May 6, 2025 - Cloverdale This was our second visit to this winery, and it was just as lovely as our first visit. It's a family-owned winery, and very down to earth. Dog-friendly. Upon arrival, we were immediately greeted by Tilley, a rescued Aussie Cattle Dog. I LOVE that they list her as one of the team members on their website. There is a large tasting room, and an outdoor covered patio on a terrace overlooking the vineyard with amazing views. Once we chose where we wanted to sit, our host, Christy, gave us a complementary taste of rose'. The tasting fee is $20 per person, waived with a two-bottle purchase. The tasting menu is mostly reds, but started with a Viognier. We were then offered the chance to try any white that they had open. Such a relaxing and, really, a perfect wine tasting experience. Christy is friendly and knowledgeable. And then Jim Rickards (owner) came over and talked to us for a while. He is very personable, and had some wonderful stories. We shared conversation with him for quite a while. We enjoyed all the wines. We bought the rose' and the merlot. Prices range from $30-$39 for the whites, and from $35-$63 for the reds. read more

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Had the absolute best wine tasting here today! Not only are the wines very good but the views are spectacular. Christine was a wonderful host and Jim was a plethora of information. I feel like we could have spent the entire day here. Be sure to check them out and say hello to the wine dog, Tilly! read more

Christy was our server (friendly, knowledgeable, and generous!) Tasting is $20/person waived with a purchase of 2 bottles. Non-member bottle prices range from $30-$63. They have indoor and covered outdoor patio seating. Their tasting list has many red and white wine options. All the wines we tried were very good. I especially liked the Merlot! The winery has a very nice ambience and is well worth the visit. read more

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Darn Fine Barn Wine the motto here at J. Rickards. Words that are a metaphor for living a good life drinking beautiful wine vintages. This authentic winery led with passion by Jim Rickards himself. A grand tale of sacrifices made to achieve the goals of this small family winery. Phenomenal winevat incredibly reasonable prices...Absolutely fantastic experience with genuine people. Cheers! read more

J. Rickards Winery - Magnificent - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Cloverdale, California

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The exceptional views will get you in the door, but the delicious wine and exemplary service is what will make you stay. J. Rickards Winery boasts some of the best red wines and the most scenic views within Alexander Valley. My friend and I visited J. Rickards Winery during an event and it easily became our favorite winery stop out of the 4 wineries that we went to. This is a family owned and operated vineyard, and the winemaker is involved in every aspect of the winery. In fact, we met the owner and winemaker (Jim) while we were there and he poured some of our wines. If that ain't personalized service, then I don't know what is! How often do you find the actual winemaker out and about pouring the wines?! Not too often these days. I also must mention that this is a full family operation. As Jim was pouring our wines, he introduced us to several members of his family who are also involved with the winery. Just amazing! I was just soaking everything in, including the fabulous wines. The views are quite breathtaking here. What I love is that even though the views are immaculate and the estate is gorgeous, it still has that lovable homey feel to it. It doesn't feel commercialized because it isn't. It's a very relaxing experience and we truly did not want to leave. The wines are exquisite. Both their white and red wines are scrumptious, but it's that Zinfandel that will make you fall completely in love. Zinfandel is what they're known for and rightfully so. Their bright, fruity, and jammy Zinfandels are right up my alley. As a Zin lover, my palate was completely quenched by the exceptional Zinfandels here. Other wonderful tasting notables are their Rosé and red blend. The service that we received from everyone was top tier. I don't venture out to Cloverdale too often, but I will make a special visit just to come back to J. Rickards again. read more

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Had a great experience with Ozzy hosting our table this past week at J Rickards. Fantastic dog friendly winery right off the 101, the views overlook beautiful vineyards and the wines are delicious! Everyone who works there is super friendly and knowledgeable. We will most definitely be back to try more of their unique wines! read more

What a great experience. The wine was fantastic, and we were able to meet the owner. We are spending the week in Sonoma, and I fear it will all be downhill after this. read more

I had a bottle of 2020 Zinfandel I found in a neighborhood market in Woodside. Absolutely the best I've had in a long while. Can't wait to visit. read more

