Eat + Drink + Wine Taste | Russian River Valley
Sonoma and Napa Valley may steal the spotlight, but let's not forget about the hidden gem nestled in the heart of wine country: The Russian River Valley. In this picturesque corner of California, where Healdsburg and Sebastopol reign supreme, there's an intoxicating blend of destination wineries, gastronomic delights, and breathtaking scenery waiting to be explored. So, why not venture off the beaten path and embark on a wine tasting adventure like no other? Join me as I unveil a curated selection of the finest stops in Healdsburg, where every sip, every bite, and every view is a testament to the unparalleled charm of the Russian River Valley.
Sip and Snack with Fontana Pergola at Ferrari-Carano
Known for their Italian-inspired villa and crowd-pleasing wines, Ferrari-Carano has combined all the best Cs in life with its new Fontana Pergola ($95) experience: charcuterie, cheese, caviar, chardonnay and cabernet. Hosted in an area of the estate never before open to the public, the Fontana Pergola tasting features five reserve wines (a pinot noir is included in the mix) with the option of adding a platter of charcuterie and cheese, or caviar and chips, to your reservation. The setting is replete with a grand fountain (fontana in Italian) and century-old olive trees. Ferrari-Carano’s sister winery, Chalk Hill, offers similar snack add-ons at its Vineyard Overlook Experience over in the Chalk Hill appellation.
Estate & Garden Hummer Tour & Tasting
Explore the natural beauty and stunning views of Chalk Hill Estate on this elite Hummer tour and tasting. This unique and immersive experience highlights wine, food and nature all grown right on our estate in the diverse terrain of Sonoma County’s rolling hills.
Your afternoon begins with a seated tasting on the terrace where you will learn about the rich history and winemaking philosophy of Chalk Hill Estate while tasting a selection of white wines including our flagship varietal, Chardonnay. Next, journey in style with your host in the Chalk Hill Hummer to discover the incredible diversity of our 1,300-acre estate, touring through its sustainable vineyards and naturally preserved native oak woodlands. You’ll stop along the way for a walk through our organic culinary gardens to explore, taste and learn about the season’s bounty from our estate gardener and enjoy seasonal garden-to-table bites paired with our estate wines.
Availability: Thursday – Sunday 10:30am
2 Hour Experience | Wine Club Price: $85 | General Public: $105
Vineyard Overlook Experience
Enjoy a seated tasting on the terrace overlooking picturesque views of our estate vineyards while learning about our history, terroir and passion for the wines of special place. Each tasting highlights a flight of four wines, and showcases the incredible diversity and character of our estate vineyards.
Availability: Daily, 10:30am – 5:00pm
90-Minute Experience | $50
Members receive up to 2 complimentary tastings and 20% off of additional experiences after joining the wine club.
Pizzas Served from an Airstream and Pinzgauer Lunch at Thomas George
Located on the west end of Westside Road (aka the “Miracle Mile of Pinot Noir”), Thomas George is a family-owned and operated winery known for small-lot wines and its hillside wine caves. In recent years, owner Tom Baker has expanded his en-plein-air hospitality to include an Airstream converted to a mobile commercial kitchen, where the estate chef prepares food pairings for all of the Winery Experiences. Outdoor wine tastings served with food at this rural Healdsburg producer include the Single Vineyard Outdoor Reserve Tasting ($60), which features pizza, and the Wine Safari ($250), which includes a vintage Pinzgauer tour and a four-course lunch.
Thomas Georges Estates, 8075 Westside Road, Healdsburg, CA, thomasgeorgeestates.com
Get Your Michelin Fix with Boxed Lunch at Medlock Ames
If you haven’t been able to score a table at three Michelin star SingleThread for any number of reasons, Medlock Ames now offers an outdoor food and wine pairing that gets your taste buds one step closer to the holy grail of Healdsburg restaurants. The Wine Pairing Lunch with SingleThread ($175) features a bento box filled with tasty, garden-centric bites from the restaurant to pair with Medlock Ames’ small-batch, organically farmed wines from Bell Mountain Vineyard—served in the gardens at their century-old, restored tasting room that once housed the historic Alexander Valley general store.
