Give these people your money! Seriously, the events this group throws are the best events ever. I've been to the Food and Wine Affair twice now. And I just got back from the Winter Wineland event. I cannot say enough good things. These events are well organized, a great value and thus far not completely insane with crowds. This Sunday, for $40 (because I failed to buy in advance, which would have saved me $10), I was granted access to 123 wineries in the Healdsburg area. Granted, I only made it to like 8 or 9 before I was down for the count, but what a good time. So yes, check out the website and see if any events are coming up. And if one piques your interest, then gather some friends and go for it. Napa is for snobs. Healdsburg is for lovers. Or something like that. read more

Just got back from this event today. One word: Outstanding!!! Jenny K. is absolutely, positively correct. This is the greatest deal in the kingdom for great wine tasting for only $10. You just pay $10 a person, get a wristband and wine glass, and off you go to over 100 wineries. Well, we made five of them today, and it was a truly a memorable time. Not only is there barrel tasting which may or may not be good, all the wineries are pouring their regular wines. You can talk to the owners and winemakers about the futures, how the '05 year is shaping up, and gets anwers to anything you need to know about the wine making process. It is wine hedonism at its best. And, all the wineries we stopped at had some type of food and snack items. Bottled water is free at all wineries. So, we DID have a designated driver today, and went for it with all the gusto we could. Very nice weather day, and the time went by quick. Our stops (hope I can remember them all): Russian River Area 1. Martinelli Killer zins and other wines are great also. The barrel tasting was their top of the line Giuseppe and Louisa Zin. It was the '06 and will be released in Nov. It tasted good to me today, although a little sediment remained. Headed over to the wine tasting bar, and had the real '05 Giuseppe and Louisa. Robert Parker gave it 94 points, and when you taste it you will see why. Rich, dark, deep flavors, with fantastic finish. Food was lasagna, bread, cookies and chips. 2. Sunce I just love this little Croatian owner winery. He does a super job and makes about 15 reds and 4 whites plus late harvest dessert wine. The ones we really liked were the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Light, crisp and refreshing and the price is less than $15 a bottle. One of the best buys in the Valley. We settled on the future zin, a rich bold wine with great potential When you buy futures on it you get it for 1/2 price. Paid $15 a bottle, and will sell for $30 a bottle in November. Food here was great. They had bbq ribs, mashed potatoes, bread and a salad. All free with many free bottles of water. We stayed a bit here and talked with the wine maker. Hey, was time to move on and off we drove to Healdsburg. Dry Creek Valley 1. Mauritson - The pinnacle in my opinion for great zin. The Rockpile zin was simply fabulous as always. Very special appellation area that the Mauritson family owns. Saw Clay the owner/winemaker and his cute and darling wife, Carrie. They both are so nice as well as their staff. Food was cookies, some pizza bread, and soup. Nice! 2. Bella Great place that we spend a lot of time at. They had Bluegrass band playing inside the cave. It was a riot. Great music. Food was to die for from the Zin Restaurant in town. The chef had pulled pork which he put in a cup over homemade grits. Let's see how many helpings did I have? Hmmm.. Can't remember. It was just fabulous. Barrel tasting of the Lily zin and a syrah, but I was in no pain by then. Regular zin and syrah were good also. We sat on the chair in the nice open area, admired the beautiful Dry Creek Valley and watched the vines grow in the nice sun. A quintessential California wine country setting for sure. 3. Dutcher Crossing Ok, Dr. M, the resident Yelp wine expert told me I better go there. I did. I liked. The Zin just won the SF Chronicle Gold Medal Award. It was tasty and deserved. The Chardonnay was super and a throw back a little for the buttery/oakey finish. Very nice. Hell, I joined there Club after sweet Sindy, the owner's wife told me members get invited to release parties and she home cooks the food. Yippeee!. The food here was good also. They had a mushroom bisque, Pt. Reyes cheese with fig jam, bread, chips, almonds, and whatever. The setting in the back is really pretty overlooking the vineyards and the valley with the mustard now growing between all the vine rows. That did it. No mas!! We (the drinkers and food eaters) jumped in the SUV, fell back, and were feeling no pain. We asked Robert to drive us back to San Jose, which of course, none of us remember. What a day and what an experience all for only $10. Here is the good news, they are repeating next weekend. Check out the website. Have fun, get a designated driver, and have a Roman type drinking and eating day. Man, I am going to bed now, I am just plain worn out from all this fun! Note to myself: take some Alka Seltzer! This event truly was a blast. But hey, this is only for 5 of the wineries. There are 95 yet to go! read more