Our first visit to California and we stayed in Sonoma but took the hour drive north to visit J Rickards on a recommendation. Was absolutely spectacular. Christine was awesome and we spent a good amount of time with her discussing the history of the region and the making of the wines. We also got to taste some "juice" that was not quite done which really helped bridge the gap from grape to wine. We also met the owner Jim who took us into "The Cave" and convinced us to give some desert wines a shot and we became fans. As they were in the middle of harvest, we watched the crew begin to handle the grapes that were just picked. We had another reservation with another vineyard that we cancelled and spent extra time with Jim and Christine. Oh...and the wines were awesome. We are expecting an order to arrive next week. Tilley the rescue farm dog was a great host as well! read more

This place makes a huge variety of rather average wines, sold at pretty affordable prices. The tasting is cheap, and is waived if you buy a couple bottles. This is a dying trend in Napa/Sonoma, so for that reason and a few others, I'm going to give this place 5 stars. PROS: 1) Rather beautiful location with easy parking and friendly people 2) There's a barn dog that is friendly and loves everyone 3) The tasting is only $20 or $25 (can't remember which) and is waived if you buy 2 bottles 4) Bottles are cheap starting around $30 5) The tasting is flexible. I told him I only wanted reds, and that wasn't a problem 6) There's a rather crazy selection of wines. Like WAY too many. But if you like choice this should be a plus CONS: 1) The wines are overly sweet and designed to be consumed sooner rather than later. This might be a pro for some people. 2) They will not open anything not opened. I ended up purchasing two bottles that they had available for sale, but would not let me sample because they were not open. Can't really complain since it was a cheap tasting that ended up being free due to the bottle purchase. read more

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I was en route to J. Rickards Winery with friends when a salient observation was made: "In truth, our overall feelings about a place can be greatly influenced by the company we go there with". Someone else chimed in, "I could be eating the worst food and if I'm with friends having fun, 5 stars". I was with friends Id not seen for 1+ years. I was having fun. 5 stars. But here's the rub: J. Rickards Winery would've warranted 5 stars even if I'd taken a sandwich there solo, sat at a picnic table overlooking the vineyards, and enjoyed a tasting of their SF Chronicle Gold Medal Award winning wines. So, though the company I kept did a lot of the heavy lifting, it wasn't just the company. J. Rickards sits in Cloverdale (Sonoma County), in a wine region often overlooked because a) it's not Napa Valley and b) it's fairly far from my home. When you're there though, you begin to understand why it's worth the drive. It's not just the excellent wine, the lack of pretension this winery and its workers present, and the astonishingly (these days) reasonable tasting fee ($15, waived with bottle purchased for consumption at home). Rather, it's all of this plus the opportunity to enjoy a bottle on site - along with whatever lunch you might bring (on-site food offerings coming soon). On a weekday afternoon, this experience was ours for hours, with no pressure to move along or even to make a purchase. It probably helped that the friends I was with were J. Rickards Wine Club members. This meant free tastings for up to 6 of us plus incredible deals on already incredibly reasonably priced wine. I paid wine club price for a bottle that won Gold at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine competition and came away with change from $30. Try that in the Napa Valley. There was absolutely nothing not to enjoy at J. Rickards and thus, there was nothing I didn't enjoy. Though there are several different tastings on offer, you can't go wrong with the Chronicle Wine competition tasting (1 white, 3 reds). read more

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I love everything about this winery! They make my favorite wines. My favorites are any of the Zinfandels but I've never tried a wine there that I didn't like. All the wines are fruit forward. Great with food or just for drinking. The prices of their wines is very reasonable. Lovely place to visit and taste. You can bring food and set back and relax. Low pressure but informative tastings. I live in wine country and if I could only drink from one winery, no contest, J Rickards is my absolute favorite. read more

We were camping in the area. Left the kids and husband for a little break. Found this gem. Christine and Tara were the best! My girlfriends and I had such a great time with them. We laughed so hard and was able to WINE-down. read more

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Truthfully, I got lost in experience and forgot to take more pictures. From start to finish, we were treated like family or at least, like their favorite wine club members. :) Ozzy was FABULOUS at introducing us to J.Rickards's wines. We left it open for him to decide what we'd be tasting alongside the picnic foods we had brought. My favorites were their spicy berry/vanilla Old Vine Zinfandel and the cherry, "Best in Class" Five Sisters Cabernet. Relaxed atmosphere, beautiful views, well-priced, delicious wines! Excellent experience! read more

