Winery recommendations for Dry Creek and Russian River Valley?
Jeffrey Lichtman
Creek and Russian River Valley areas in Sonoma County. Does anyone have
recommendations? In addition to wine quality, we're also looking for a good
place for a picnic. I'd like to avoid the tourist-trap wineries - places
that focus more on their gift shops full of T-shirts and overpriced
coasters than on the wines. Attractive grounds are a plus, but not
absolutely necessary.
Thanks for any suggestions.
--
- Jeff Lichtman
Author, Baseball for Rookies
http://baseball-for-rookies.com/
Eddie Grove
> I'm going to be taking some out-of-towners to visit wineries in the Dry
> Creek and Russian River Valley areas in Sonoma County. Does anyone have
> recommendations? In addition to wine quality, we're also looking for a good
> place for a picnic. I'd like to avoid the tourist-trap wineries - places
> that focus more on their gift shops full of T-shirts and overpriced
> coasters than on the wines. Attractive grounds are a plus, but not
> absolutely necessary.
>
> Thanks for any suggestions.
I kind of like random places in Dry Creek. I just googled, got
http://www.wdcv.com/index.php?option=com_wineries&Itemid=33
Dry Creek is best for its Zins IMO.
Looking through the list I remember
Dry Creek Vineyard -- wide selection at their tastings. Some napa places only
taste two wines for a waste of a trip, but this place is often tasting 10 to
15 or so. Not my favorite wine, but sometimes I am in the mood to have a big
choice of what to taste and so I return.
Passalacqua -- these guys bought out Pezzi King, well the land at least. If
you have an old map, and see Pezzi King across from Dry Creek Vineyards, it is
them. The last time I went tasting in that area, this was my favorite. I
think they charged extra to taste their better wines.
F. Teldeschi Winery
Ferrari-Carano
Grove Street
Lambert Bridge
Quivira
The above are places I remember getting something tasty, but nothing more
particular than that. Sorry.
IMO you should pick perhaps two places in each area from recommendations and
do the rest of your tasting based upon whim of the moment. That's part of the
charm. It would be different if you could trust recommendations, but tastes
are so different you really should not.
Also, if you pick a particular place, be sure to phone ahead. Some places are
by appointment only, or have strange hours, and you don't want to waste time
traveling to some place you can't get into. You can also ask them if they
have picnic tables or the like available.
Eddie
Tony Lima
<swa...@rcn.com> wrote:
>I'm going to be taking some out-of-towners to visit wineries in the Dry
>Creek and Russian River Valley areas in Sonoma County. Does anyone have
>recommendations? In addition to wine quality, we're also looking for a good
>place for a picnic. I'd like to avoid the tourist-trap wineries - places
>that focus more on their gift shops full of T-shirts and overpriced
>coasters than on the wines. Attractive grounds are a plus, but not
>absolutely necessary.
>
>Thanks for any suggestions.
Second the recommendation for Passalacqua. Norma and I were
in Sonoma last month for a weekend. Here are some new
places you might want to try. (Warning: we prefer wines
that are fruit-forward with lower tannin and oak levels.)
Rued - relatively new, producing some very nice zins. The
2005 pinot noir is also really nice.
Hook & Ladder - currently one of our favorites. Try the
2003 chardonnay, 2006 pinot noir, 2004 estate zinfandel.
Unti: their 2005 estate zin can probably be aged at least a
year.
If you don't want to drive all over there are about a dozen
winery tasting rooms near downtown Healdsburg. I can also
recommend the Dry Creek Kitchen in the Healdsburg Hotel for
dinner. HTH. - Tony
Eddie Grove
> On Sat, 09 Feb 2008 21:07:05 -0600, Jeffrey Lichtman
> <swa...@rcn.com> wrote:
>
> >I'm going to be taking some out-of-towners to visit wineries in the Dry
> >Creek and Russian River Valley areas in Sonoma County. Does anyone have
> >recommendations? In addition to wine quality, we're also looking for a good
> >place for a picnic. I'd like to avoid the tourist-trap wineries - places
> >that focus more on their gift shops full of T-shirts and overpriced
> >coasters than on the wines. Attractive grounds are a plus, but not
> >absolutely necessary.
> >
> >Thanks for any suggestions.
>
> Second the recommendation for Passalacqua. Norma and I were
> in Sonoma last month for a weekend. Here are some new
> places you might want to try. (Warning: we prefer wines
> that are fruit-forward with lower tannin and oak levels.)
>
> Rued - relatively new, producing some very nice zins. The
> 2005 pinot noir is also really nice.
>
> Hook & Ladder - currently one of our favorites. Try the
> 2003 chardonnay, 2006 pinot noir, 2004 estate zinfandel.
>
> Unti: their 2005 estate zin can probably be aged at least a
> year.
If you expand the area to all of Sonoma, I would have recommended different
places than the ones I mentioned.
> If you don't want to drive all over there are about a dozen
> winery tasting rooms near downtown Healdsburg. I can also
> recommend the Dry Creek Kitchen in the Healdsburg Hotel for
> dinner. HTH. - Tony
Most of the tasting rooms are for single wineries. There is one wine shop on
the main street that does tastings that I really liked. The guy running the
show did a great job of recommending Pinots to taste, which is saying
something because my wife and I generally prefer other wines. I wish I could
remember the name.
