Update--Sonoma Wineries

Back in March, when everyone else was deep in the throes of madness over the NCAA basketball tournament, I was experiencing some serious spring fever…spring fever that I cured by thinking about the time I knew I would be spending in Sonoma and Napa counties this summer. 

I poured over books, websites, and articles about the areas and the wineries located there.  I dreamed of all the wonderful wines I would be experiencing, many that are not distributed outside of the tasting rooms in wine country.  I begrudgingly chose eight that I put at the top of my list to visit.  Eight tasting rooms which I couldn’t wait to see, all the time knowing that it just wasn’t fair to choose only a measly eight.  But I tried. 

And I’ve tried my hardest to visit and enjoy (which wasn't difficult) each and every one.  Here is my progress so far.

Dutton-Goldfield Winery

The grape growing and winemaking duo of Steve Dutton and Dan Goldfield is known for making fabulous pinot noirs.  This warm and inviting tasting room is easily located near the town of Graton, though it is considered Sebastopol.  I looked forward to the wonderful pinots others had recommended to me, and the wines did not disappoint.  However, I found some special and somewhat unusual jewels there in addition to the fabulous pinot noirs.  In fact, Dutton-Goldfield shows one of the reasons I enjoy Sonoma County tasting rooms and winemakers so much: quality wines made from other than the usual suspects grape varieties of just cabernet and chardonnay. 

Don’t miss:  2013 Chileno Valley Vineyard Riesling—wonderfully dry and refreshing, this has the minerality, pear, and apple associated with traditional Rieslings, without the sugar to mask the wine’s complexity.  Think German…with a slight California flare shown through both nose and palate.

Don’t miss:  2014 Green Valley Vineyard Gewürztraminer—also wonderfully dry while being beautifully aromatic, this wine is filled with citrus fruit and florals.  This Gewurtz was too good to not purchase.  It would be great sipping alone or with light fare.  Though all the wines were fantastic, I chose these whites as don’t miss wines because of the almost-rarity of finding these bottled varietals.

Dutton-Goldfield's tasting room with unique varietals waiting to sip.

Ridge

Though I would have loved to visit Ridge’s original vineyard near Santa Cruz—Monte Bello—I happened to be in the Alexander Valley neighborhood, home to Ridge’s Lytton Springs’ location.   Overlooking 115 year old zinfandel vines, I enjoyed the special Monte Bello tasting, a quick trip through three vintages of the flagship Ridge wine:  1988, 2000, and 2011. 

Don’t miss:  Monte Bello tasting—if you are a wine geek of any degree, the fifty dollar fee is worth every single penny.  Every one!  Seeing how this amazing wine ages is a treat, in and of itself.  The ’88 was beautifully fig brown with muted fruit, dry earth, and white pepper.  The 2000 was showing its youth after 15 years.  It still has much life left.  And the 2011, wow!  Silky and smooth today, yet ready to age for decades, this wine is an investment waiting to be made.

Don’t miss:  sit on the outdoor patio for a tasting, if possible, or a glass of wine.  The old vines in front of the tasting room are fantastically tangled and gnarled.  The vineyard is actually a traditional field blend from the time the Italian immigrants settled Sonoma wine country.  Get as close as you can and take lots of pictures.  I did.

Ridge's Monte Bello and gnarly vines--reasons to stop at either location.

Patz & Hall

Known for creating single vineyard chardonnays and pinot noirs, the Patz & Hall team recently (in 2014) opened their new Sonoma House outside of the town of Sonoma.  An absolutely stunning facility, this comfortable and upscale tasting “room” sits overlooking the newly-planted and first-ever Patz & Hall estate fruit.  Though just baby buds now, in the years to come, these vines will provide the perfect picturesque backdrop in which to taste wine.

Don’t miss:  the back yard patio is like hanging out at your coolest friend’s house…if that coolest friend had a beautiful home with all the best wine.  Call to make a tasting appointment and to plan time to relax on this amazing space.  A very educational tasting that teaches not only about Patz & Hall wines, but about Sonoma vineyards as well.

Don’t miss:  if you are a pinot noir fan like me, come to taste here!  All three of the noirs on the tasting menu were special wines.  Good luck choosing just one bottle to purchase.  So go ahead, buy all three:  2013 Brown Ranch, 2012 Chenoweth Ranch, and 2013 Burnside Vineyard.  In the glass, they each reflect the area where grown.

Patz & Hall--great pinots and chardonnays in the swankiest environment.

Copain

Copain’s wine maker, Wells Guthrie, makes wines in the style my palate prefers—delicate and complex with a hands-off style of winemaking that starts in the vineyard.  The facility is located on East Side Road in my favorite Sonoma location, the Russian River Valley.  The view over the valley and across to the other side (and also impressive Williams Selyem) begins a wonderfully intimate tasting.  By appointment only and paired with small bites made in the Copain kitchen, the wines are showcased marvelously as wine educators tell all the intricate details of each wine from vineyard to bottle to glass.

