scherrer - dinner in Sebastopol.
Really? I didn’t love it. It’s a big modern sterile facility and the grounds are just OK. I was kind of underwhelmed, and there are lots of other places I thought were prettier and more personal experiences.
I liked Kosta Browne better especially the location at the Barlow with other things to do there. Id go to Kistler over both but I like those wines much better
It has been 7 to 10 years since I’ve been those places other than Kistler last year so I don’t know if they’ve changed, but that was my experience
This although W/S is kinda on the corporate side, followed by dinner at Goldfinch in Sebastopol.
Fred and Judi Scherrer do a Valentine’s Day Winemaker’s Dinner at the Barlow that is exceptional. If you’re there on Valentine’s Day proper. You should reach out to them and see if they are doing it this year. We go every year.
I am in Littorai’s wine “club” and met Ted earlier this year at one of their anniversary dinners in Atlanta. What I appreciated about him is that there were 4 tables at dinner and Ted moved around so he would sit at least 20 minutes or so at each table so everyone got a chance to talk to him. My winery visit (also earlier this year) was also good. We had a welcome glass of chardonnay, and walked the farm and vineyards with that in hand before settling on the porch for 4 or so glasses of Pinot Noir.
I would also recommend visiting Paul Hobbs for their Vineyard Designate Experience, while pricey, it is enough food for lunch (and very good food) and you will get to try some of their more limited Chardonnay’s, Pinot Noirs and Cabernets.
Earlier this year we did a private tasting at Donum - just a perfect day at an outdoor table near the gardens and the barn, and their wines were terrific. If doing it again, I would carve out time to tour their sculpture collection that is set in the vineyards.
Tasting at Three Sticks was terrific as well.
Brunch at The Girl & The Fig in downtown Sonoma - quiche lorraine was outstanding,
Dinner at Wit & Wisdom was… interesting. For some reason service that night was discombobulated - not ‘bad’, just very uncoordinated. Food was so good though: center cut filet with red-wine demi amongst the best steaks I’ve had.
We hit all 3 of your planned Day 1 wines when we were in Sonoma this spring - but not on the same day. Rafenelli has a beautiful property, but is a long ways from the town of Sonoma. While we enjoyed both our visits with Bedrock and (especially) Extradimensional - they are both tasting rooms on the square, and a really different vibe than going to a winery. I’d try to find a winery for the 3rd one that day, and get out of town, but find one closer. If you enjoy vintage cars, consider Keller Estates - the owner has one of the largest collector car collections in the world, and many are housed at the winery.