How would you like to know about the greatest wine-tasting deal ever? I'm going to let you in on a little secret. The Russian River Wine Road hosts a barrel-tasting weekend every year during the first weekend of March. This year (their 29th year), they've extended it for TWO weekends: March 2-4 & March 9-11. Over 100 wineries open their cellars to the public for tastings, talks with winemakers, entertainment, futures sales, and exploration of the Alexander, Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys. For $10, you get a commemorative tasting glass, wrist band and free tastings for an ENTIRE weekend (Friday - Sunday) at more than 100 wineries (look for the purple balloons). Every year, this event seems to improve. Most of the wineries have some sort of food pairing (chocolates, sausages, soups, breads, pasta, olives, cheese, wild boar (seriously) ... just to name a few) or entertainment (bands, DJs...), and all of them seem to loosen their hair for this event ... If you're only familiar with Napa wines and looking to expand, take advantage of these weekends to discover some really incredible family and low-volume wineries that are passionate about the wonderful wines that they produce. NOTE: This event is benefits a good cause, too! $1 out of every $10 fee will be donated to the Empire Food Bank. In the past, they've collected food at the wineries during this weekend. Just in case you can help out by donating food, you might want to bring some non-perishables with you. BRING A DESIGNATED DRIVER!! ... and don't be an a-hole. Stealing someone's parking spot while their waiting can really mess with your karma. Remember that!! read more

Every year my friends and I gather in a big blue van and head up to the Annual Winter Wineland. This was my second year but the group has been going for a while longer. It's always an amazing time. You get a glass when you check in and then get to taste at as many wineries as you can get in in a weekend....and it's only $40! We were able to get in 16 in the 2 days...it's exhausting but fabulous. Over 100 wineries participated this year and many have food from local restaurants and caterers. It's so much fun, lots of people, food, and great wine. If you like zins, you are cheating yourself to not come tasting in the area. Definitely recommend a big group and someone organized to plan your route, get a dd and make it happen. read more

In the cold of November there's nothing like a little wine and a good recipe to warm you up. At the annual November Winter Wine Road along the Russian river, you get just that and more. Start out at Wilson Winery in Healdsburg for the best wine marinated cut of steak you've had in a long time. They grill it right there before your eyes and slice off thin pieces to go with their deep red wines, including the highly drinkable 2005 DCV Cabernet Sauvignon. Stopping in at Truett-Hearst winery also in Healdsburg, there's more meaty products waiting for you inside their comfortably packed tasting room along with a sampling of this year's best selections. But the true calling to Truett-Hearst is the wild salmon running through their section of the Russian river. Just a quick walk through the food gardens leads you to the river where bright red Adirondack chairs await and salmon jump upstream, sometimes just swimming in place as if posing for the camera. With a quick $60 online payment you receive a cookbook compiled by all of the wineries on the tour and a free pass to visit as many wineries in the Russian river area as your designated driver can get you to in two days. read more

What a great way to experience new wineries. After reading John G's review my boyfriend and headed over to the Barrel Tasting. As an added bonus, most of the wineries provided some food to pair with a wine tasting. Some of our favorites that day were: 1. Talty- they only have Zinfandel, and they put all of their effort into making it perfect. The estate is small and they do not put out a large quantity, so they do not distribute- you can only buy this wine there. 2. Mounts- I liked all of the varietals I tried here. I was close to purchasing a 1/2 case of futures, and then my boyfriend reminded me that I was buzzed. Hmm, that's all I remember today. I will update later, when I put some thought into this. Anyway, this is a great deal and it's so much fun! I love going on wine tasting adventures, but especially the Barrel tasting weekends. Let me know if you see another Barrel Tasting adventure in the future! read more

