Bits & Pieces………

Life sometimes gets in the way and those ” I meant to do” things get waylaid. We have had a number of visits and tastings over the past 12 months that never received their just post. I want to attempt to make up here for a few that were left on the back burner.

Wellington Cellars located just down the road from us in Glen Ellen is a winery producing 3500 cases of wine, mostly estate grown. They are fortunate to have vines dating back to the 1880’s that offer up some great vintages. Their wines include Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Grenache, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and even a sparkling. The variety alone makes for a fun tasting.

We had a wonderful tasting there with host, Elias Ramos. The tasting fee is minimal, walk-ins are welcome and best of all, they tend to stay open later than most area tasting rooms.

Another local winery we enjoy returning to is La Crema. Simply a beautiful property with a tasting facility in the wonderfully restored and adapted SaraLee Barn. If you are stepping off your flight to Sonoma’s wine country at the STS airport, you can practically walk to the winery from there.

Our host on our last visit was Ursula Cain. She led us through a tasting of their newest releases. La Crema produces around 900,000 cases each year, They are a big and you can find their wine pretty readily in U.S. markets but they also create small-batch appelation wines that are terrific to try at the tasting room.

Zialena is winery tucked into the vineyards in Geyserville, California established by a 4th generation family of wine growers – the Mazzonis. The facility is impressive. It’s contemporary, state of the art, and it’s unique open fermentation tanks are worth seeing.