Sip and Savor Sonoma County

The blog may be called Central Coast Uncorked, but this wine enthusiast took the opportunity last fall to indulge in the wines of Sonoma County.  The two day trip through Sonoma County featured a great selection of wineries in the Russian River Valley, Downtown Healdsburg and Dry Creek Valley, as well as a sampling of some great cuisine (casual and elegant) in Healdsburg and Geyserville.

As a newbie to the area, I relied on my experiences tasting wines from local producers at events such as Family Winemakers of California, recommendations from Twitter followers and fellow winemakers, as well as the Wine Road - Northern Sonoma County, Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley and Russian River Valley Winegrowers.

These resources helped me plan a memorable two day trip through Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley and Russian River Valley. Visitors to northern Sonoma County should also indulge in the wines and magnificent landscape of the Alexander Valley, home to more than 40 wineries.  And its all within an hour and a half drive north of San Francisco.  In 2012, I am looking forward to flying or driving north to sip and savor the rest of Sonoma County.  There is so much more to experience!

DAY 1

The fog was thick and the cloud cover was low on a crisp fall weekday morning in the Russian River Valley. As you peer down the narrow roads surrounded by sloping rows of vineyards covered with the glow of red, orange and yellow colors, the Russian River Valley comes into focus in one dramatic landscape as the sun peers through the fog and clouds.

On a porch overlooking the vineyard, I enjoyed a full tasting of the newest releases from Benovia Winery. Earlier in 2011 during the Family Winemakers Pasadena Trade Tasting, I fell in love with the wines of Benovia. It's almost impossible to enjoy a lineup of wines from a single winery, but Benovia hit it out the park with some spectacular Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel wines from the  Russian River Valley. Recommendations: Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, Sonoma County Zinfandel, Cohn Vineyard Pinot Noir.

While the sun, clouds and fog played hooky throughout the morning, I focused on the next stop: Inman Family Wines. Kathleen Inman is true to her craft as a winemaker should be, with a spin or screwcap on the competition. Located at the junction of Olivet and Piner Road, Inman Family Wines produces Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Rosé and Sparkling wines from Russian River Valley vineyards such as Thorn Ridge Ranch and their own Olivet Grange Vineyard. Recommendations: Russian River Valley Chardonnay, Olivet Grange Vineyard Pinot Noir.

DAY 2

Have you ever trekked through a new area not knowing what to expect on the other side of the ridge? On a rain soaked morning, I encountered the "wow" factor in the Dry Creek Valley just on the other side of the hill from Healdsburg. It is almost as if you are being warped into another time zone studded by small and medium-sized vineyard plots in a stunning landscape in northern Sonoma County.

Located on Dry Creek Road, north of Healdsburg, is one of the highlights from my trip in this renowned wine producing region - Unti Vineyards. Established in 1997, Unit Vineyards is a family-owned and operated winery producing small lots of estate grown Zinfandel, Rhône and Italian varietals. Recommendations: Rosé, Barbera, Segromigno, Zinfandel.

As W. Dry Creek Road road narrows and ends at its northern point, a dirt path off the main road winds through the vineyards of Preston of Dry Creek. Preston is a family operated farm winery worth the visit, especially for Rhône wine lovers. Recommendations: Mourvèdre, Syrah~Sirah.

If you are looking for the true wine garagiste experience, look no further than Frick Winery. These hand-crafted, small lot wines are produced largely from estate fruit, as well as Carignane from 100 year old vines in Mendocino County.

Russian River Valley

Dry Creek Valley

DOWNTOWN HEALDSBURG

Davis Family Vineyards
52 Front Street, Healdsburg  (707) 569-0171
Open Thursday-Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Hawley Winery
36 North Street, Healdsburg  (707) 473-9500
Open daily 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

DRY CREEK VALLEY

Unti Vineyards
4202 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg  (707) 433-5590
Open daily by appointment, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Preston of Dry Creek
9282 West Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg
Open daily 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Collier Falls Winery
4791 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg  (707) 433-7373
Open daily 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Frick Winery
23072 Walling Road, Geyserville  (707) 857-1980
Open Fri-Sun 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Summer); Sat & Sun 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Winter)