Medlock Ames, 3487 Alexander Valley Road, Healdsburg, CA, medlockames.com
Robert Young Scion Experience on the Winery Patio
Perched on a knoll with stunning vineyard views, Robert Young’s newish Scion House boasts a lovely back patio for outdoor wine tasting just 15 minutes from downtown Healdsburg. The Scion Experience ($70) lets guests explore estate, single-block reserve wines paired with local bites. Seating can be requested on the shade patio overlooking Alexander Valley or inside the modern-farmhouse tasting room. “We love to welcome guests and share our family’s 165-year history on our ranch in Alexander Valley,” says Robert Young, fifth-generation family member and tasting room manager.
Robert Young Winery, 5102 Red Winery Rd, Geyserville, CA, 707-431-4811, ryew.com
Gourmet Pizza & Coastal Wines on the Patio at Reeve
Tucked away on an oak-shrouded benchland, Reeve’s hacienda tasting room opens to a lovely stone patio filled with pots of succulents that overlooks a vineyard. Two wine tasting flights are offered (Wayfare $50 and Kismet $75), and both include a gourmet pizza from their wood-fired oven. Additional pizzas can be purchased for $25, and trust us—you’ll order at least one more. Reeve is known for making wines from coastal vineyards, so chardonnay and pinot noir dominate this outdoor wine tasting, but there’s still plenty of diversity in the wines.
Reeve Wines, 4551 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, CA, reevewines.com
Relax with Several Outdoor Wine & Food Tasting Options at Comstock
After growing grapes in Dry Creek for a decade, the Comstock family decided to build their dream winery and start making their own wines in 2012. A decade later, the modern barn-style tasting room, which was built for entertaining, boasts spacious covered patios that overlook the vineyards and bocce ball courts. Chef Jude Affronti cooks up three different Healdsburg outdoor wine tasting experiences with food pairing: Wine & Mezze Platter Flight ($30), Wine & Grilled Cheese Flight ($75) and the Wine & Wood Fired Pairings Flight ($125).
Comstock Wines, 1290 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, CA, 707-473-8027, comstockwines.com
Mayo Family Winery
The Reserve Room tasting ($70, available Thursday to Monday) from Mayo Family Winery pairs vineyard views and a whopping seven food courses with a wide variety of reserve wine selections, including lesser-found varietals like petit sirah, old-vine zinfandel, and a late-harvest gewurztraminer. Chef John Locher, formerly of Sonoma’s the General’s Daughter and winery kitchens Beringer and Viansa, matches each glass with a seasonal, tapa-sized bite, like a miso deviled egg with roe and an ahi tuna tartare.
Williamson Wines
With more than 40 wines in their portfolio, Williamson Wines caters tastings to their guest’s wine style preferences, from Bordeaux to Burgundy to Rhone, and loves to enhance what’s in each glass with food. Choose an experience ($50 to 95, offered daily at 12, 2, and 4 p.m.) based on your go-to vino — like the Cabernet, Cabernet, Cabernet or the Enchanting Rhone Styles tastings — or opt for the Icon Wine Tasting, which explores a variety of wines. Each tasting includes food pairings, but you can also upgrade the portions to lunch-sized plates (for an extra $15) for a full five-course meal.
J Vineyards & Winery
The first winery to establish an educational wine and culinary program in Sonoma County, J Vineyards continues to raise the bar for wine country hospitality. The luxurious Bubble Room experience ($125, available Thursday to Sunday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.), includes a five-course meal with wine pairings in a restaurant-like setting. Executive chef Carl Shelton creates unlikely combinations of ingredients — think black cod and rock shrimp with popcorn — to go with both bubbly and still wines.
Five Healdsburg Wineries with Charcuterie Wine Pairings
A charcuterie plate is often considered one of the easiest food pairings for wine—it’s filled with an array of rich, savory sausages, air-dried meats and pâtés, all of which have different textures, seasonings and fat levels to complement and contrast with still and sparkling wines. We’ve identified five wineries in the Healdsburg area offering charcuterie and wine tastings on terraces with some of the best views in Sonoma County’s three renowned regions: Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley and Dry Creek Valley. Read on for the best salumi and wine experiences in these renowned wine regions.
