It’s a well-known fact that wine tasting has gotten more expensive. In Napa, for example, it used to cost around $3-$5 per winery to taste about five samples of wine. Now, many wineries charge $5 per taste of wine. As such, I don’t go wine tasting in Napa unless I want to spend a lot of money.
Sonoma, however, is still pretty inexpensive. Many wineries are free, and others refund the fee when you buy a bottle of wine or compensate by giving you a free glass or food paring.
On top of that, tasting in Sonoma is more fun than it is in Napa. Not only is the wine just as good and the vineyards just as pretty, but there are fewer crowds and the pourers tend to be friendlier (read: less snooty). Tasting in January has lots of benefits too–it’s a slow time for the wine industry, so you get the vineyards to yourself. And, while the leaves are off the vines, the land is lush and green from winter rains, and a host of spring flowers, like mustard and acacia trees, are starting to bloom.
(vines in winter)
Of course, wine tasting isn’t about getting free booze. It’s about sampling the wine to get a sense of the winery’s style and to decide what you want to buy. I hardly ever go wine tasting without getting a couple of bottles of wine. But having to shell out $5-$15 per winery adds up and tends to feel more like bar-hopping after awhile instead of the educational experience it’s supposed to be.
And besides, we just had the holidays and I’m broke.
So, this Saturday, my friends and I decided to go wine tasting around nearby Healdsburg to see if you can still taste for free there, something that was very doable five years ago. It turns out that more places are charging these days, but the whole endeavor is still a bargain. Here’s where we went:
Clo du Bois–$5 to taste five wines and we got to keep the glass. Because we were tasting in January, the Clo du Bois tasting room was empty, giving us the undivided attention of our pourer. He explained how the winery makes the wine and the difference between French and California oak wine barrels. Very educational! Cost: A friend and I shared our taste, so $2.50 per person.
Preston Vineyards–$5 to taste four organic wines and to pet cats. The last time I went to Preston Vineyards, it was an adorable family farm complete with fresh fruit and a basket of kittens to pet. Now, a couple of years later, the kittens are cats and the vineyard has gone organic, complete with slightly unfriendly alternative types to pour your wine tastes. The pourer informed me that Preston doesn’t use any chemicals in the making of its wine, even insecticide soap. You can also buy tee-shirts there that say “I Veg To Differ” on them. I didn’t dig the wine, but I did sample some delicious olive oil that Preston makes on the premises. Too bad it was $32 per bottle. Cost: A shared taste at $2.50 per person.
Raymond Burr Vineyards–Free to taste seven wines. Actor Raymond Burr, star of the TV show Perry Mason and Hitchock’s Rear Window, was a partner in this vineyard before he died in the 1990s. It has a great location on a hill overlooking the Dry Creek Valley. We tasted several excellent wines and talked about the actor. The pourers lamented that people in their early 20s are often unfamiliar with Burr, and then somehow we got on the topic of Burr’s ghost. Once, one of the pourers was in the office of the winery when a bell rang. When she looked, no one was there. Spooky! Well, if Burr’s ghost is around, he’s supervising some fine wine. Cost: Free.
(view from Raymond Burr Vineyards)
Lunch at El Sombrero–$2 taco, $1 diet pepsi. The town of Healdsburg is full of fancy restaurants and $10 gourmet sandwiches, so thank goodness for El Sombrero, a Mexican joint just off downtown. There, a chicken taco fills you up for next to nothing. Cost: $3.
Roshambo Winery–Free to taste six wines. Roshambo, whose slogan is “fighting for fun in a winey world,” is in the process of moving to new premises, but you wouldn’t know it. Unlike the other places we visited, Roshambo’s tasting room was packed with people, most of whom were in their 20s and early 30s. A little kid was kicking beach balls on the side of the tasting bar and people were using rubber chickens to launch wine corks into the air. I think Roshambo is the funnest winery in the North Bay. Cost: Free.
(a rubber chicken at Roshambo)
Wilson Winery–$5 to taste five wines. I have wanted to taste at Wilson for awhile because it keeps winning awards for its red wine. It did not disappoint. Our pourer told us that she prefers working in Sonoma County over Napa. “I’m not going to lie to people,” she said. “If people ask me what I think of certain wineries, I am going to tell them. And in Napa, that kind of thing is frowned upon.” Of course, we then got the inside scoop about those certain wineries and also got recommendations for next time we go wine tasting. On top of that, because it was the end of the day, she waived our tasting fee. How nice! Cost: Free.
(Wilson Winery)
So, if you don’t count the three bottles of wine we bought, a whole day cost $8.50 per person. And while those bottles of wine certainly add up, they are great additions to our collection. Money well spent, in my opinion.
