Producers with organic estates are increasingly opening tasting rooms on the square. Save on gas! Spend your time browsing, strolling and sampling and enjoying.
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| Four stellar wineries around Sonoma Plaza with organically grown wines |
The holidays are here. If you’re entertaining visitors who want to visit wine country or looking for a fun day in wine country yourself, you can find a fabulous cross section of wines and wineries in downtown Sonoma.
Hidden amongst the big commercial, corporate owned winery tasting rooms that fill the downtown area are four, incredible, locally owned winery gems with organic estate vines.
This compact tour can help you overcome the biggest challenge to wine tasting in Sonoma–its vast size. Its sprawling expanse encompasses 1,575 square miles. (It’s bigger than the state of Rhode Island.) You can spend a lot of time in the car trying to taste at various wineries.
Or you can drive to Sonoma, park and walk around.
And, of course, there’s plenty of fine dining downtown as well (Girl and the Fig, Valley Bar and Bottle, and El Dorado Kitchen) for a leisurely lunch or dinner.
The Sonoma Plaza Solution: Four Top Producers (With Organic Estate Vines) Within Two Blocks
De-Stress theWine Curious By Mixing It Up
Wine is “exciting, romantic, mysterious, intoxicating” to many people. Lots of visitors, especially those from out of town, visit wine country and try some wine, but grow bored with nonstop wine tasting and wonder about the expense of both tastings and the wines.
As we all know, intimidation is a common response. Their eyes glaze over with each new adjective. Tannins? What’s a tannin? They may ask.
Bullet proof their wine country travels with the historic Sonoma plaza, which is filled with shops, bookstores, hotels, ice cream vendors, a bakery, fancy dress shops, a wonderful old timey movie theater and a great deal of 19th century character which break up the monotony of what non-wine aficionados might otherwise find overkill. There are also great historic museums. (My favorite is the General Vallejo House. He was the O.G. of Sonoma Valley wine.)
As you will see below, all of these winners offer tastings from $30-45. (Not $75 to $100+++.) (However, they all offer the opportunity to upgrade to more reserve wines and luxe experiences for those who are interested.)
Bedrock requires an appointment; the other three are more flexible, but it's always best just to call ahead.
Variety–From Rose and Whites to Rhones and Cabs
For wine afficionados and the wine curious alike, this downtown Sonoma tour provides huge variety in the wine varieties and winemaking, which can captivate many. The tasting rooms are also hugely diverse in ambiance.
Wine wise there’s everything from white and red Rhones (Rosé! Grenache! Syrah!) and lively Sauvignon Blanc to old vine Zinfandels and classy, collectible Cabs. There are rarities like Carignan from 1880’s vines.
Vineyard manager par excellence and an organic pioneer Phil Coturri farms for three of the four wineries (Bedrock has its own estate in Sonoma Valley), which grow their vines high above Sonoma in the Moon Mountain District, an appellation Coturri played a leading role in founding.
All of these producers waive tasting fees with purchase or wine club signup (but you will not be hounded to join any clubs). (You may, however, find yourself enthusiastic enough to want to join their clubs).
• Bedrock Wine Co. | Historic Setting and Vineyards | $45 | By appointment
In a little alley off the main square, enjoy the grower portrait filled ambiance of Bedrock’s tasting room, in the historic 1852 General Joseph Hooker House, or, weather permitting, its outdoor deck. Tasting flight selections vary, but you can ask for the organically grown estate wines.
Morgan Twain-Peterson MW, son of famed Zin O.G. Joel Peterson, and a fan of wine history, makes the wines. The family owns one of the oldest and famous old vine field blend vineyards in nearby Glen Ellen with vines dating back to the 1880s. The company also buys grapes from historic vineyards (farming unverified) around the state. The winery also has a very entertaining podcast to geek out with.
Classics: The Bedrock Heritage (a Zin dominate field blend)
Rarities: Carignan, Sauvignon Blanc, Monte Rosso Zinfandel
• Kamen Estate Wines | Downtown Wine Bar or Seated Tasting or Moon Mountain Skydeck Tasting | $30-$50 flights | $75 seated | $150 for Sky Deck estate tasting
In a modern wine bar where Cabernet is the star, drop ins can pick between the basic or reserve flights, or arrange (by appointment) a seated tasting with snacks ($75). Best of all, book in advance for the Skydeck tasting–you’ll be driven up the mountain to stunning views of the Bay Area from atop Moon Mountain. I spent a special birthday here admiring the unforgettable views and feeling a lot of gratititude for nature’s splendor and special wines.
Mark Kamen, the owner, is a famous Hollywood screenwriter who found his piece of heaven on nearby Moon Mountain. Mark Herold makes the wines. The vines are all from the estate and grown in volcanic soils atop Moon Mountain.
Classics: Cabernet Sauvignon is the house specialty but don’t overlook the other options.
Rarities: Other bottles (Sauvignon Blanc, Grenache, a superb red blend called Writer’s Block) may be open for tasting or purchase.
For the rest of the wineries, click here to visit Organically Sonoma (it's free).
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