Wine Tasting in Sonoma - Harvest Moon Estate & Winery

We took Friday off last week and what better way to start the weekend than spend it in the beautiful wine country. We've been wanting to spend more time in Sonoma Valley and to check out the smaller wineries. We've heard great things about them.

We wanted to concentrate on a small area in the Russian River Valley bounded by River Road and Guerneville Road and west of Santa Rosa. Harvest Moon Estate & Winery is tucked in the middle of this viticultural area. All I can say about this winery is this - I wish I could bring home a bottle each of all the wines we tasted that day because they were all excellent!  Randy, the grower/wine maker, is such a great host too.


Harvest Moon Estate and Winery is on Olivet Rd. On the map, there are at least six other wineries on this road. When we got to the parking lot, the winery looked small and modest and no tourist buses.  This gave us a good impression right away. The grapevines planted around the estate are now heavy with fruits but the grapes won't be ready till the fall or later. A few wooden barrels and stainless vats dotted the outside lot. When we got inside the tasting room the smell of vino filled the air and the vibe was like going into a friendly urban party. Randy greeted us right away.

[to read my other Wine Tasting blogs, click here ]

Here are the ones we tasted. Like what I mentioned earlier, they were all delicious wines. If it not had been for our budget constraints, I would have picked a bottle each - 2011 Estate Dry Gewurztraminer, 2008-2009 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, 2007-2009 Russian River Valley Zinfandel, 2009 Pitts Home Ranch Estate Zinfandel, 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Creek Valley, 2009 Estate Late Harvest Zinfandel.  Randy and company were all knowledgeable about their wines and were very enthusiastic to let us sample the others that were not in their tasting menu.

 

It is so sad that we had to narrow down our choices. Though we upped our choice from two bottles to four just because we really enjoyed their wines. So after our side-by-side wine tasting we decided to pick the 2007 and 2008 Russian River Valley Zinfandel, 2009 Russian Valley Pinot Noir and a surprising pick that day - 2009 Estate Late Harvest Zinfandel. I say surprising because we are not a fan of sweet wines but this one is so balanced and velvety that both of use were convinced. Randy threw in an extra bottle on the house. (Thanks Randy!) I noticed the bottles are also signed by Randy.

Thanks Harvest Moon Estate & Winery, Randy and team for your excellend wines and a great wine tasting experience. We will definitely be back. I can't wait to finally open one of the bottles this week.

For more information about this winery, please visit their website at http://harvestmoonwinery.com/.

~rl