We began the day at Hartford, which had been highly recommended by a friend here in Atlanta. We were not disappointed at all, as we had a fantastic tasting. We did not have an appointment, but by going early in the morning were able to get plenty of attention in the tasting room, which made the visit even better. Our tasting began with a pair of whites, the 2009 Four Hearts Chardonnay and the 2009 Fog Dance Chardonnay. Both were good, with the Fog Dance being one of the more impressive California Chardonnays I have tasted. We then moved on to the reds, with a trio of Pinot. First up was the 2009 Lands Edge Pinot Noir, followed by the 2009 Velvet Sisters Pinot Noir Mendocino, and finally the 2008 Arendell Pinot Noir. Moving up in intensity, we tasted the 2009 Russian River Zinfandel and the 2009 Highwire Zinfandel, followed by the 2007 Outer Limits Syrah, before completing the tasting with the 2009 Port. Overall, it was tough to find a disappointing wine in the entire lineup. Every wine was impressive in some way, and I don't think any other visit surpassed this one in quality throughout the entire lineup. It's definitely a visit I will recommend to others, and I will also be a buyer of their wines.
Our next visit was at Copain, where we were supposed to have a picnic lunch tasting. However, there had been a mixup and we were not able to have the picnic lunch, though still a very good tasting. Once again, we started with a white, the 2009 James Berry Roussanne. We followed with three Pinots again, the 2009 Les Voisins Anderson Valley, the 2009 Wentzel Pinot Noir, and the 2009 Monument Pinot Noir. We followed with a pair of Syrahs, the 2009 Les Voisins Yorkville Syrah and the 2007 Eaglepoint Ranch Syrah, before then having a Rhone blend, the 2007 Les Copains James Berry. We then finished off the tasting with another white, the 2009 Tous Ensemble Viogner. Overall, it was a pretty good tasting, but not quite as impressive as I had hoped from Copain. Certainly the mixup played a part, but the wines, while solid, didn't wow me quite like many others we had on the trip.
After a nice casual lunch at Willow Wood Cafe in Graton (recommended by the folks at Copain) we continued on to Martinelli. We were lucky enough again to have a fairly empty tasting room (we hadn't made an appointment here either) and a diverse lineup of wines. Once again, we led off with some whites, the 2007 Charles Ranch Chardonnay and the 2008 Zio Tony Ranch Chardonnay. Once again, a trio of Pinots followed, with the 2009 Bella Vigna Pinot Noir, the 2008 Moonshine Ranch Pinot Noir, and the 2008 Lolita Ranch Pinot Noir. We then moved on to the 2007 Red Barn Red, a Rhone-style blend, and the 2006 Zio Tony Ranch Syrah before going on to the Zins. We tasted a pair, the 2008 Vigneto di Evo Zinfandel and the 2009 Vellutini Ranch Zinfandel, before finishing with a dessert wine, the 2009 Jackass Hill Muscat. Overall, the Martinelli wines were much as expected, bigger in style than most others we'd have, but still showing that they are well made with good fruit. I think my palate is moving in a different direction, but I still enjoyed the visit and the wines.
We had finished our planned stops for the day at this point, but it was just mid-afternoon so we decided to find another stop. Heading back north, we decided to venture out Dry Creek Rd again, all the way to the end of the valley by the Lake Sonoma Dam, where Sbragia Winery is located. Sbragia offers some of the best views in Sonoma, and also some really good wine. We were able to pick and choose our selections for tasting, so I was able to have two Zinfandels and two Cabs. First I tried the 2008 Gino's Vineyard Zinfandel and the 2008 La Promessa Zinfandel. Both were good, but we preferred the Gino's and actually bought a bottle to enjoy out on the terrace after finishing the tasting. For the Cabs, I decided to try Sbragia's two 2007 efforts from Howell Mountain, the 2007 Rancho del Oso Cabernet and the 2007 Cimarossa Cabernet. Both were excellent examples of the good work being done on Howell Mountain (which we would visit Thursday), but I had a slight preference for the Rancho del Oso when tasting side by side. Overall, this was another impressive tasting from a producer I had read about but not tried before. I will definitely be on the lookout for the Sbragia wines in the future.Tuesday night in Healdsburg we went for a much more casual dinner at Willy's Seafood and Raw Bar, with a great lineup of tapas. After dinner, we ventured to Spoonbar at the H2 Hotel for cocktails. The bartender there Scott Beattie is well-known for his mixes, and though he wasn't behind the bar the evening, I still enjoyed a very interesting take on a Negroni, using a Gran Classico bitter and Orange Zest instead of Campari. It was a nice conclusion to our two days in Healdsburg before heading to Napa on Wednesday.
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