7 Best Small Wineries in Sonoma
By Scott Butterfield ~
The best small wineries in Sonoma are boutique wineries – those which make less than 5000 cases annually – are more high touch than high-tech. These places are labors of love. Wines are hand-crafted with exceeding attention and care. There’s freedom to experiment here with different styles and varietals. An approach that looks to expand…
Impact of Climate Change on the Petaluma Gap AVA
By Eric Schwartzman ~
Petaluma Gap AVA wines are said to have a bit more balance and refinement because the wind hardens and thickens the grape skins producing more tannins, which render the feeling of texture in your mouth. The microclimate produces wine with a combination of freshness, refinement and elegance with more intensity from the tannins. But like…
Top 7 Russian River Valley Wineries to Visit
By Scott Butterfield ~
The Russian River Valley has viticulture history unlike any other in California. Grapevines were first planted by immigrants from the Mediterranean region in the 19th century. Most were “gardens” that families used for personal consumption, using cuttings brought from their European homesteads. This is how Zinfandel, now a flagship US grape, first appeared in the…
Wine Tasting Near Bodega Bay: Top 8 Tasting Rooms
By Scott Butterfield ~
It’s now the perfect time of the year for wine tasting near Bodega Bay. This amazing area lies on a San Andreas Fault line. There’s been more recent geological upheaval here than in all of France, which sits on the relatively stable Eurasian plate. All this seismic activity has created an incredibly diverse, mineral-rich soil…
Wine Festivals: 2022-2023 Calendar
By Scott Butterfield ~
After a two-year lockdown, life is finally opening up again. So we scoured the web to put together this endemic 2022-2023 Wine Festival Calendar. It features 11 California Wine Festivals, including 4 in Sonoma and Napa, and 2 in Santa Barbara. Plus Nantucket, Oregon, and Colorado wine festivals, and a wine festival reopening in France….
Sebastopol Wine Tasting Experience at Halleck Vineyard
By Ross Halleck ~
For more than 20 years, we’ve been hosting Sebastopol wine tasting experiences at our estate. We’re just inland from the majestic Sonoma Coast about 20 minutes from Bodega Bay or 15 minutes from the Barlow. Our Sebastopol wine tastings aren’t held in a traditional visitors center or hospitality tasting room. Rather, we welcome you and…
This blog is reader-supported. Although it has no impacted on what we write about, if you buy anything through links on our site, we may earn a commission.