Don’t miss:  2011 Laureles Grade Chardonnay—a rich, smooth, and soft chardonnay, this wine shows Guthrie’s propensity to make wines in an old-world style.  If you want a big California butter-bomb chardonnay, this is not for you.  Its time in neutral oak leads to the citrus fruit and minerality one would expect in a Burgundian white; however, from grapes grown in Monterey, there is something very bold about it.

Don’t miss:  2012 Kiser “En Haut” Pinot Noir—meaning “the high” En Haut is sourced from vineyards several hundred feet higher in elevation than its sister wine “En Bas.”  Both are spectacular examples of pinot noir, and if I tasted tomorrow, I might flip my favorite. But on this particular day, “En Haut” won because of its mint and eucalyptus characteristics, two of my preferred traits in a pinot.

Copain's intimate tasting experience in one of my favorite places--the RRV!

Choosing only eight (I actually chose nine…just because) elite wineries on my to-visit list for a long wine vacation was nearly impossible.  Really.  Think Sophie’s Choice and then you know my difficulties.  (Okay, maybe not quite that dramatic, but you get my point.)  However, none of the four I have visited thus far have disappointed.  All have lived up to the recommendations and research.  I purchased wine at all; multiple bottles in fact. 

I haven’t been able to visit them all yet; and unfortunately, I think at least one will not happen.  Hirsch Vineyards has very limited access by the public, with only certain days and times available for visitors.  These limited dates book quickly, and I waited too long.  I think this one of my elite will stay on my to-visit list.  (Silent tear is seriously rolling down my wine-loving cheek right now.)

None the less, I will continue on my journey to visit the other four wineries on my wish list.  One very remote spot is on my schedule for next week. 

Red Cap Vineyards, you’re up!

Elite Eight--Northern California Wineries

There is currently an epidemic in this country.  Recently, I have witnessed some behavior that has me gravely concerned about many of those around me.  It started a few weeks ago with strange symptoms of people spending copious amounts of time of ESPN or other sports outlets researching something very troubling…something called a bracket.  Most inflicted with this strange syndrome didn’t fill out a bracket (singular), but many fill out multiple brackets (plural), taking this strange behavior to a whole new level.  For some, this behavior is so extreme it could only be called “madness,” pure and simple.   

Then there are those like me, who get another kind of illness in March—spring fever!  This disease doesn’t show itself in the research of basketball teams and hours of sports watching (although I have watched my fair share of NCAA basketball games lately), my spring fever manifests itself in crazy thoughts of warmth, summer, and vacation.  As others are choosing their teams to reach the Elite Eight, I am doing my own study too, filling in my own bracket (in a way) of the eight wineries I would make a priority to visit in northern California wine country.

Similar to when people fill out their brackets for the NCAA tourney, I have a list of qualifications I used to choose my elite wineries:  1) I could not have been to the winery before; 2) I could not have even tasted the wine before; and 3) I had to have respected the wine on some level for a period of time.  However, even with this criteria, my special wineries cover a gamut of styles of wine, sizes of production, and popularity of products.  Any grape and any location in northern California could be contenders.  Each has a specific reason for being chosen, and each makes me thirsty just thinking of the amazing wine options available.  Here they are, in no particular order, the eight elite wineries I can’t wait to visit!

One—Ridge Vineyards:  Known for its signature vineyard Monte Bello in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco, I remember the first time I heard of Ridge’s Monte Bello red blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc).  I read an online review that made the bottle sound like heaven.  Over the years, I learned this one review was the norm, and Monte Bello has been on my bucket list to drink ever since.  Produced by revered wine maker Paul Draper, Ridge has two locations for visitors, and truthfully, I want to visit both (but I’m only counting this is one of my eight).  Of course, the original Monte Bello location would be like Mecca for a wineaux like me.  At the same time, the Lytton Springs location outside of Healdsburg in northern Sonoma (purchased in 1991) looks like a worthy stop as well.  Read about both locations on the Ridge website here.

Ridge Vineyards

Two—Corison Winery:  Corison is Napa royalty.  With a female winemaker at the helm (which I love), Cathy Corison and her husband primarily make Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet Francs.  However, they also produce a white from Gewurztraminer and a rose (among others).  Cathy is known for using sustainable growing and production practices in her quest to make wines that are complex and powerful, while at the same time have some elegance.  On my list to drink and see the facility, Corison is definitely worth an elite eight position.  Read more about Cathy and her wines here.

Corison Winery

Three—Littorai Wines:  Small, family owned Littorai is the baby of Ted and Heidi Lemon.  Ted learned the winemaking business in the Burgundy region of France.  Heidi spent some time in Germany for another job.  Together, they returned home and searched northern California for the perfect spot for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; they found it in Sonoma and have a tasting room outside of Sebastopol.  They believe in a hands-off, more natural style of winemaking focusing on making the best wine after good vineyard practices.  Specializing in my favorite wine, Pinot Noir, Ted and Heidi source from the Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley.  They also produce quality Chardonnays, in addition to a unique Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurztraminer blend.  Read about Littoria Wines here.

