Recently I had the opportunity to visit Lancaster Estate, which is a Foley Family property. The winery has a lot of nice usable space, including a whole wine cave, a tasting room, and multiple outdoor tasting areas. Though I normally like being outside as much as possible I actually enjoyed the cozy feeling of the wine cave, complete with soft blankets in case you get cold. This winery never advertises so if you want to beat the crowds this is the hidden gem for you.

There was a lot of good wine at Lancaster Estates, but perhaps the most unique one was the Samantha Sauvignon Blanc which was partially aged in a concrete egg. Now, most Sauvignon Blancs are aged in stainless steel, very occasionally in oak barrels, and once in a blue moon in amphora barrels (clay). But I have never until this moment seen a concrete egg to age wine! The Sauvignon Blanc is also the ONLY white wine on the property, making it extra special.

Ted Lancaster named all the wines after his family, so in case you were wondering where the name Samantha came from, it’s named after one of his twin daughters. Before you ask, no, he doesn’t have a wine named after the other twin. However, Ted did name a wine after his wife, because happy wife happy life. His wife’s wine, The Nicole Cab is a top tier Cabernet blend and one that I actually enjoyed for a cab. And before I go, one last honorable mention! The cuvée was another very good wine that I highly recommend.

Fun fact: Ted Lancaster was adopted and Lancaster is actually his birth name. He wanted to honor his birth father by taking on the name and naming the winery for him.

Marimar is THE choice for Spanish royalty. I’m not even kidding, the King of Spain literally visited once, and there’s a picture on the wall to prove it. This winery is well known as the Spain away from Spain. And in case you haven’t figured it out yet Marimar Estate is a Spanish winery, offering only Spanish varietals of wine. The 2023 Godello was pretty good, and was released the day I came in which was a fun surprise. The Christina Pinot Noir was also good.

But the best part of this winery was not the Spanish wine, it was the art! There is a locally famous artist residing in Sonoma County named Patrick Amiot. He is well known for “junk art” and we have seen his sculptures at other wineries before, as well as all over the famous Florence Ave. in Sebastopol. As soon as I drove up to this winery I recognized Patrick’s giant sculptures all over the property. But this time all the art had a notable theme, the same dog. It turns out Marimar’s owners have a dog named Chico and he was Mr. Amiot’s inspiration for many sculptures not just at the winery but all over the county.

Freeman Vineyards is in the middle of the forrest in Sebastopol , simultaneously making it hard to find and beautiful! The winery is in the heart of the green valley and 100% of the grapes came from the valley. Unfortunately the wine wasn’t that great. They did have a Riesling but it was very dry. They’re also known for their Pinots…normally a favorite of mine but these ones didn’t impress me much.

Fun fact: the owners of the winery are Japanese so the labels on each bottle are in English and Japanese.

Alexander Valley Vineyards has the unfortunate (or fortunate) task of sharing a name with its AVA (American viticulture area aka where the wine is grown) Alexander Valley. But if you’re willing to make the schlep out there it’s worth it for this winery of surprises. First off there’s a wine cave, but not just any old wine cave where you can walk in and out quickly. No, this cave goes on forever and ever! We happened to be there for the grand opening of their new cave so we got to taste at 3 different stations inside the cave and at each station we never saw or heard anyone from the other stations…that’s how big the cave is! And don’t forget caves echo, so hearing no one is no small feat.

But wait, there’s more surprises. There’s also a full on cemetery in the winery. Yup that’s right, there’s a graveyard for the entire Cyrus family. And now, for your history lesson, Cyrus Alexander was the original owner of the winery (explaining the name of the winery AND the AVA). Normally you’re not allowed to have a cemetery on private property but this one was literally grandfathered in, as Cyrus’s grandparents were already buried before that law came into effect.

Now for the wine, the Sauvignon Blanc was good and very apple-y. The red blend was great, and you know I’m a sucker for a good red blend! And last but not least, the Zinfandel was excellent and tasted like a berry tart.

Fun fact: the first school house in the area was built by Cyrus Alexander on the property, and still remains to this day as a guest house.

As soon as you enter Darling Wines you feel a little like you’ve walked into Greece. The whole winery gives off blue and white, beach-y, Santorini vibes. You can tell this winery focuses on every single detail from the glasses to the merch…everything fits the vibe.

Even the wine passes the vibe check! The wine bottles focus on every little thing. For example each wine label is color coded based on where the wine was grown. The dark green labels come from Mendocino county (where there’s lots of trees), and the blue labels come from the coast (where there’s lots of water). But that’s not where the details end, each label also has a topography map indicating exactly where the wine was grown. AND there’s a notch on the front of each label to signify Ireland (where the Darling patriarch was from) and a notch on the back of each label to signify the family’s move from the east coast to the west coast.