JORDAN VINEYARD & WINERY
Executive Chef Todd Knoll’s curated selection of fine meats and cheeses showcases local purveyors and other American artisans who honor the traditions of France, Spain and Italy, each highlighting different nuances in multiple vintages of Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon. Guests also enjoy Jordan Chardonnay, Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil, homemade charcuterie accoutrements, artisanal cheeses, mustards, nuts, cornichons, and olives marinated with estate Meyer lemons, fennel pollen and herbs. Served in the Winery Chateau’s dining room or in various gorgeous locations on the Estate, these experiences require advanced reservations ($30-$60 plus loyalty program points).
1474 Alexander Valley Road, Healdsburg, CA, 707-431-5250, jordanwinery.com
MACROSTIE WINERY & VINEYARDS
Situated on a knoll with infinity views of Russian River Valley, the MacRostie Estate House opened in 2015 and has already gained a loyal following for its open-air, modern farmhouse design, single-vineyard Pinot Noirs and table-service hospitality. Enjoy an Elevated Tasting with their coveted single vineyard wines served with locally sourced and paired bites, Healdsburg-made salumis, artisan cheese and chocolate ($75, advance request required).
4605 Westside Road, Healdsburg, CA, 707-473-9303, macrostiewinery.com
TRATTORE FARMS
Trattore Farms opened in 2016 and boasts some of the best views with higher elevation in Dry Creek Valley. Guests climb up a winding driveway through olive trees to reach a Mediterranean-design building that houses a tasting salon, kitchen and sprawling terrace upstairs and winemaking facilities below. Owner Tim Bucher founded Dry Creek Olive Company in 2007, released his first Trattore wines in 2008, and then started the seven-year project of building his dream winery and visitor center. Guests who love charcuterie and wine pairing can admire beautiful vistas at every turn, while snacking on locally produced salami and prosciutto from local companies like Sonoma County meat Co. and Journeyman Meat Co. as well as regional cow’s milk cheeses. Charcuterie plates ($30) are offered on a first-come, first-served basis to any tasting room guests. Estate-grown wines made from Rhône and Italian varieties are available to purchase by the glass and bottle, or sample one of the company’s many extra virgin olive oils.
7878 Dry Creek Road, Geyserville, 707-431-7200, trattorefarms.com
SBRAGIA FAMILY VINEYARDS
Just below Lake Sonoma, Sbragia Family is easily overlooked by tourists who don’t drive past Yoakim Bridge Road (home to the famous Dry Creek Peach Farm). Those who make the meandering drive to the end of Dry Creek Road are rewarded with beautiful views of fir trees, vineyards and valley vistas from Sbragia’s roomy terrace. The tiled patio features tables and lounge areas situated in shade or full sun, depending on your sun-worshipping desire. Walk-ins are welcome to enjoy a charcuterie board ($30), including coppa and prosciutto, local cheeses from numerous local creameries, house-marinated olives and stone-ground mustard. Wines from the Italian winemaking family are available by the glass or bottle. Call ahead if you’d like to request a table with the best view.
9990 Dry Creek Road, Geyserville, 707-473-2992, sbragia.com
RODNEY STRONG VINEYARDS
Overlooking one of the winery’s Chardonnay vineyards, Rodney Strong’s modern terrace boasts lounge seating, patio tables with umbrellas, wine tastings and food pairings by the winery’s chef. Guests who book a Wine Flights experience on the weekends can enjoy a charcuterie and wine pairing, featuring local and European cheeses, an array of coppa, salami and proscuitto, olives, fig preserves and crostinis ($50-$70, reservations suggested). Single vineyard, reserve, estate and Sonoma County wines are offered by the glass, bottle or flight.
