Is there any producers worth visiting around Healdsburg?
- Thread starter BJ
- Start date
Ian Fitzsimmons
Ian Fitzsimmons
David, folks talk here about Beaujolais, in its splendored glory, more than anywhere else I know of. Is it crass to call Beaujolais commercially available gamay, with the addition of terroir? So you are preaching to the converted. ESJ's winemaker/owner is a card-carrying bored member, too, and his wines are much-admired in these parts. Play around with the search function a bit.
Out of habit, the folks here also are apt to fall unthinkingly into the local patois of opposite-speak, in which we express ourselves by saying the opposite of what we mean. Thor is a leading proponent of this linguistic gambit, a master at whose knees I study as a grasshopper.
Who sells your wines in the US, by the way?
Out of habit, the folks here also are apt to fall unthinkingly into the local patois of opposite-speak, in which we express ourselves by saying the opposite of what we mean. Thor is a leading proponent of this linguistic gambit, a master at whose knees I study as a grasshopper.
Who sells your wines in the US, by the way?
Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
The above being a prime example of opposite speak, in which an august member, feigning friendliness, yet unable to contain a patronizing and condescending exhortation to use the search function, is really asking "who buys your wines in the US, by the way?"
PS: we also like to have all our jokes explained
Bill Lundstrom
Bill Lundstrom
healdsburg is a wonderful place to visit. (and i imagine to live)
i would visit unti, i like (not love)their zins and sangiovese. they also have started producing a good white that is a blend of vermentino, granache blanc, picpoul. also a decent montepulciano. nice people, small but welcoming tasting room.
i would definetly check out copain and porter creek. not in healdsburg but not a far drive.
on the non-wine end of things, you can eat very well at bistro ralph, cyrus ($$$$), manzanita, great tacos at the mexican place across from oakville grocery. two excellent bakeries in town and a excellent cheese shop too. all on or right near the square.
i would visit unti, i like (not love)their zins and sangiovese. they also have started producing a good white that is a blend of vermentino, granache blanc, picpoul. also a decent montepulciano. nice people, small but welcoming tasting room.
i would definetly check out copain and porter creek. not in healdsburg but not a far drive.
on the non-wine end of things, you can eat very well at bistro ralph, cyrus ($$$$), manzanita, great tacos at the mexican place across from oakville grocery. two excellent bakeries in town and a excellent cheese shop too. all on or right near the square.
Claude Kolm
Claude Kolm
You mean, like Jean-Claude Bachelet, Marc Colin, Prudhon, Thomas, etc.?
Ian Fitzsimmons
Ian Fitzsimmons
Jihadist!
David Lloyd
David Lloyd
I only make 800 cases of wine all up and sell all of it downunder, 70% via our cellar door. Last year we were persuaded to sell a tiny amount to the UK. I reckon its better if you visit us in Australia and see lovely Victoria and Tasmania as a side benefit. The only bad news is we make very little Gamay in Australia but you will find some excellent Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. I have visited Oregon and Ca wine areas 8 times so how many times have you been to the Mornington Peninsula or Tasmania?
Just a quick update on the Dry Creek/Healdsburg area. Just there for a brief family visit.
The Dry Creek General Store should not be missed, just to see the 1800s building if nothing else.
I appreciated Preston Farm/Cellars' polycultural approach - I swear I saw a bench full of WWOOFers. Delicious pickles, strawberries, and tomatoes at the farm store room, along with emmert wheat (we'll mill that down). The wine was solid/good, not top notch, but the whole scene very enjoyable. I missed the name of the guy pouring but he was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed our conversation with him very much. Definitely a great place for a picnic.
Unti - we lucked out, and George, the owner, handled our tasting. An absolute gentleman, I realized later there was a good chance he knew Lou Kessler. These folks are totally firing on all cylinders - not getting sucked into vacuous "naturelle" fads but paying attention to them while putting out excellent traditional wines. George is a terrific person to talk wine with - I especially appreciated our conversation about oak vs. stainless vs. concrete, and tradeoffs between porosity, cleanliness, and neutral impact on flavor (they are big on concrete). I liked every single wine we had. The whites were outstanding. The Cuvee Foudre struck me as a clean Beaucastel. The Grenache was a dead ringer for a cru Cairanne. George made a point of saying their Syrah was no Hermitage, CR, or Cornas - but that they simply were trying to make it the best it could be without the makeup. Impressive in attitude, and the wine was delicious.
Very very sadly, the Shed is permanently closed. The Santa Rosa area and economy has been impacted by the fires. Get used to it in a new era of climate change - who is next?
Somehow, we'd missed Dry Creek during a series of family visits to the area over the past decade. A really nice area, with authenticity and accessibility.
The Dry Creek General Store should not be missed, just to see the 1800s building if nothing else.
I appreciated Preston Farm/Cellars' polycultural approach - I swear I saw a bench full of WWOOFers. Delicious pickles, strawberries, and tomatoes at the farm store room, along with emmert wheat (we'll mill that down). The wine was solid/good, not top notch, but the whole scene very enjoyable. I missed the name of the guy pouring but he was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed our conversation with him very much. Definitely a great place for a picnic.
Unti - we lucked out, and George, the owner, handled our tasting. An absolute gentleman, I realized later there was a good chance he knew Lou Kessler. These folks are totally firing on all cylinders - not getting sucked into vacuous "naturelle" fads but paying attention to them while putting out excellent traditional wines. George is a terrific person to talk wine with - I especially appreciated our conversation about oak vs. stainless vs. concrete, and tradeoffs between porosity, cleanliness, and neutral impact on flavor (they are big on concrete). I liked every single wine we had. The whites were outstanding. The Cuvee Foudre struck me as a clean Beaucastel. The Grenache was a dead ringer for a cru Cairanne. George made a point of saying their Syrah was no Hermitage, CR, or Cornas - but that they simply were trying to make it the best it could be without the makeup. Impressive in attitude, and the wine was delicious.
Very very sadly, the Shed is permanently closed. The Santa Rosa area and economy has been impacted by the fires. Get used to it in a new era of climate change - who is next?
Somehow, we'd missed Dry Creek during a series of family visits to the area over the past decade. A really nice area, with authenticity and accessibility.
Peter Creasey
Peter Creasey
When we toured, about the only producer I became enamored with was Ross Cobb. We didn't visit the winery but had the Cobb Pinot Noirs a few times and since then I have been a regular buyer.
. . . . . Pete
. . . . . Pete
Florida Jim
Florida Jim
Idlewild has a tasting room just off the square; mostly Italian varieties. And quite accomplished.
Best, Jim
Best, Jim
Christian Miller (CMM)
Christian Miller
Valdiguie is fun. Wooden Valley in Solano county used to make one (and maybe still do) that was a terrific value at $15 or so.
Howard Cooper
Howard Cooper
In the US, it has to be 75% zin to be labeled as zin. Some years, Lytton Springs is not labeled as Zin because it is not 75% zin. Also, Ridge puts the label the exact blend of grapes.
Christian Miller (CMM)
Christian Miller
In California, it's 75% for county designations, 85% if it's an AVA (e.g. Dry Creek). In Oregon it's 90% with the exception of certain varieties typically used in Rhone or Bordeaux-style blends