But wait, there’s more…the wine itself was actually pretty good. But the favorite of the trip? The 2023 Gamay Noir which was light and fruity, and just delicious!

Fun fact: Did you know that wine labels can lie about the alcohol percentage in a bottle? The TTB (the government agency in charge of regulating wine labels) doesn’t actually check what the alcohol percentage is so most wineries aren’t that accurate with that part of the labeling process. Not Darling Wines though, they want to make sure every bottle has the true percentage on it so they test very carefully.

Sebastiani Vineyards has a reputation for being one of the oldest wineries in California. The winery was started by Samuel Sebastiani in 1904 and is famous for being one of the very few wineries to survive prohibition (what’s up Catholic Church, we see you!).

Of even more historical importance, this winery was the first to plant Cabernet grapes north of San Francisco. You heard that right, not Napa, famous for their cabs, but Sonoma. Unfortunately that’s where their fame in winemaking ends. The wine just wasn’t that good. We were even able to try a $500 bottle of Cherry Block, but still not good (money isn’t everything). Sorry Sebastiani, I’m unimpressed.

Wellington Cellars aka the brother winery to VJB is an easy second stop after VJB or anything else in the Kenwood area. Now, you might be thinking “don’t you usually call them sister wineries?” And the answer is yes, for example Korbel and Sonoma Cutrer are sister wineries, as are Sequoia Grove and Domaine Chandon. I’ve never thought much about it but everything is always referred to in the feminine in wine. But Wellington and VJB have a legitimate reason to be called “brother” wineries. The Belmonte family (you might render VJB was named in honor of brother Victor Joseph Belmonte) purchased Wellington winery and yet again honored that sibling bond between Henry and Victor by referring to it as a brother winery. Prior to the Belmonte family purchasing Wellington, the winery was owned by the father son team John and Peter Wellington. All in all the family vibe is strong in this place!

I will say, the wine was fairly good at Wellington. The 2021 Estate Vin de Campagne (not to be confused with champagne) was pretty good. It was also a Bordeaux 5, which is a fun way of saying it had all 5 major varietals of the Bordeaux region in it. The 2021 Estate Zinfandel was also really good. It was spicy, but not spicy in the way wine normally is…spicy like spicy food (which I can’t get enough of)! And last but not least the Late Harvest Chardonnay was delicious (and what we purchased), it was sweet like honey but tasted crisp in the end so it wasn’t too overpowering.

But the best part of our tasting? Our server! Not only did he give us food pairing options for each wine, he gave us movie pairing options!!! If you want to know what wines pair best with Casablanca or Top Gun this is 100% the winery for you!

When Sbragia calls themselves a family vineyard they mean it. We were greeted by the son as we walked in, the father (and creator) came and talked to us during our tasting and even the daughter was hanging around with her kids. And if that wasn’t enough they want you to feel like family too. They are an incredibly friendly family and all in all it was a pleasant experience.

On top of the great service we also had a great view. We could see the entire Dry Creek Valley from the tasting room on top of the hill.

But of course, we can’t forget about the wine. The La Promessa Zinfandel was the star of the night. But the doctor also deserves an honorable mention. You heard that right, doctor, Dr. Andelson Cabernet that is.

Sad story time, VJB stands for Victor Joseph Belmonte. You might think that’s the owner but it’s not. Henry Belmonte once had a brother with a dream of owning a winery. When Victor died Henry honored him by naming the winery after him. And to make a sad story sadder one of the wineries best wines Dante, was named after the son that could have been but never was.

But this family won’t let sadness stop them! The wine at VJB is amazing. Starting with the fruity Gabriela Chardonnay (which in sticking with tradition is named after Henry’s daughter…no sad story there), moving on to the Rosso Family Blend which is also good and fruit forward. Add to that the Barbera, the licorice flavored Aglianico, and the aforementioned banana flavored Dante and you have a winner in wine in my opinion.

And of course I can’t forget the space! They have both indoor and outdoor tastings which are always beautifully decorated. And they have a full on deli making it the perfect winery to go to around lunchtime.

Muscardini Cellars was a fantastic winery to visit! Mainly because everything is my favorite price…free! The tasting was free (obviously), the cheese plate was free, with free refills, and there was even a free chocolate pairing.

What’s that? You want to hear about the wine? Well fine, the Muscardini family is Italian so of course all the wines were Italian. My favorite was the 2022 Pinot Grigio. But on top of the wine tasting (and the chocolate and cheese) we also got to try Grappa and Sweet Vermouth! Take a guess a which I liked better. Definitely the sweet vermouth!

Fun fact: the Muscardini tasting room doubles as a historical site, the home of Kenwood’s very first school house. As seen in pictures in the tasting room.