Eddie
Steve Pope
> If you expand the area to all of Sonoma, I would have recommended
> different places than the ones I mentioned.
If you're including the Sonoma area itself, I recommend stopping
by Jack London State Park, for 30 or 45 minutes or so. There is
no winery to visit there, but you will see some very old cabernet
and zinfandel vines, now used by Kenwood, as well as the historic
features of the park.
Steve
Mark Lipton
> I'm going to be taking some out-of-towners to visit wineries in the Dry
> Creek and Russian River Valley areas in Sonoma County. Does anyone have
> recommendations? In addition to wine quality, we're also looking for a good
> place for a picnic. I'd like to avoid the tourist-trap wineries - places
> that focus more on their gift shops full of T-shirts and overpriced
> coasters than on the wines. Attractive grounds are a plus, but not
> absolutely necessary.
That takes in a lot of territory, Jeff, and without knowing your
visitors' tastes, it's a bit hard to make concrete recommendations. For
a recently compiled list of recommendations from alt.food.wine, see:
http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com/wine/section3.php#l5
In particular, I think that the picnic facilities at Dry Creek Vineyard
are good and they're not a major tourist trap (as a bonus, their white
wines and Zin are usually quite good). For attractive grounds,
Ferrari-Carano comes to mind, and because of their location at the top
of the Dry Creek Valley they aren't *that* overrun. I'll also put in a
plug for Bella, which is even above Ferrari-Carano, and has quite
distinctive Zin and Syrah. Hook and Ladder would be worth a try, too,
as it's Cecil DeLoach's new operation after his exit from his eponymous
winery.
Have fun!
Mark Lipton
rone
Jeffrey Lichtman <swa...@rcn.com> wrote:
>I'm going to be taking some out-of-towners to visit wineries in the Dry
>Creek and Russian River Valley areas in Sonoma County. Does anyone have
>recommendations? In addition to wine quality, we're also looking for a good
>place for a picnic. I'd like to avoid the tourist-trap wineries - places
>that focus more on their gift shops full of T-shirts and overpriced
>coasters than on the wines. Attractive grounds are a plus, but not
>absolutely necessary.
Preston, Lambert Bridge, Pedroncelli, Bella, Ferrari-Carano (more for
the grounds than the wine).
rone
--
"If any man is not free, then I, too, am a small pie made of chicken."
-- Bouffant, /Thoughts/ (Terry Pratchett)
axlq
>Creek and Russian River Valley areas in Sonoma County. Does anyone have
>recommendations?
Wow, that's a lot of area. For Russian River, we found it quite
difficult to find anything we liked. The popular style of wine
there seems to be tremendously over-oaked, to the point where oak is
the dominant flavor. The concept of balance was rarely to be found.
However, here and there we found some decent wines, although we
thought we spent a great deal of effort for small rewards. The
one that sticks out in my mind as excellent was Christopher Creek
Winery. I recall liking their nearest neighbor too, but can't
remember its name.
I'm not as familiar with Dry Creek. You probably can't go wrong
with Ridge Vineyards / Lytton Springs, and Kendall-Jackson, although
you can find their wines anywhere. We've enjoyed the offerings of
Everett Ridge too.
>In addition to wine quality, we're also looking for a good
>place for a picnic. I'd like to avoid the tourist-trap wineries - places
>that focus more on their gift shops full of T-shirts and overpriced
>coasters than on the wines. Attractive grounds are a plus, but not
>absolutely necessary.
Too bad you aren't going to Amador county. I could give you
*plenty* of recommendations for wineries and picnics. Most wineries
there don't charge for tasting, either.
-A
RWW
> I'm going to be taking some out-of-towners to visit wineries in the Dry
> Creek and Russian River Valley areas in Sonoma County. Does anyone have
> recommendations? In addition to wine quality, we're also looking for a good
> place for a picnic. I'd like to avoid the tourist-trap wineries - places
> that focus more on their gift shops full of T-shirts and overpriced
> coasters than on the wines. Attractive grounds are a plus, but not
> absolutely necessary.
>
> Thanks for any suggestions.
>
http://www.coffaro.com/open.shtml
Very low key, welcoming and non-tourist-trap.
He sells bottles plus wine futures, for which you
can barrel taste.
His philosophy is superb wine at low/reasonable price.
Check out his winemakers diary.
It would be an experience your visitors would
remember and treasure, IMO.
I've been up there a couple of times and have ordered
bottles as well as futures.
Tony Lima
<eddie...@hotmail.com> wrote:
[bfsnip]
>> If you don't want to drive all over there are about a dozen
>> winery tasting rooms near downtown Healdsburg. I can also
>> recommend the Dry Creek Kitchen in the Healdsburg Hotel for
>> dinner. HTH. - Tony
>
>Most of the tasting rooms are for single wineries. There is one wine shop on
>the main street that does tastings that I really liked. The guy running the
>show did a great job of recommending Pinots to taste, which is saying
>something because my wife and I generally prefer other wines. I wish I could
>remember the name.