Littorai Wines

           Four—Copain Wines:  Also a Sonoma winery, the location is outside of Healdsburg (one of my favorite Sonoma towns).  Wells Guthrie is the winemaker here.  He traveled to the Rhone Valley of France to receive some of his training in winemaking.  Here, he learned to respect the French winemaking techniques.  These methods show up in his wines from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah (including a rose).  Guthrie’s ultimate goal of the wines (from grapes sourced from the Anderson Valley) is to reflect the terroir, to be a representation of the place where grown.  Tastings are given my appointment only, so to visit this winning winery, some advanced planning is required.  See how to get an appointment here.

Copain Wines

  Five—Red Cap Vineyards:  Located on Howell Mountain in Napa, Tom and Desiree Altemus started this winery after years in other careers.  Winemaker Rudy Zuidema is the winemaker, joining the Altemuses after his time in Australia.  The vines were planted on Howell Mountain in 2000, and Red Cap focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.  The production is incredibly small, only 250 cases a year.  There is no public tasting available, so this is definitely a truly elite group of wines to experience.  Look for special events and tastings in other locations, posted on their website here.

Red Cap Vineyards

Six—Dutton-Goldfield Winery:  Located in Sonoma, this is a team effort from fifth generation Californian Steve Dutton (wine grower) and Dan Goldfield (winemaker).  This producer made my elite list because of the focus on Pinot Noir wines, especially from one of my favorite areas, the Russian River Valley.  They also make wines from Chardonnay, Syrah, Zinfandel, and Gewurztraminer.  The tasting room is outside of Sebastopol and is open daily for tastings.  Find the hours here.

Dutton-Goldfield Winery

Seven—Venge Vineyards:  Kirk Venge, Napa born and raised and fourth generation Californian farmer, makes wines much like his ancestors, yet with his own stamp of originality.  Kirk has a true focus on sustainability; he uses dry farming, cover crops, and no herbicides.  Making wines in Napa primarily of Cabernet Sauvignon, he also produces Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, Syrah, and Merlot.  By appointment only, the tasting experience here is more about education and enjoyment in a quiet, formal environment.  Learn more about Venge Vineyards here.

Venge Vineyards

Eight—Hirsch Vineyards:  In 1980, David Hirsch sought a growing area to farm grapes that would produce wines showing the specific site where the fruit was grown.  For decades, he sourced grapes to some of the most prestigious winemakers in northern California, including Williams Selyem (one of my bucket-list wineries I was able to visit last year).  Now he grows grapes that make amazing Pinot Noirs (so I have heard because, again, none of these wines have been in my glass…yet) with the Hirsch label under the direction of a team that includes winemakers, a vineyard manager, a gardener, and sales marketers.  I have followed his sales manager and daughter Jasmine on Facebook and Instagram for quite some time.  I can freely admit to the madness I feel about the pictures she posts of Hirsch wines!  Tastings are given by appointment only and require a trek far, far north into Sonoma, almost three hours north of San Francisco.  However, the travel is worth seeing the unique and remote vineyard where one can catch glimpses of the ocean at times.  Here is how to visit Hirsch Vineyards.

Hirsch Vineyards

Honorable mention—Patz & Hall:  I had to add a ninth winery to my list, Patz & Hall.  The reason it didn’t make the actual list of eight is only because I have had the pleasure of drinking Patz & Hall wines before, so having it on my dream team of wines that I can’t wait to taste would have been breaking my own rules.  However, this winery deserves a nod for several reasons.  First, it focuses on my favorite variety, Pinot Noir, making wines from grapes sourced from two of my beloved AVAs:  Russian River Valley and Carneros.  Patz & Hall also produces Chardonnays, focusing on single vineyards and smaller lots.  The team of James Hall, who makes the wine, and Donald Patz, who sells the wine, is joined by Anne Moses and Heather Patz.  They recently opened the Sonoma House outside of the town of Sonoma.  I am dying to visit this beautiful facility after following its construction via social media. 

Patz & Hall Sonoma House

Luckily, I was able to bypass the current epidemic of madness everyone around me seems to have contracted.  On the other hand, I caught my own—March wine madness.  Much thought and reasoning is used when those infected with this madness go to fill out their brackets; these are tough choices to make.  I put even more thought and reasoning into the selected eight producers here, all based on my personal tastes and interests.  I could have easily made a list of the sixteen sweetest wineries I want to visit.  Even easier to do would have been to bump up to thirty-two places, and sixty-four would have also been a cinch. 

These eight represent an incredibly short list of a very, very, very long line of wonderful wineries to visit in northern California.  The madness of trying to limit to just eight actually hurt me; it created a whole other list of symptoms, some similar to basketball fanatics' issues this month:  shaking, nervous twitches, and thirst.  Those of you following the NCAA tournament only have a few more games until your madness is cured; I still have months until summer comes to cure mine.  Bring on the prescription for travel and let these eight elite wine producers cure my madness—cheers!