I had a nice wine tasting here. Was well organized. They assigned a server to pour the wines featured in their tasting. I actually liked our server. As for the wines, there was a white wine that I can't remember the name but was very delicious and there was a Zin that I loved very much. Bought those 2 wines. Why only 2 stars? Well, I found the staff (other than our server) to be not customer service oriented. Also, they're stuck doing wine tastings... the before-covid appt. only way which is not my favorite. read more

J. Rickards Winery was awesome! The host Ozzy did an amazing job showing us the barrel rooms, walking us through the fields, and being super knowledgable unlike any of the other 3 hosts we had on our Platypus Wine Tour. None of them made us feel special and important like that which is what I was expecting in Sonoma like Ozzy did! Ozzy was the best sommelier wine host I have ever had! He was impressive! The wine was exceptional!! read more

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Such a great winery. This is a hidden gem. The wines are great and the staff overly friendly. We clearly fell in love as soon we were there ! read more

J. Rickards was the first winery we visited on our wine tour. When we drove up we were greeted by 2 dogs and Jim the owner. The place is quaint and wine is phenomenal. The wine took me to a happy place, I was in a total state of bliss. Jim the owner took his time and explained the wine making process to our group, he even had us taste one of the grapes on the hillside. One of my favorite wines was the wine blend called "Sisters" which is made from the traditional Bordeaux varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot and Malbec, all estate grown. I purchased a few bottles of my faves. read more

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Amazing wine, family run, truly a gem and a must visit! Jim is a legend and his staff are knowledgeable and friendly. Cozy indoor and outdoor seating. read more

Absolutely my favorite winery in Sonoma County! It's a small, family run winery - not a large corporate winery that seems to rule these days. It's perched on a hill, with lovely views. We had a picnic while tasting some incredible wines. The employees who work there are very attentive and poured us many yummy award winning wines. We also had a nice chat with the owner, Mr. Jim Rickards. We learned how their grapes have been sustainably farmed for years. This small winery has been progressive way before it became fashionable. Kudos to the J Rickards Winery! read more

Went here recently on an organized wine tour. The winery is beautiful - Ozzy was helping us with the tasting and we had a great time knowing about the winery and wines . We got a red wine starting with a C , it was amazing . The Old zin was very tasty as well. We also purchased a white wine which was on the sweeter side and I am looking forward to trying it soon. Highly recommend. read more

This was one of the best wineries we've stumbled upon. So glad we found this place. The wine was great!! The price was right! Yes, we joined this wine club. Highly recommend checking them out. read more

Super fun wine tour stop! Ozzie made our afternoon a fun and wine filled experience. Everything we tried was very drinkable and enjoyable!

Loved my visit to this winery. We got the chance to meet the owner Jim, who took us on a tour of his "cave". He was a sweet man who provided a very in depth explanation into the history of the winery and how he decides what to grow. The coasters they provide here even have a punch out mustache that you can put on yourself that resembles Jim's famous mustache. The vineyards are beautiful and on top of it all the wine was delicious. For a couple of our tastings, they provided us with some cheese to pair with it. I especially loved the muskat blanc and pepper jack cheese pairing - the wine mellowed out the spice so that the richness of the cheese came through. This wine is supposed to pair well with spicy Asian or Indian dishes and since we haven't yet found a wine to pair with these dishes, we decided to get a bottle of the muskat blanc to take home with us. Overall, had a great time at J. Rickards Winery! read more

J. Rickards Winery - The coasters have mustaches modeled after the owner of the winery! - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Cloverdale, California

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BEST customer service. This is a great family owned winery that has a great feel and the customer service was top notch. Doug was very friendly and knew a ton about wine, he was super informative and even gave us a tour of the place. It's a beautiful winery that isn't intimidating, very intimate with a friendly, welcoming feel. The wine was top notch and the wine club is a great deal. If you don't live in the area you get a flat $5 shipping fee if it's three or more bottles. I will definitely be back to visit if I'm back in the area. This place is truly a gem of a winery you definitely don't want to miss! read more

