Haven't actually visited the winery, but tried a number of Chiarito's wines, poured by the…read morewinemaker at a recent dinner at Scopa in Healdsburg. Scopa has "Winemaker Wednesdays" in which it invites local winemakers to pour their product by the glass, 1/2 bottle or bottle, and talk about their wine. We tried a number of Chiarito's wines, including the Zin and the Nero D'Avola, which is apparently a Silician wine. It was lush, inky, and just a bit different than anything I'd ever tasted. Will definitely have to visit Chiarito the next time I'm in the area!

I spent some time in Rome in the past year and ate most nights with my friends in the same fabulous…read morerestaurant in Rome that is also an enoteca or wine bar. We tried a Sicilian Nero d'Avola the first night and ordered it again every night of our stay. It was thus a great pleasure indeed to try Chiarito's Nero d"Avola and experience another take on Nero d"Avola, the black grape of Sicily. Chiarito's is to die for - in fact one of the most famous chefs in Sicily (and all of Italy) also carries it on his wine list - amazing. It's grown organically (although not certified) and dry farmed - yet another reason to love this wine. I've bought a case recently of both the Negroamaor and the Nero d'Avola and will certainly be going back for more! The winery is not really open for tours but is a very wonderful place to visit. The wine club has a great party each year!

Came here on a day when we were one of two parties in the whole place. Staff = pretentious or just…read morerude. Unsure which but the gal took forever to bring the next wine and acted like she did not want us there. Wine = phenomenal. Would brave the staff to get another bottle. Ambiance = gorgeous, especially the outdoor patio. Ran into a lovely couple who lived in my hometown (wife was from the same area) and ended up haveing a wonderful time talking to them. So, our experience was excellent but not due to the staff in any way.

White Pinot?! What?!…read more Maggy Hawk is a recently-opened Pinot House, part of Jackson Family Wines, and they make a White Pinot! We were a big group so just bought bottles to share. Next time I'll do a full tasting! What I tried and enjoyed: JOLIE PINOT NOIR "Expressive, silky, and refined. Jolie is an elegantly transparent Pinot Noir that opens with light-footed red fruit and rhubarb, then blooms into bright raspberry, strawberry and floral notes." - from website WHITE PINOT NOIR ANDERSON VALLEY, CALIFORNIA "A unique combination of aromatics: white peach, jasmine, Meyer lemon, rose petal, blood orange and wet stone. An entirely original and truly beautiful sensory experience." - from website The White Pinot was so unique and refreshing on a hot day! Give it a try! Maggy Hawk is located in Philo, in beautiful Anderson Valley, across the street from The Madrones (a small compound of guest rooms, a boutique, tasting rooms, and a restaurant). We had a delicious lunch at Wickson, at The Madrones, then crossed the street to meet friends at Maggy Hawk. They have bocce courts and some seating in the front, more seating and a small bar inside the cozy tasting room, and tables and a pizza oven on their back patio. I look forward to returning to do a full tasting, hopefully when they're making pizzas! Cheers and thanks for the warm hospitality!

