Yesterday's Tour of Sonoma: Another Great Lineup from the Russian River

Well, yesterday was another banner day. I like Napa, but I LOVE Sonoma so it was with a light heart and a big smile that I approached our first day hanging out in this more relaxed, gentler valley.

Although vastly different in attitude and pomp and circumstance, the thing this valley had in common with Napa was that everyone was in a tizzy about the '10 harvest. One of the coldest summers on record gave way to two weeks of blistering heat at the end of August, which scorched some of the grapes and confused others. The weather cooled back down and harvest occurred weeks later than usual.

Normally, at this time most of the grapes would be sitting in fermenting tanks. This year, they are still being harvested. To add insult to injury, a giant storm has been moving in and it's pouring this morning -- a good recipe for ruining grapes (if the rain is hard it lead to bunch rot). Let's just say there were a lot of sleep deprived (they are harvesting at night too), nervous, stressed out winemakers around these parts. '10 is going to be a real hit or miss vintage...I'll be drinking mostly imported wines, I think!

But I digress...We hit four wineries again and had an outstanding time. Here's a summary (I will be writing on each of the wineries separately so stay tuned...):

Siduri Winery: 10 AM
If you are a real wine lover then you can't miss a visit to Siduri. Situated in an industrial/office park area of Santa Rosa (MC Ice kept saying that he could feel TPS reports being generated around him, for you "Office Space" fans), Siduri is in a medium-sized warehouse. It's completely no frills -- you taste in an area that's adjacent to where the winemakers are receiving the grapes and making wine. If you're looking for a romantic, architecturally stunning tasting room, go elsewhere but if you want to see how great wine is really made, look no further than Siduri. I was in wine dork heaven.

Jonathan, a Louisiana native and one of the coolest wine dudes I've met in wine country, took us on an incredible tour of the warehouse. We saw the grapes being pressed, soaked (that's so you can get color without fermentation occurring), and fermented (we saw the yeast working -- foam on the juice and all). It was a total up-close-and-personal look at winemaking. I did some of that stuff when I worked for the big hulking winery, but as I'll share when I do a detailed write up on Siduri, this is a unique method where you REALLY get to see what's going on. I loved it.

What else did I love? The wines. Siduri only makes Pinot Noir and they are the prototype of how to do one thing and do it well. Beautiful wines that taste like the land they are grown in -- phenomenal. Their second label, Novy, had a Viognier and a number of Syrahs -- each unique and delicious. What a way to start the day! Fun, relaxed and amazing! Yay for the little guys!

11:45 AM: Lynmar
At the recommendation of a few readers and of Jonathan at Siduri, we headed to Lynmar, which is in the Russian River Valley and only makes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (this is what the valley is known for, so it makes sense). Constructed in 2005, the winery has a beautiful, naturalistic tasting room.

The landscaping and pretty construction didn't make up for the fact that the wines were just ok for my taste. Their Estate Chardonnay was the highlight -- very delicate and light in comparison to the oaky, buttery styles that are typical of the area -- but the rest of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were too stylized for me. I don't like wines that taste chemical-like or salty (sometimes I find these wines to have a sea-salt or sea-shells aftertaste which I'm not crazy about) and that was what I found at Lynmar. MC Ice thought they tasted like oysters!

Their wines are scored well by the critics, but I just found them to be too "done," especially in contrast to the "let the grapes do the work" philosophy that we found at Siduri.

12:30: Lunch at Willi's
We had a great lunch at Willi's on Old Redwood Highway. Yummy tapas, delicious cheeses, and a terrific off-the-beaten-path location make this place a terrific bet if you're tasting in the Santa Rosa/Russian River Valley area.

2:30 PM: Woodenhead Winery.

I am thrilled to pieces that we stopped at this awesome winery. This family-owned (cousins), small (4000 cases), yet beautiful winery is a must-do in the Russian River. Pinot is their highlight, although they do Zin as well.

We tried six Pinots and each was different from and as good as the last. This is a place where serious care and craftsmanship goes into the wine and you can taste it. Hailing from the Russian River Valley up to the Anderson Valley in Mendocino County (awesome Pinot) to Humboldt County (marijuana capital of California, FYI, which is why the bottle has a green label!), the Pinots are unique and you taste the differences in place in each of the wines. Similar to Siduri, this down-to-earth, quality-focused winery is a stunner and a total hidden gem in the Russian River.

Woodenhead isn't widely distributed but they've got space in their wine club, which is completely doable (8 bottles a year), so if you like Pinot Noir or Zinfandel, get on this relatively under-the-radar producer before everyone figures it out and you can't get any of the good stuff!

4:15 PM. Simi Winery
Ok, ok, I know -- this isn't a small winery and it's a wine you can get everywhere, but I thought it was important to include because Simi is a commercial, widely available wine that you can count on when you are choosing among larger brands.

The winery is beautiful and is the longest running in Sonoma -- it ran through Prohibition, making sacramental wine so it's been around for 134 years.

The other great fact about Simi -- it was run by Isabelle Simi (yep, she's a woman) from 1904 until 1970 when she retired and sold the property. The winery was a leader in the now growing tradition (especially in Sonoma) of women in wine -- they hired the first female graduate of the winemaking program out of UC Davis. Very progressive I'd say.

We tasted 5 wines and each was a solid wine and affordable. The best was the 2007 Landslide Cabernet Sauvignon, which has just been released. It's about 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 5% Malbec, and a few other grapes. For about $35 it's a great value and full of all the chocolately, dark fruit, cinnamon, and mocha flavors you would want in a Cab blend. A solid, reliable Cab that you can actually find where you live.

So that's the Friday run-down. We're hitting the road today -- this time to the Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valleys for Zinfandels and Cabernets. After that we're taking a few days off to hike in the Redwood Forest, but then we'll be hitting a few wineries in Mendocino on the way back to San Fran! Thanks for reading!