2009 Update on the Barrel Tastings: No guarantee that any of this will hold for next year, but... 1) Go on Fridays or the 2nd weekend Sunday. Saturdays are brutal with buses, limos and drunks. Sunday is best for food. 2) Truett-Hurst: wonderful red wines, especially the petite sirah and their special (and expensive) cabs and petit verdots from Stonegate. Very cordial people. Food was delicious tritip. This place also is great for non-barrel tasings because they don't charge and pour liberally. 3) Talty: probably the silkiest zinfandel I've ever tasted. The 2008 estate is $40, available on futures for $30. This is old-fashioned, food friendly wine, elegant and yet still powerful. No food to speak of. 3) Unti: great selection of Rhone varietals, especially their sumtuous grenache. Also a great place to taste during the year, no charge. no food either. 4) Bella: a beautiful spot with cellars that you wander from one tasting gem to another. Their two premier zinfandels are more jammy than the Talty, but almost as good. Served pulled pork with grits, really nice touch, very croweded on Saturdays, but terrific on Sundays 5) Mounts: wine is good, but more or less average in quality, a beautiful setting, however, and a terrific spread of salami, cheese, and other goodies. 6) Sunce: Their wines are average, but interesting. The reason to go is the pleasant terrace they use for the tastings, and delicious pork and okra over rice and a really fun crowd. Very crowded on weekends. 7) Siduri: Notable for the incredible number of pinot noirs they make, most of them very, very good, but expensive. Some little appetizers brought around by staff to much. Their other label, Novy, makes zins and other red and white wines. I went to some other places, but these were the best. read more

My friend and I purchased had planned to purchase tickets for the Russian River Wine Road, not the event, but the $25 ticket that gets you free tastings and discounts at a long list of area wineries. After some difficulty acquiring tickets (I'll spare you the details), we ended up at the first winery. They called Tracy at the Wine Road and she could not have been more accommodating! We went to her office which was around the corner and she took such great care of us. We spent the day visiting wineries from the list and never paid for a thing! We also received discounts on bottles of wine purchased. This is such a great value I cannot endorse it enough! read more

I agree with some of the previous posters, ALWAYS bring a designated driver when touring Russian River and Dry Creek, some of the world's best wines found here. The Barrel Tasting event is one of the best events you could ever find for wine, really not a lot of cops out anyways to mess with you, but, just for safety's sake, bring a tee-totaller, a non-drinker, so to speak, or try to switch out who drinks for that day if each of you can resist not sampling the wines for one day. Best done with a group, much more fun that way. The bed and breakfasts in Healdsburg can be very pricey, as well as the restaurants, but, all in all, well worth it. read more

Out of all the winery and grower organizations this one is the best. They are extremely organized and will go out of their way to help you. Beth and Tracy really do it all. They continue to put on fabulous events. read more

This is a great event. Many of the wineries go all out and throw a big party with a theme and lots of free food. I went on the whatever we pass on Westside road tour with my girlfriends and we had a blast. The only thing that was missing was a convertible because we opted for a bargain-priced rental sedan instead. Never again, next time a bunch of hot girls go wine tasting in Sonoma we will have a convertible ride even if it means I have to pay for that puppy. Alright, back to the review at hand, if you're looking for a big blow out of a partay go to Armida where they have different theme rooms for adults to enjoy heavenly and sinful earthly liquid delights aka vino. If you're looking for food look no further than Rodney Strong where you will find free cheese, handmade chocolate bon bons, little roast beef burgers and of course wine, duh. Rodney Strong's spread was so delightful we choose to end our extensive tour there, which started in western Russian River, continued on to Dry Creek and snake back to eastern Russian River. It was wonderful to nap on the soft green lawn at Rodney Strong after eating like it was a Vegas seafood buffet at the Rio except with all you can drink wine, all for $10. Oh! you also get a free wine glass to commemorate the event. I will also like to mention that I had some stellar wines at Porter Creek, a little winery off a dusty road on the Westside. read more

The Winter Wineland event and barrel tastings have proven time and time again a fantastic way to see this beautiful area, taste some really remarkable wines, and it's a great deal to boot. Talty, Bella, and the Rosenblum shop in town are always favorites. read more