Visited this winery in 2015 and 2016 for the Winter WineLand Event. JIM is always present to welcome his guest. The wine is wonderful. I got 3 dessert wines that were on special. The pricing for the Wine club is very reasonable here. I love visiting this winery. Friendly staff. It has a family wholeness feeling. My friends love coming here too. We made sure we visited him again this year. His mustache is pretty famous around town!!! Love the mustache stickers they give you when you check in. I highly recommend coming here. Taste their wine. And I'm sure you will become a member!!! read more

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My FAVORITE winery I've been to in Sonoma County. It's a small family-owned winery that feels intimate and welcoming. Now I bring all my out-of-town friends here because I know they are very consistent. Their customer service is some of the best I've experienced. Doug served us and really took care of us teaching us all about the wine. It was clear that he was very knowledgeable. He gave us a little tour and even took some pictures of our group for us. Jay took care of us the last time we went, and he too was really awesome. I like all of their wines a lot and it is clear that they take care to create some great wines at a reasonable cost. read more

J Rickards was fantastic! We came here on a small group tour and had the best experience of the day. The wines were great, the views amazing, and Ozzy was a fantastic host. It was a truly special day and would highly suggest it if you want a royal experience. read more

J. Rickards Winery - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Cloverdale, California

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We love small wineries and this place is just right up our alley. Unfortunately I didn't actively taste, but I did get to share some tasting with my cousin and husband. We had a group of 12 and made a reservation. Despite getting there early, they were very accommodating and we had a fun little tour with Jim who had a great sense of humor- love it. While the rest of the family was tasting, I had lovely conversations with Mary and Terry (I hope I got their names right) as well. Wonderful ladies. You honestly feel like you're with friends when you're here at the winery. It's not huge, so don't expect too much, but it's a good sized tasting room, with a little area in the back for spill overs. Now onto the wines. I was quite impressed with most of everything I tasted. Their sauvignon blanc was very light and tasty, as was the semillon. Both very drinkable and I can see being perfect warm weather wines. The muscat blanc was also very good, but a tad on the sweeter side (which some of the family seem to enjoy quite a bit). Their reds in general were all very good as well. Old vine zin and Malbec stood out the most and I'm sure we walked away with ($25 +/- 2 per bottle). Very enjoyable. They also served a port that I thought was really good, and paired very well with the dark chocolate they served with it. When we were done, they kindly help us set up a picnic table (because we asked if we could have a little picnic there), and our entire group was quite happy (both from all the wines they tasted, and from the service). Love it here and now joined their membership. read more

If there were ten stars I would leave a ten star review. The vineyard is a great place to visit with a nice view. The only thing better than the vineyard and the views is the wine they are producing. Add to that a friendly environment and you have one of the best wine tasting experiences you could enjoy! read more

Fantastic winery. Recommendations: cab, old vine zin, and the Muscat. The below experience is written based on the "Winter Wineland" event of 2016, so experiences may vary. The one aspect that makes this winery standout is their service. Where others wineries may be glorified kiosks for their bottles, this place is more like a tour at Universal studios--without the animatronics. You start the tasting at the far end of the barrel room where they put mustaches on your glasses to make them look like Lyft rides. Then you walk through their barrel room where they serve you lobster bisque along with exclusive wines. Tricky tactic to get you buy wine so you don't choke on awesomeness. However the show-stealer is Lobo, the dog who welcomes you as you emerge from the pre-release wine section and migrate to the general tasting room! read more

J. Rickards Winery - Meet lobo the family guard dog. Half wolf, half lab. - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Cloverdale, California

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Excellent presentation and great knowledge.. thanks Ross! try theNV Los Ninos... LOVE THE VIEW!!! read more

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We really enjoyed our time here. The lady who helped us was very patient and extremely friendly. She answered all our questions and took us on a small cave tour. The wines here a very good. Being a white wine lover, I even liked the reds. I can't wait to try the bottle of blanc de noirs I bought, which I didn't get to try because there was no opened bottles. We even got to pair some of the wines with cheeses and chocolate. What an awesome experience. There's even a red dessert wine that is covered in chocolate. Prices aren't very expensive either. read more

