Fetzer Vineyards

If you fancy fine wines, are delighted to spend an overnight or more in a cozy bed and breakfast, enjoy walking through acres of flowering and fruiting plants, and find joy in browsing displays of tantalizing foodstuffs or racks of unique gift selections, you will find any or all of the above when you visit the Fetzer Vineyards Tasting Room and Visitors Center at Valley Oaks just east of Hopland. And, lest you fear there will be large crowds and little elbowroom, you’d be only half right. People do flock to Valley Oaks, but with 95 acres to ramble around and an enormous picnic area under a cool, leafy trellis, finding quiet paths to stroll and a spot to settle down for a sandwich, salad and a glass of wine is no trick at all.
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February 25th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Handley Cellars

Six miles west of the tiny town of Philo in Mendocino County the traveler comes to a sign announcing that he/she has arrived at Handley Cellars, where Milla Handley is winemaker. As the great great granddaughter of Henry Weinhard of Oregon brewery fame, Milla must have had some bubbles in her genes and, thinking in terms of wine, not beer, Milla enrolled in fermentation science courses at the University of California at Davis.
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February 25th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Blackstone Winery - Sonoma

see_our_wines02bNot too many moons ago, those wishing to try Blackstone Winery wines would have to consult their maps and head for the tiny hamlet of Graton in western Sonoma County. Wine tasting premises were shared with a couple of other wineries, and while the building was quaint and beautifully restored, there was no winery to tour, or winemaker to meet.
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February 10th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Fritz Winery – Cloverdale CA

pinotonthepatioAlthough Fritz Winery, in Cloverdale is probably best known for its outstanding Chardonnays and prize-winning Zinfandels, a new star has risen that is proving to be just as dazzling. It is the Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir – vintage 2000 now in release. This particular vintage is a blend of grapes from two of the famous Russian River Valley vineyards owned and farmed by the Dutton family, and winemaker Christina Pallmann says that this wine makes a “powerfully explosive statement, with its strawberry, sour cherry, cinnamon and vanilla mix of aromas and flavors.”
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February 10th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Geyser Peak and Canyon Road Wineries

geyserphSince 1971 the two Geyserville wineries, Geyser Peak and Canyon Road (formerly Nervo Winery) have been under a single ownership, although that owner has changed several times over the years. Today these charming sister wineries are owned and operated by Jim Beam Brands Co. Pretty much at the helm is executive vice president Daryl Groom who is also a member of the quartet of winemakers who guide spectacular grapes through their evolution into elegant wines. The other three winemakers are vice president Mick Schroeter, Ondine Chattan and Chris Munsell.
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February 9th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Armida Winery

armida3If they were handing out awards for the most spectacular view from a winery, there is little doubt that Armida Winery would walk off with a golden statuette. The magnificent display spread before the visitor stretches from the lake just below the picnic deck far down Dry Creek valley and off to the hills on either side. The deck, under the trees, has become a favorite picnic spot for wine lovers and the really great news is that now the deck has been expanded three-fold, with more tables and benches for al fresco dining.
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February 9th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

A Visit to Rios-Lovell Winery

rios-lovell-wineryThere are those who say that the arrangement of small tables and comfortable chairs in the tasting room at Rios-Lovell Winery in California’s Livermore Valley makes the wine taste better. Whether it does or not, it certainly makes the tasting experience more enjoyable and welcoming. Hospitality director, Jill Reya, describes the setting as one of comfortable elegance, and she is absolutely right.
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February 6th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Good Comes from the Glut – Charles Creek Cellars

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There has been a lot of publicity about overproduction of grapes over the last few harvests. This can mean lower prices paid to growers for their grapes and more bulk wine on the market. On the plus side, for the consumer, a heavy harvest and more vines coming into full bearing can possibly mean lower bottle prices, better quality wines in low end packaging and, for some emerging wineries, it can mean an opportunity to expand production with grapes from vineyards with a long history of providing quality fruit to the industry.
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February 6th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Mill Creek Winery – Reflections Meritage

mill-creek-wineryStarting in 1996, with a barrel tasting of the first vintage of their classy Meritage wine, “Reflections,” the Kreck family has celebrated each succeeding blend with a gala dinner party. A special benefit for those attending that first party was the opportunity to buy futures – i.e. purchase a case or so of that first Reflections, vintage 1994, to be delivered in 1997, when winemaker Hank Skewis and Mill Creek Winery owners Bill and Yvonne Kreck decided it was ready for release.
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February 6th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Blessing the Harvest – Field Stone Winery

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This time of year, along with gondolas trundling down the road and crushers running night and day, many of the wineries in the Napa Valley and Sonoma County – and probably every other wine grape growing region in California – are calling on the good services of local prelates to bless the harvest as the first load of the vintage arrives.
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February 6th, 2010 | Leave a Comment

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