Ridge Vineyards (Lytton Springs Winery)
650 Lytton Springs Road, Healdsburg  (707) 433-7721
Open daily 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY

Benovia Winery
3339 Hartman Road, Santa Rosa  (707) 526-4441
Open daily by appointment, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Inman Family Wines
3900 Piner Road, Santa Rosa  (707) 293-9576
Open Thursday-Monday, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Joseph Swan Vineyards
2916 Laguna Road, Santa Rosa (Winery entrance on Trenton Road)  (707) 573-3747
Open Saturday & Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Fog Crest Vineyard
7602 Occidental Road, Sebastapol  (800) 931-2906
Open by appointment only

Woodenhead Vintners
5700 River Road, Santa Rosa  (707) 887-2703
Open Thursday-Monday, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

WHERE TO EAT

Catelli's 
21047 Geyserville Avenue, Geyserville  (707) 857-3471.  Lunch and Dinner

Diavola Pizzeria
21021 Geyserville Avenue, Geyserville  (707) 814-0111.  Lunch and Dinner

Barndiva
213 Center Street, Healdsburg  (707) 431-0100.  Lunch and Dinner

Scopa
109A Plaza Street, Healdsburg  (707) 433-5282.  Dinner

Costeaux French Bakery
417 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg  (707) 433-1913.  Breakfast and Lunch

The Wurst
22 Matheson Street, Healdsburg  (707) 395-0214.  Lunch and Dinner

Moustache Baked Goods
381 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg  (707) 395-4111.  Cupcakes

WHERE TO STAY

Best Western Plus Dry Creek Valley Inn (Economy)
198 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg  (800) 222-5784

Healdsburg Inn (Historic)
112 Matheson Street, Healdsburg  (800) 431-8663

Hotel Healdsburg (Luxury)
25 Matheson Street, Healdsburg  (800) 889-7188

Benovia Wines, Russian River Valley

Entrance to Benovia Winery, Russian River Valley

Inman Family Wines, Russian River Valley

Woodenhead Vintners, Russian River Valley

Davis Family Vineyards, Healdsburg

Unti Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley

Preston of Dry Creek Winery & Vineyard

Rhône Fever Hits Los Angeles

Rhône fever is hitting Los Angeles on Saturday, August 7th when the Rhône Rangers roll into town.  There's no better way to quench your summer thirst than with the finest Rhône wines at the Rhône Rangers Los Angeles Tasting at Pier 59 Studios West in Santa Monica.

This widely attended event will feature over 40 wineries pouring single-varietal and Rhône blend wines from renowned wine producing regions in California, including Paso Robles and Santa Barbara County.

Last year's tasting featured a tantalizing collection of wines from a great group of Central Coast wineries including Tercero Wines, Vines on the Marycrest, Écluse Wines, Anglim Winery, Tablas Creek, Edward Sellers Vineyards & Wines, Cass Winery and many others.  This year's event will feature new members of the Rhône Rangers, who are sure to score big with Rhône enthusiasts in Los Angeles.

Participating wineries include: Adelaida, Alta Colina, Andrew Murray, Anglim, Bonny Doon, Calcareous, Caliza, Clavo, Conway Family Wines, Cornerstone Cellars, Curtis Winery, Cypher, Derby Wine Estates, Donelan, Eberle, Ecluse, Edward Sellers, Epiphany, Fess Parker, Frick, Halter Ranch, Holly's Hills, J. Lohr, Jada, JK Wine Co-Katin & Arada, Kaleidos, Maison Bleue, Michael-David, Nine Wine Estates, Ortman Family Vineyards, Pomar Junction, Qupe, Stolpman, Tablas Creek, Tercero, Treana, Venteux Vineyards, Vina Robles, Waterbrook, Wind Gap, Zaca Mesa.

So, enjoy a little of Hollywood and savor California's Central Coast at the Rhône Rangers Los Angeles Tasting on August 7, 2011 at Pier 59 Studios West.