11455 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg, 707-431-1533, rodneystrong.com
Wine tasting in town is centered in The Barlow, a production and retail development created from older warehouses and a former apple processing plant. It’s an easy walk from Sebastopol’s Main Street and additional parking near the town plaza, and is also easy to get to by bike path from both Santa Rosa and Forestville.
SEBASTOPOL
Region at the Barlow
In a space as unique as the wine, Region showcases 25 Sonoma County wine producers across 14 appellations. Visitors can choose from 50 different wines at self-serve WineStation machines in one room, while in another room, visitors can enjoy traditional wine tasting experiences from the winemakers themselves. Every week, the wine tasting bar rotates to 1 of 25 wineries.
Pax Wines
Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere in this rustic-hip wine lounge, Sebastopol’s hotspot for the “new California wine.” Founded by Pax Mahle, Pax Wines offers seasonal wine tasting flights of current releases as well as wines by the glass or bottle, wines on tap, and growlers to go.
Claypool Cellars
Primus front man Les Claypool discovered a love for wine when he moved to the Russian River Valley area. What started as an attempt to fill his own wine cellars has turned into a boutique winery, focused on Pinots and led by winemakers Ross Cobb and Katy Wilson.
Dutton Estate
Don’t be wary of the humble, homey setting of this Sebastopol-area tasting room, a 30-minute drive south of the Healdsburg area. This is the home tasting room of a family that supplies Sonoma County winemakers with some of the best, and the oldest, Chardonnay in the region. It’s inviting and worth a stop.
Halleck Vineyard
Perched on the Sonoma coast and flanked on the west by the slopes to the Pacific Ocean, Halleck Vineyard is known for its award-winning Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and white wines. Here, you can enjoy the afternoon learning about and tasting small production wines.
Lynmar Estate
This winery features a modern look that still embraces the land and all it has to offer. Its grounds include a sleek and elegant tasting room with clean lines and soaring overhead beams; an expansive courtyard with magnificent views of rolling vineyards and gardens; and a rustic redwood grove, with a wood-fired oven set among majestic trees.
Dutton-Goldfield Winery
Located at the corner of Graton Road and Highway 116, this tasting room pours wine born of a lasting partnership formed in the 1990s between outdoorsy chemist-turn-winemaker Dan Goldfield, who has made Pinot Noir at La Crema, and grapegrower Steve Dutton, who farms over 1,000 acres of vineyards in Sonoma County. Single vineyard Pinot Blanc, Zinfandel, and Syrah, too.
Marimar Estate
Heading west out of town, Graton Road passes through a narrow, less-traveled valley lush with apple orchards and vineyards. Just past the farmhouses of the Dutton clan, you’ll find the Catalan-styled winery of Marimar Torres, cookbook author and scion of a Spanish wine dynasty. The tasting menu features the key varietals of this region, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but also the Spanish varietal Albariño – a rare treat.
Fog Crest Vineyard
This handsome little villa was built on a hill overlooking the Laguna de Santa Rosa wetlands. Take in the view from the patio and sample silky, caramel-scented Chardonnay and spicy, supple Pinot Noir.
Taft Street Winery
Tucked into the trees on the outskirts of Sebastopol, Taft Street’s old apple canning facility setting, fair prices, and well-made Sonoma County wines – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel in particular – have endeared it to many new fans over the years.
Horse & Plow
Husband-and-wife team Chris Condos and Suzanne Hagins pour all-organically grown Pinot Noir and hard apple cider at their rustically styled, barn-like tasting room on the north edge of town, on Gravenstein Highway. In fair weather, enjoy wines poured fresh from the keg and relax in the garden setting, or take a growler of toothsome Carignane to go.
Freeman Vineyard & Winery
By appointment, Freeman ushers visitors into a quiet cave for the contemplation of Pinot and Chardonnay amidst the redwood forest.
Littorai Wines
On hilly acreage west of Sebastopol, Littorai offers a personalized tour of their Biodynamic farm and tasting of Biodynamically grown wines by appointment only. An in-depth look at what founders Ted and Heidi Lemon believe is the future of environmentally conscious wine farming.
(https://visitsebastopolnow.com/wineries-in-sebastopol)