Day 5 - Heldsberg/Dry Creek If you are planning to visit Napa Valley, CA (one of the greatest wine regions in the world), then let The Wine Snob show you the way with The Wine Tour Series. Should you be traveling in the Napa Valley vicinity this series will assist you with deciding which wineries to visit. You are provided with three to five recommended wineries,with contacts and within close proxcimity to visit. Enough for one day of fun. Alderbrook Vineyards & Winery 2306 Magnolia Drive Healdsburg, CA 95448 Ph: (707) 433-9154 Fax: (707) 433-1862 Toll-free: (800) 655-3838 Winery Hours: Daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

The Wine Snob 4th Annual Blind Zinfandel Tasting Vintage 1999 Spring Blanc! Tasting Report Visit my brother's site, Kevin: Hair Dresser to the Stars! www.themanething.com This would be an area for secondary navigation

Always a lively place, the staff was fun and the wine was good also. Unfortunately, the best wines were sold out, however the variety was pretty impressive. There are wines for all palettes and for all occasions. All the wines were of satisfactory quality and the prices are generally reasonable. Favorite Wine - DorothyÕs Vineyard Chardonnay

Nalle Winery

2383 Dry Creek Road
Healdsburg, CA 95448
Ph:(707) 433-1040 Fax:(707) 433-6062
Winery Hours: By appointment only

Doug Nalle Doug, the one man show at Nalle winery, is an incredibly pleasant and fun man. The winery is small and unmarked to the public, however, it is self sufficient to include a basketball court, provided the barrels are not stacked to the net! DougÕs wine making passion is to develop a wine that coincides with his style and palette, he wants to make wine that he likes to drink - go figure! Therefore, Doug only makes one wine, zinfandel, and he strives to share it with others (at a reasonable price of course!). He certainly achieves his quest each year with one outstanding zin after another. Despite limited production and the one man show, DougÕs zin is distributed all over the world. Only nature is responsible for imposing on DougÕs ability to transform his great grapes into great wine! When enjoying a bottle of DougÕs wine take notice of his labels as they provide a great extension of his humor through great cartoons! Favorite Wine - Zinfandel

De Loach Vineyards 1791 Olivet Road Santa Rosa, CA 95401 Ph: (707)526-9111 Fax: (707)526-4151 Winery Hours: Daily 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m Michelle Although the tour was very nice and the staff hospitable, our intentions for visiting DeLoach were to experience some of their Zinfandels. Much to our dismay, zins are tasted only once per year in October (this year Oct 25). The other wines were nice, but the zins are their flagship and DeLoach would not have been on the tour schedule if it were known that the zins were unavailable. The OFS Pinot Noir was very nice (they did not taste the OFS Cab either). Despite the poor taste selection (no zins), the Cabernet Cuve' was a fun wine for a basic table wine and a fair value. Favorite Wine - Cabernet Sauvignon Cuve'

Preston Vineyards

9282 W. Dry Creek Road Healdsburg, CA 95448
Ph: (707) 433-3372 Fax: (707) 433-5307
Winery Hours: Daily 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

You will certainly understand the logic behind the name "dry creek". Preston sits right alongside a bone dry creek, but once inside your palette is continuous hydrated with a large variety of European style wines. They offer a Cuveˇ de Fumˇ, Viognier, Marsanne, Le Petite Faux, Faux, Mourv¸rde, Zin & Cab! All are very nice wines with the "Yummy" designation assigned to the Viognier and the Faux. The Viognier is the traditional style of this Varietal and one of the better ones to come out of California, it offers lots of peaches, honeysuckle, floral flavors with a spicy oak finish! The favorite is the Faux which is more of the C™tes du Rh™ne style, with a medium body, full flavor of fruit and a touch of black pepper! Although the distinction of specific fruit is not obvious, the medley and balance is delightful! Favorite Wine - Faux

Meeker Vineyards

9711 W. Dry Creek Road Healdsburg, CA 95448
Ph: (707) 431-2148 Fax: (707) 431-2549
Winery Hours: Daily 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Matthew The return to the Meeker tee-pee was again fun and casual. This unique tasting room is hosted by a non-pretentious pourer. Wines available this visit did not include any whites, however, there were 5 reds that were well worth the trip. Included in the tasting lineup were Ō96 Pool Sharks (zin blend), Õ95 Zin, 93 Cab, 95 Cab, 95 4 Kings (Bordeaux blend). The 95 zin was "Yummy", a traditional style zin with big fruit and complexity. The 95 Four Kings is a clear favorite with a generous robust style featuring lots of berries and other fruit dancing on the taste buds. This winery is probably the best value offering in the area. Favorite Wine - Four Kings

Day 1- Napa/Yountville Tour

Day 2 - Alexander Valley Tour

Day 3 - St. Helena Tour

Day 4 - Rutherford/Calistoga Tour

Day 5 - Heldsberg/Dry Creek Tour

Day 6 - Oakville Tour

Back to the Top