Exactly my point. Almost by defnintion, "tasting rooms" are
for single wineries. The fact that there are quite a few in
walking distance downtown rates a mention IMNSHO. - Tony
Mark Lipton
> Wow, that's a lot of area. For Russian River, we found it quite
> difficult to find anything we liked. The popular style of wine
> there seems to be tremendously over-oaked, to the point where oak is
> the dominant flavor. The concept of balance was rarely to be found.
Agreed. You need to look for the rare exceptions. Some that I've found
there: Porter Creek on Westside Rd., Joseph Swan, Merry Edwards and
Williams-Selyem*. Most take visitors only by appt, but that's all for
the better in my book. Williams-Selyem doesn't take visitors AFAIK.
Gary Farrell sold his namesake winery and is supposed to be starting a
new winery soon -- whatever it is, I'd look for it.
> I'm not as familiar with Dry Creek. You probably can't go wrong
> with Ridge Vineyards / Lytton Springs, and Kendall-Jackson, although
> you can find their wines anywhere. We've enjoyed the offerings of
> Everett Ridge too.
Ridge is an obligatory stop for us in the Dry Creek area, but that's
mainly to avoid the hike up out of Cupertino. If you're oak-averse,
wineries such as Bella, Unti and Nalle are worth investigating. Because
of the hotter growing climate and soils there, Dry Creek is mostly known
for its Zins and Syrahs, though there are a few decent Sauvignon Blancs
made there, too.
Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com
da...@schweisguth.org
> However, here and there we found some decent wines, although we
> thought we spent a great deal of effort for small rewards. The
> one that sticks out in my mind as excellent was Christopher Creek
> Winery. I recall liking their nearest neighbor too, but can't
> remember its name.
Limerick Lane. Don't miss them if you're anywhere nearby. Very good Zin, and
ageable for at least a few years. Also may have a dry white made from
Furmint (the Tokay grape).
Cheers,
--
| Dave Schweisguth http://schweisguth.org/~dave/ |
| Home: dave at schweisguth.org Work: http://nileproject.com/ |
| For compliance with the NJ Right to Know Act: Contents partially unknown |
Geoff Miller
<da...@schweisguth.org> writes:
> Limerick Lane.
If they named a wine "Nantucket," I wonder if anyone would
be sharp enough to get the connection...
Geoff
--
"Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because
they become fashions." -- G.K. Chesterton
axlq
Geoff Miller <geo...@lava.net> wrote:
><da...@schweisguth.org> writes:
>
>> Limerick Lane.
>
>If they named a wine "Nantucket," I wonder if anyone would
>be sharp enough to get the connection...
I think most anybody would get it. If I was the winery, I wouldn't
dare name a wine that way. Imagine having to explain it to folks
every day, who want to believe the connection is accidental.
Even worse, folks would come in and recite the limerick, thinking
themselves original. This suspicion is based on experience; for
example, if you work at a winery, you can usually bank on someone
belting out the refrain of the song "Que Sera Sera" when they taste
a Syrah, a few times a week, acting as if we never heard it before.
We smile, because it's amusing.
Customers are only there for a half hour or so. The winemaker and
employees have to live there all day.
-A
Jeffrey Mogul
|> In article <13rb8ph...@corp.supernews.com>,
|> Geoff Miller <geo...@lava.net> wrote:
|> ><da...@schweisguth.org> writes:
|> >
|> >> Limerick Lane.
|> >
|> >If they named a wine "Nantucket," I wonder if anyone would
|> >be sharp enough to get the connection...
|>
|> I think most anybody would get it. If I was the winery, I wouldn't
|> dare name a wine that way. Imagine having to explain it to folks
|> every day, who want to believe the connection is accidental.
Well, at least one (Napa) winery is proud to explain why they name
some of their wines "VGS", if you show up in person and don't
strike them as too prudish. (Otherwise, they explain the
acronym as standing for "Very Good Shtuff".)
http://www.chateaupotelle.com/wines.html
Not my favorite wines, but the winery itself is well worth
a visit -- beautiful location, and quite friendly if you
don't treat the staff badly.
-Jeff
axlq
Jeffrey Mogul <mo...@mogul.hpl.hp.com> wrote:
>Well, at least one (Napa) winery is proud to explain why they name
>some of their wines "VGS", if you show up in person and don't
>strike them as too prudish. (Otherwise, they explain the
>acronym as standing for "Very Good Shtuff".)
I don't get what it's supposed to mean. Video Game
Syndrome/Source/Service? Voltage Gate Source? Nothing at
http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/VGS has any meaningful context
with what you wrote.
-A
Pete Fraser
news:fpd5qj$ant$1...@blue.rahul.net...
> I don't get what it's supposed to mean. Video Game
> Syndrome/Source/Service? Voltage Gate Source? Nothing at
> http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/VGS has any meaningful context
> with what you wrote.
I had assumed from the context that it stood for
"very good shit", but what do I know?
axlq
Ah. Honestly, that meaning never occurred to me, and now it makes
sense. Thanks.
You'd think that would be easy to find on Google. I didn't find that.
-A