Know the difference between Cognac & Brandy? By the very simplest of definitions, Cognac is Brandy…read more Though, to be a Cognac, a Brandy has to be produced only in an authorized region of France & it has to be produced in accordance with specific rules & regulations. For more, check out the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognac Beyond the literal definitions of Cognac & Brandy, there's also the likely perception that Cognacs are superior to Brandies. Just go down the liquor aisle of any major supermarket. The Cognacs stocked on the shelves are probably higher quality (& more expensive) than the Brandies. & maybe, to a certain extent, Cognacs do tend to be better than Brandies. But that most definitely is not the case with Germain-Robin Brandies. It's not surprising, really. G-R has its roots in Cognac. Instead of France, however, they're in Northern California. This is key. Rather than be bound by Old World dogma, following all those rules & regulations on how to make Cognac, G-R does what we crazy Californians have done all along. Defy convention. Experiment. Innovate. All with incredible effect. G-R Brandies have beaten much pricier Cognacs in blind tastings. I've been a huge fan of G-R's story, philosophy & Brandy for well over a decade now. So when I got the email invite for a tour of their distillery along with some old & rare tastings, I did not hesitate. 1 cheerful phone call later & my place on the tour/ tastings was reserved. The distillery is not easy to find. GPS Nav will only take you so far. You have to keep going down Bel Arbres Dr., past the sign that says private road & look for the driveway on the right. After the short driveway, there's a large gravel parking lot. The building housing the distillery, a squat steel structure, isn't much to look at. It's what's inside that counts. Through the entrance, it's immediately evident that G-R's got some major wood. French Oak barrels fill an expansive, open, high ceiling room, stacked floor to ceiling & wall to wall. Our small tour group congregated near the center of the barrel room until the tour started. Our tour guide, Ansley Coale, is 1 of the guys who got this whole thing started. We started in a side room with the still. There, we got a detailed rundown on the distillation process. After, back where we gathered earlier, the old & rare tastings got underway. & by old & rare, I mean carefully selected/ blended Brandies aged up to 30 years. Everything I tasted was absolutely exquisite. My personal favorite, the GR/30, is the single best spirit, any spirit, I've ever tasted. Amazing. Mind-blowing. While I didn't pony up the $$$$ to get a bottle of GR/30 that day, I reconsider that decision almost every day. It's that good. I'm thinking I need to get it sooner or later. Thank you Ansley Coale & all the folks at Germain-Robin for a great tour of your distillery & some of the finest tastings of my entire life. I've been a huge fan for a long time. Getting to visit the wellspring from which all your astounding elixirs flow was truly special for me.

Dog friendly and a true treat! The staff here are awesome and it is a wonderful spot for anyone…read moretruly serious and appreciative of an outstanding collection of diverse spirits. It was a memorable tasting experience and we respect their art of creating superior treats!!!

Family-run winery that invites you into their home for private, by-appointment tastings!…read more I was recommended this winery by a friend and scheduled an appointment by emailing the owners directly. Molly's response was prompt and I had my tasting appointment scheduled within the hour! *Note: they only accept appointments on Fridays and Saturdays* Upon arrival, you pass through the property's outer gate and are instantly welcomed by the fuzziest welcome comity, the family's golden retriever Brit! Just continue driving slowly towards the tasting room - the pup knows to stay clear of your vehicle. The tasting is $30/person, waived for every 3 bottles purchased, and includes 4 wines. Their tasting boasts wines from a selection of vineyards across Mendocino Ridge, and the four I sampled on this particular visit included: 2021 Valenti Ranch Viognier 2022 Valenti Ranch Pinot Noir 2021 Faite De Mer Farm Field Selections Pinot Noir 2021 Perli Vineyard Syrah They utilize native yeast fermentation, a traditional method that allows the grapes to express a sense of terrior and spontaneity! I enjoy exploring cold-climate syrahs, and purchased a bottle of their Perli Vineyard Syrah to share with a friend. We drank half the bottle that first night, enjoying the deep rich purple fruits and soft minerality of the cool climate syrah. Unfortunately, this wine is meant to be imbibed immediately! By the second day, the wine had already oxidized and we did not finish the bottle. Still a fun experience and nice wines, just be sure you will finish the bottle before opening!

