Wineries & Wine

Dating from the 1970s, Chateau St. Jean is oh-so-chateau, French-styled, mega-corporate-owned, and I have an abiding fondness for the place. For one thing, I remember climbing the steps above the aromatic barrel chai, and surveying from the high tower when I was a mere nipper, totally unconcerned with the product made here. Now, I also appreciate... MORE

The Sonoma County grape harvest of 2010, two and a half years on, is still coming back to us in delicious, liquid form. That’s one of the great things about wine, from a winegrower’s perspective, especially. The results even of difficult, heartbreaking, sooner-over-the-better years turn out, after months of being quietly stashed in the corners of... MORE

Strong opinions, they’ve got them. After all, most winemakers got into this business — stop me if you’ve heard this one before — because of their overwhelming passion for wine. But you’re not likely to hear those opinions strongly voiced, unless it’s after some strong drink down at the Underwood Bar and Bistro. Strong, like an extracted, jammy, 16... MORE

How does the promise of “mosquito free dining” all summer long sound? On an enchanted patio, under redwood trees and a charismatic structure built in 1969 as an architectural mashup of the Russian settlement at Fort Ross and Sonoma County’s historic hop kilns? What if the reason is, the attic is filled with 1,000 furry, winged insectivores?... MORE

“Iron Horse is tucked away in western Sonoma County,” begins Joy Sterling’s classic 1993 paean to the wine country lifestyle, A Cultivated Life. “You can’t see it from the road, and we don’t put out any signs.” While some things have changed in 20 years—they’re now open daily for tasting, for one lucky thing—there’s much that hasn’t. Owned and... MORE

At the corner of Highway 12 and Dunbar Road, there’s a taco truck parked, most days. For now, just use that as a point of reference. Continue driving northwest past vineyards, rolling hills, the Kenwood Inn and Spa, more vineyards, the Kenwood Restaurant and on to the signal at Warm Springs Road. On your right, that was all Kunde’s estate... MORE

Many, many oenophile upstarts in Sonoma Wine Country, both previously moneyed and not, have proclaimed that their aim is to best the wines of the classic European wine regions and make Cabernet Sauvignon that crushes the great varietals of Bordeaux. But Jordan Vineyard & Winery, founded in 1972 by Tom and Sally Jordan, who first surveyed... MORE

It’s so cunningly concealed, you’ll hardly know it’s there. Look for the words, “recipe inside,” adjacent to the back label of several varietals of Cline Cellars wines, and peel that baby back. Reveal the itty bitty booklet, something like the mini-material safety data sheets that are taped to bottles of garden pesticide — not that that’s an... MORE

If this joint looks like something out of the 1970s, what with the fountain, the concrete stairway, and all, that’s because it is. But for true fans of the Rodney Strong legacy, a proper tour begins 40 miles south in a creaking wood-floored building in Tiburon. That’s where the retired Broadway dancer began blending wine in 1959. Drink with the... MORE

Everybody familiar with the chest-level shelf of the supermarket wine section knows K-J. Heck, anyone who’s ever been out of doors on a summer day has seen a bottle of K-J’s ubiquitous Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay. So why stop in? Two words: “Mouth amuser.” Join the court of K-J Jackson Family Wines purchased the former Chateau de Baun in 1996.... MORE