New, Small and a Must See – Stryker Winery in Geyserville

If you didn’t know Stryker Winery was up there, sitting on a softly rounded knoll off Highway 128 in Alexander Valley, you’d drive right past it. This is pretty surprising, since the winery, owned by Karen and Craig MacDonald and (Ms) Pat Stryker, is large enough to produce 20,000 cases of wine, when operating at full capacity. Thanks to some very innovative and thoughtful planning by architects Richard Schuh and Amy Nielsen it is not just unobtrusive, but nearly invisible. Even after you have walked past the fermentation and aging cellars, you are not quite ready for the tasting room with a vaulted ceiling soaring nearly two-stories above the glass-enclosed interior. Three of the room’s four sides are glass presenting breath-taking views around Alexander Valley.


The 31-acre property, formerly Alexander Fruit and Trading Company, contains 27 acres of vineyard, replanted in 1999 with Bordeaux varieties. A two-acre block of 90-year-old Zinfandel vines was saved and now supplies the fruit for the Alexander Valley Old Vines Zin.

There are two whites and three red wines available for tasting. Although all the wines are produced in quantities well under 500 cases, (there are, for example, only 260 cases of the 2000 Russian River Gewürztraminer, and production of the fourth red, the 1999 Alexander Valley Old Vine Zinfandel was so limited – a mere 140 cases – that it is not open for sampling), the “giant” in production volume at 540 cases, is the 1999 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel.

The winery is open for visitors Thursday through Sunday from 10:30 am till 5 pm at 5110 Highway 128, Geyserville. There is no charge for tasting. For information or to make an appointment for a visit other than during regular hours, call 707-433-1944