Our first stop was Rodney Strong Vineyard. We tasted their estate and reserved wines and they were all very good. Our pourer, Sheilah, was very knowledgeable about their wines and provided excellent suggestions about which wineries to try next or where to have a good lunch in town. We love this place!
Rodney Strong Vineyards' tasting room is located off Old Redwood Highway before you get to downtown Healdsburg (if you are coming from San Francisco). We got there before noon and it seemed like we were the first tasters of the day. This meant that we would get quality time from our pourer - more information about the wines and more questions we can ask. The same whiff of aroma that is usually present in wineries greeted us as soon as we stepped inside the tasting room. Though they have a guided and a self-guided winery tour and it sounded like a good way to get to know the winery more, we decided to go ahead with wine tasting. The vines are still dormant since it is still winter. Maybe next time?
Sheilah was our pourer that day. She's very eloquent without sounding braggy. She was very knowledgeable about their wines. She presented us two tasting menus - Estate wines and the Reserved and Single Vineyard wines. We chose the latter though in the end, we were able to taste a couple of their Estate wines. Most of these wines are only available in their tasting room so this means you cannot find these wines in any stores and supermarkets.
The Reserved and Single Vineyard wines consist of 2011 Reserve Chardonnay Russian River Valley, 2010 Reserve Pinot Noir Russian River Valley, 2009 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley, 2010 Symmetry Red Meritage Alexander Valley, 2009 Alexanders Crown Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley, 2008 Rockaway Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley, and 2009 Brothers Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley. We were both impressed with the selections. Since this is a side by side tastings, you can narrow down the selection. We decided to get the chardonnay, the pinot noir and the 2009 cab. I'm sure that the ones we didn't choose would still taste good right next to other wines.
Sheilah also let us try one of their Estate wines. The 2011 Charlotte's Home Sauvignon Blanc Northern Sonoma. We actually ended up getting it along with the other three from their Single Vineyard and Reserved wines list.
It was a coincidence that we opened that week a bottle of 2001 Rodney Strong Merlot. I like this winery. We will surely be back. Thanks Sheilah for the reception and all your explanation about the wines. We truly had a great time.
Rodney Strong Vineyards is on Old Redwood Highway in Healdsburg, California.
~rl
Sheilah was our pourer that day. She's very eloquent without sounding braggy. She was very knowledgeable about their wines. She presented us two tasting menus - Estate wines and the Reserved and Single Vineyard wines. We chose the latter though in the end, we were able to taste a couple of their Estate wines. Most of these wines are only available in their tasting room so this means you cannot find these wines in any stores and supermarkets.
The Reserved and Single Vineyard wines consist of 2011 Reserve Chardonnay Russian River Valley, 2010 Reserve Pinot Noir Russian River Valley, 2009 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley, 2010 Symmetry Red Meritage Alexander Valley, 2009 Alexanders Crown Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley, 2008 Rockaway Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley, and 2009 Brothers Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley. We were both impressed with the selections. Since this is a side by side tastings, you can narrow down the selection. We decided to get the chardonnay, the pinot noir and the 2009 cab. I'm sure that the ones we didn't choose would still taste good right next to other wines.
Sheilah also let us try one of their Estate wines. The 2011 Charlotte's Home Sauvignon Blanc Northern Sonoma. We actually ended up getting it along with the other three from their Single Vineyard and Reserved wines list.
It was a coincidence that we opened that week a bottle of 2001 Rodney Strong Merlot. I like this winery. We will surely be back. Thanks Sheilah for the reception and all your explanation about the wines. We truly had a great time.
Rodney Strong Vineyards is on Old Redwood Highway in Healdsburg, California.
~rl
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