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WCS1eFM.qxp 2/28/2007 10:18 AM Page 1 WCS1eFM.qxp 2/28/2007 10:18 AM Page 2 WCS1eFM.qxp 2/28/2007 10:18 AM Page 3 PELICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY GRETNA 2007 WCS1eFM.qxp 2/28/2007 10:18 AM Page 4 COPYRIGHT © 2007 BY JIM ARNOLD AND INGRID LARNIS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THE WORD “PELICAN” AND THE DEPICTION OF A PELICAN ARE TRADEMARKS OF PELICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY,INC., AND ARE REGISTERED IN THE U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Arnold, Jim, 1949- Wine clubs of Sonoma County : a guide to the pleasures and perks of belong- ing / Jim Arnold and Ingrid Larnis. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-58980-432-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Wine tasting—California—Sonoma County. 2. Wine and wine making— California—Sonoma County. I. Larnis, Ingrid, 1955- II. Title. TP548.5.A5A76 2007 641.2'20979418—dc22 2006101506 Front-cover photograph: The staff and members of the Kendall-Jackson Wine Club. Printed in Hong Kong Published by Pelican Publishing Company, Inc. 1000 Burmaster Street, Gretna, Louisiana 70053 WCS1eFM.qxp 2/28/2007 10:18 AM Page 5 Contents Introduction 9 Locals 50 The Meeker Vineyard 52 NORTH COUNTY Trentadue Winery 54 Alexander Valley Healdsburg Alexander Valley Vineyards 14 Alderbrook Winery 58 Field Stone Winery 16 Camellia Cellars 60 Hanna Winery & Vineyards 18 Davis Family Vineyards 62 White Oak Vineyards Huntington Wine Cellars 64 & Winery 20 Lake Sonoma Winery 66 Sapphire Hill Vineyards 68 Dry Creek Valley Seghesio Family Vineyards 70 Dry Creek Vineyard 24 Thumbprint Cellars 72 F. Teldeschi Winery 26 Family Wineries of Out of Jimtown Dry Creek Valley 28 Mosaic Vineyards & Winery • Forchini Vineyards & Winery 30 deLorimier Winery 76 Martin Family Vineyards 32 Murphy-Goode Winery 78 Mazzocco Vineyards 34 Robert Young Estate Winery 80 Passalacqua Winery 36 Stryker Sonoma 82 Quivira Vineyards 38 Williamson Wines 40 River Road Wilson Winery 42 Korbel Champagne Cellars 86 Martin Ray Winery 88 Geyserville Clos Du Bois 46 Santa Rosa Francis Ford Coppola Winery 48 Battaglini Estate Wines 92 WCS1eFM.qxp 2/28/2007 10:18 AM Page 6 De Loach Vineyards 94 Raymond Burr Vineyards 136 Kendall-Jackson 96 Yoakim Bridge Vineyards Matanzas Creek Winery 98 & Winery 138 Paradise Ridge Winery 100 Suncé Winery Westside Road and Vineyard 102 Belvedere Vineyards & Winery 142 Davis Bynum Winery 144 Sebastopol De La Montanya Winery Iron Horse Vineyards 106 & Vineyards 146 Marimar Estate 108 Everett Ridge Vineyards Sebastopol Vineyards • and Winery 148 Dutton Estate Winery 110 Hop Kiln Winery 150 Taft Street Winery 112 Mill Creek Vineyards & Winery 152 Roshambo Winery 154 South of Healdsburg Foppiano Vineyards 116 SOUTH COUNTY J Vineyards & Winery 118 Carneros Limerick Lane Cellars 120 Rodney Strong Vineyards 122 Cline Cellars 158 Larson Family Winery 160 Upper Dry Creek Robledo Family Winery 162 Dutcher Crossing Winery 126 Roche Carneros Estate Winery 164 Ferrari-Carano Vineyards Schug Carneros Estate Winery 166 and Winery 128 Viansa Winery & Fritz Winery 130 Italian Marketplace 168 Pedroncelli Winery & Vineyards 132 Glen Ellen Preston of Dry Creek 134 Benziger Family Winery 172 6 WINE CLUBS OF SONOMA COUNTY WCS1eFM.qxp 2/28/2007 10:18 AM Page 7 Eric Ross Winery 174 Upper Sonoma Valley Imagery Estate Winery 176 Chateau St. Jean 202 Loxton Cellars 178 Kaz Vineyard & Winery 204 Mayo Family Winery 180 Kenwood Vineyards 206 Navillus Birney Winery Kunde Estate Winery & Vineyards 182 & Vineyards 208 Valley of the Moon Winery Landmark Vineyards 210 and Vineyards 184 Ledson Winery & Vineyards 212 Wellington Vineyards 186 Simon Levi Cellars 214 St. Francis Winery Sonoma & Vineyards 216 Bartholomew Park Winery 190 VJB Vineyards & Cellars 218 Buena Vista Winery 192 The Wine Room 220 Charles Creek Vineyard 194 Gundlach Bundschu Winery 196 Appendix 223 Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery 198 Index 227 Contents 7 WCS1eFM.qxp 2/28/2007 10:18 AM Page 8 WCS1eFM.qxp 2/28/2007 10:18 AM Page 9 Introduction Wine clubs are an increasingly popular way for public, and various additional benefits. These cri- wine lovers to get premium, discounted wines teria exclude some fine wineries, mostly small delivered to their doorsteps and to join in appre- ones, that don’t have the resources to maintain a ciation and celebration at club events with like- tasting room and organize events or that aren’t minded others. Each club in Sonoma County actively seeking new members. Wine lovers who Wine Country has something special to offer. live in or near Sonoma County may be able to dis- This book is intended to help you, the reader, cover some of these by visiting them during their select one or more clubs best