J. Rickards Winery - cave tour - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Cloverdale, California

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This place was a lot of fun and had a great view. Our favorite part was the Canine for Independence group who had a table there and dogs to pet. The wine was not amazing or terrible, the tasting fee is waved if you purchase so I got a bottle of their white wine I forget what it was called it had a unique name. They also give regular tours we got there just as one started so we got to tour the wine cave before tasting. read more

I was with a group of 10 people (5 couples) when I visited J. Rickards and we had an amazing time. Alex was a great host and shared so much of her knowledge with us. We were there on a perfect October day and it was so beautiful with the blue skies and changing leaves on the vines. We tasted so many great wines and even got to peak in the wine cave. read more

It was our first stop on the tour and the best by far. Good wine, friendly and very informative. it was the standard by which all others were measured. Delightful. We learned so much about wines and how they are made. Jim joined the club so we can enjoy this trip from the comforts of our homes. Tara our host was awesome, friendly and fun! Made the day! read more

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Damn fine barn wine! Always love what these folks are doing! Been a few times and quite happy each visit! Low key and relaxed tasting expwrience read more

Mary is a hoot - a really fun person for a winetasting. She gave us the cave tour and had a lot of technical knowledge regarding the barrels and the aging process. She offered many different wines both white and red, but our focus was on a limited number of varietals since we have favorite sources for wine all around this AVA. The big pleasant surprise was the 2014 Santa Ynez Valley 2014 Grenache Blanc. Fruity, not sweet - this will be a good summer wine. Bought a few. We had to correct Mary's reference to the location of the vineyard as being in "Southern California" but it is excusable for residents of the 'far north" to think that SoCal starts just below Salinas. Purchased a bottle of 2013 "The Terraces" Merlot - an estate wine. Very pleasant full mouth and long finish. At only 13.9% it looks to be a mid-term drinkable for my cellar. With only 50 cases produced, this is a nice find at a fair price. Good varietal characteristics without neutering or "dumbing-down" for the palate-less mass market. For those who have come to hate the flabby Merlots made for guzzling wine sluts, this Merlot is a standout. read more

Since we did wine tasting in Feb when visiting the Sonoma farm, it was not a priority of ours this time driving through 101. The original thought was to check out Silver Oak--- Pay $10 for their tasting on $70-100 bottles, and walk away with a souvenir glass. Only that was back then, and this is now: $20 for tasting, with only $10 of that goes toward buying any of their super pricey wines. But you still get a glass. Ehh. So we decided to stop by J Rickards instead, since it is right next door. And that turned out to be a great decision for us. This winery might as well rename itself "Down to earth people knowing a lot about making good wine." Upon arrival, we were greeted by a friendly dog, who guided us from the parking lot to the tasting room. The owner, Jim, who offered us the tasting of 10 wines (2 whites, 3 zins, 1 malbec, 1 cab, 1 petite syrah, 1 muscat, and 1 port) was friendly, knowledgeable, and obvious to all, passionate about this family business. You can see how proud he is of their farm, and how much he admires his father, referencing frequently to different methods of farming his father has employed throughout the years and bits and pieces of the family history. Throughout our tasting, we got to meet one more cute dog, the wine master, and the dad, who grows the grapes. And I loved their Kismet, a great tasting white wine that I had to get a bottle of, even though I almost never like whites. They also offer amazing zins and a cab that will go perfectly with a piece of medium rare steak. Muscat has a nice honey, peachy finish, and the port is deep and fruity. Not one thing has failed to impress. And all priced more than reasonably. If anyone wants a down to earth, truly relaxing tasting experience of some good, honest wine, this place is not to be missed. read more

If I could, I would give them six stars. Jim Rickards is the salt of the earth guy you want to meet in the wine world. He bought an old vineyard 40 years ago and started making small but crucial improvements. Sold his grapes to some of the most famous names in Napa and Sonoma. Had a tractor break down in the '70's which forced him to go to harvest without pesticides. No noticeable drop in output. No added cost of pesticides. So he made a discovery! Mother nature had already solved many problems. He started adding bird boxes and weeds. A local ag school audited him a long time ago and told him he was sustainable. He said, "What's that?" The wines are the stars here. Well balanced. Almost completely solar facility. Probably the best kept secret in Alexander Valley. Although, judging by the reviews not a secret anymore. Zins, Petite Sirah, White Blends, Desert wines, and of course Cab. We're in AV after all. read more