Rhône Rangers Los Angeles Tasting
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Pier 59 Studios West, 2415 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica
2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. General Admission, $45
12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. VIP Admission, $75

In the Rhône at Hospice du Rhône 2011

Could you ask for any more perfect wine weather?!  From April 28-30, Rhône fans from distances close and far converged on the Paso Robles Event Center to participate in the "world's largest international celebration of Rhone variety wines" - Hospice du Rhône.  For three days, hundreds of Rhône wine enthusiasts experienced a variety of seminars, tastings and offline events inspired by Rhône varietal wines produced by the world's most renowned wineries and winemakers.

Every year, people from across the world embark on a pilgrimage to various sites of religious importance.  The same can be said about Hospice du Rhône for those people who are inspired by the twenty-two Rhône varieties.  It should be no surprise then that Hospice du Rhône is one of the most iconic wine tasting events in the world.

In 2011, Hospice du Rhône featured an à la carte offering of wine seminars with highly acclaimed winemakers, as well as the Friday Soiree.  The Friday Rhône Rendezvous Tasting and Saturday Grand Tasting provided the backdrop for these world-class wine producers to share new and old vintages of their award-winning wines.  HdR also released a helpful app to add tasting notes and share tweets during the seminars and tastings.

I was fortunate enough this year to participate in the Saturday Grand Tasting.  For three hours, hundreds of Rhônely Hearts tipped their glasses for a pour of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Viognier, Roussanne and other Rhône varietal wines and blends.  Even three hours wasn't long enough to savor a fraction of the hundreds of wines being poured by the some of the most talented winemakers in the world.

Because interest in Rhône varietal wines remains a niche market, it is going to take more time and education to highlight the remarkable expressions of the Rhône wines being produced by Central Coast wineries, as well those from Northern California.  There were also some superb French Rhône producers whose wines continue to garner acclaim by the world's leading wine critics and regular wine drinkers.

Stay tuned for information about other HdR events later this year such as #Syrah Day and #Grenache Day, as well as next year's theme and the schedule for Hospice du Rhône 2012 (April 26-28).  You won't want to miss this Rhônetastic event!

Justin Smith, Saxum

Ecluse Wines

Alta Colina Vineyard & Winery

Full of Life Flatbread, Los Alamos, CA

Bottling Day 2011, Jaffurs Wine Cellars

Under relatively clear skies and with a cool ocean breeze to their backs, the team at Jaffurs Wine Cellars, along with dedicated wine club members and volunteers, got to work bottling hundreds of cases of Santa Barbara County Syrah, Grenache and Pinot Noir.

The Mission Bottling truck was set up in the driveway of the winery while volunteers were busy loading and packaging thousands of bottles of Jaffurs' reserve wines, including the 2009 vintage of the widely popular and award-winning Upslope, Thompson Vineyard Syrah, Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah, Ampelos Vineyard Syrah and Santa Barbara County Grenache, as well as a Jaffurs side project from Dave Yates called "Mistress," which is exclusively Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara County.

Jaffurs Wine Cellars is one of the most acclaimed wineries and Rhône varietal wine producers in Santa Barbara County.  Under the helm of Craig Jaffurs, Dave Yates and Matt Brady, Jaffurs Wine Cellars continues to impress wine critics, wine enthusiasts and wine novices with their handcrafted wines using grapes from the finest vineyards in Santa Barbara County including Ampelos Vineyard, Thompson Vineyard, Bien Nacido Vineyard, and Larner Vineyard.  Jaffurs produces a range of single-varietal Rhône wines such as Viognier, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache and Mourvèdre.

Check out the video below for all the action that goes into bottling the 2009 vintage.  Thanks to Craig, Dave, and Matt for allowing me to film and photograph all the activities and to Phil C. for giving me a good excuse to visit Downtown Santa Barbara.  Cheers!

IF YOU GO

Jaffurs Wine Cellars
819 E. Montecito St., Santa Barbara (west of N. Milpas St.)
(805) 962-7003
Friday-Monday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Open daily during summer months).  Tasting Fee: $10
Facebook: Jaffurs Wine Cellars

Dave Yates loading bottles

Bottles lining up to be filled with the '09 Grenache

Jaffurs' volunteers hustling to load and package bottles

Matt Brady (left) and Craig Jaffurs (right) sampling the '09 Grenache

'09 Thompson Vineyard Syrah on the bottling line