suited to your par- occasional openings for regional events, but we’ve ticular tastes and interests. chosen to limit our survey to clubs that are more We deliberately avoid judging the wines here. easily accessible, with more enticing benefits. There are plenty of other books on the subject, and it’s largely a matter of personal taste anyway. Why Join a Wine Club? Once you consider the objective information on For many people either too busy or too far away the ninety-or-so wineries we cover, with your membership in a wine club provides their only short list in hand you can visit the finalists, sam- opportunity to purchase wines from limited-pro- ple their wines, experience their real-life duction wineries, many of which sell exclusively ambiance and personalities, and make your best to tasting room visitors and club members. selection or selections. Shipping costs are often more than offset by dis- counted club prices. What Is a Wine club? Wine tasting is one of the main attractions of There are several kinds of wine clubs. There are wine country, and being a member of a club can wine-of-the-month clubs run by brokers who ship greatly enhance your visits. There is a special collections of wines from any number of wineries. pleasure to visiting “your” winery and attending There are similar clubs run by the wineries them- an event with “your” club. Club events can be a selves, which simply ship a number of their wines wonderful experience; they can be the primary to members on a regular basis. We’ve chosen to purpose and focus of a vacation to the area. You focus here on the exclusive group of Sonoma can expect a warm welcome as a club member, County wineries that provide club benefits and with special favors like free tastings (if there is services beyond shipping wine: open membership, normally a fee), sometimes exclusive tastings of social events, tasting rooms regularly open to the limited releases, and first options on new releases. 9 WCS1eFM.qxp 2/28/2007 10:18 AM Page 10 Membership in a club is often the only way to get The information on the wineries and their close to a winery’s best wines. A wine club event clubs has been standardized as much as possible is an opportunity to make new friends, meet the for ease of reference and comparison. staff, and pick, or “thief,” the brain (oenological- Information on the wines is limited to objective ly speaking!) of the winemaker. factors like each winery’s specialties, price ranges, and number of cases produced. Wine How to Choose a Club price ranges are given at the retail level, prior to Choosing a particular wine club can be a hap- club discounts. The annual costs given for ship- hazard decision. It may be the first winery you ments to club members are our estimates, visit after coming around to the idea of joining including discounts, allowing for a direct com- one; it may be the first winery with a great sales parison where the monthly and quarterly costs as presentation. But with about ninety clubs in this given by the wineries can be confusing. book to choose from, there are sure to be a few Shipping and handling charges and any applica- that are ideally suited to your taste and style. ble taxes are not included in the estimated costs. Your choice may be based on a combination of Due to space limitations, we may list only the wine, the personality of the staff, the gener- the most special varietals and blends available at al character of the club, the most favored food or a winery. For the same reason, Cabernet music played at events, and the prevailing age of Sauvignon (but not Cabernet Franc) may be list- the membership. You might prefer large winer- ed as just “Cabernet” and Pinot Noir as “Pinot.” ies with large clubs, or you might prefer small Bordeaux varietals and blends include Cabernet “ma and pa” boutiques that tend to hold more Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, personal affairs. Depending on your wine con- Petit Verdot, and Meritage. Rhone varietals and sumption and budget, you might want to join a blends include Syrah (“Sirah” or “Shiraz”), number of clubs and enjoy a variety of wines, Viognier, Grenache, Carignan, and Mourvèdre. styles, and settings. The Common Perks How the Book Is Organized All the clubs provide a number of perks in com- The chapters of this book group the wineries mon. Except for the cost of the wine, club member- by vicinity. If you are going to visit one winery in ships are free, unless noted otherwise. Membership a vicinity, it may be convenient to visit the others usually includes exclusive access or first options on covered in the same chapter. An appendix lists the limited releases, the waiving of tasting fees (if any), regional organizations, their member wineries private tastings of reserve wines, and personal tours and clubs, and their annual events.