Focus. Commitment. Dedication. Grit. These are words we often associate with competitive athletics…read moreor high stakes business, not the elegant and refined world of fine wine. Maybe we still recall these words being thrown in our faces by angry parents or exasperated teachers who instructed us to invest our time wisely in something of lasting value rather than fritter it away on short-term, sometimes even self-destructive, thrills. When many of us set off on wine tasting adventures, we don't want to be reminded of how much hard work went into the contents of each glass, or to be told a true but humbling story of how it took decades of work digging, grafting, pruning, and pressing before the secrets of the vine begin to unveil themselves and the critics finally began to take notice. Why not surround oneself with light-hearted romance instead? Why not fantasize, as Robert Mondavi and his second wife, Margrit, once encouraged wine drinkers to do, about the pleasures of the Good Life in pleasure-soaked places like Napa? Well, for one, as the folks here at Drew might tell you if you asked them directly about it, all of those things are exaggerations and outright lies, even if some of them might be well intentioned. Wine making is artful, to be sure, but it's not art. It's work, and lots of it. This doesn't make the contents of the glass any less pleasurable and worthwhile. In fact, the wine takes on more meaning and seems more expressive if you sense how much inspired effort went into its production, without actually having to do all that hard work yourself. Drew wines are like that. They are crafted primarily from higher elevation vineyards above Anderson Valley with complex, uplifted seabed soils and cooling ocean breezes. They are grown from cuttings selected from high-quality heritage vineyards in California, from so-called suitcase clones smuggled in from Europe, or from clones rigorously selected and certified by viticultural experts at UC-Davis. The vineyards are tended in ways that minimize their impact on the environment using organic and no-till methods, and the wines are made using a similar set of hands-on but non-invasive techniques that are designed to showcase the quality of harvested fruit and unique mineral content of the soils in which they were cultivated. The resulting wines are not cult collectibles that command mind-bindingly high prices that only the elite can afford. Instead, they are priced accessibly given the production and labor costs involved and open to all who arrange ahead of time for $15 tastings at Drew's modest but attractively styled space in the Madrones resort, restaurant, and shopping complex between the small Anderson Valley towns of Boonville and Philo. Drew is a tiny independent operation that relies on club memberships, restaurant sales, and word-of-mouth recommendations to stay viable. In a wine world largely controlled by well capitalized conglomerates like Constellation, Gallo, Jackson Family Wines, and LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), on the one hand, or by wealthy vineyard and winery owners, on the other, it is important to remember that the majority of wine industry professionals, like those who run Drew, have dedicated years of their lives to improving wine quality and catering to the needs of a diversifying wine enthusiast public. They don't set out to shape the wine buying habits of the masses or try to place their limited annual production of wines at Costco or Trader Joe's in the sub-$20 price range. Their goals are different and far more ambitious. When you taste a Drew Chardonnay, Pinot, Syrah, or Rhone varietal blend, they don't assault your senses or flaunt their abundant attributes, but they aren't lean, austere, or stingy wines, either. They have multiple facets to their highly individualized personalities. They are models of poise, precision, balance, structure, and restraint. And they taste, smell, and feel the way that site-specific grape varietals are supposed to do if tended properly while they grow in the ground, are harvested from the vine, and then left to ferment and age in the cellar until they are ready for release. Like all good and lasting relationships, Drew wines likely will take time to get to know well. But if they make a connection with you, as a wine drinker, it will also be immediate, intense, and obvious, like love at first sight. You will never know if you don't visit. Will you take that risk? My advice? Roll those dice. Fork over the $15. It may change the way you think about wine. If not, there is always Long Meadow Ranch's tasting room right next door with a Napa Valley wine or two with which to comfort you.

We were generously gifted a certificate for a wine tasting & tour of the estate by a friend &…read morefinally had the chance to visit this weekend. Lichen estate is fairly small and quite far for us coming from the city but was well worth the drive! My husband & I took my mom here on this beautiful Saturday afternoon. Shawn was very knowledgable & welcoming! We took a seat outside on one of the picnic tables & Shawn brought the wine out to us. Left with a few bottles for ourselves & family and friends. Would recommend bring a small snack to pair with your wine or enjoy a little lunch on the estate. This was our first time visiting Anderson Valley so Shawn recommended Jumbo Win Win down the road for a quick lunch. Fantastic recommendation!

Great bubbles! Came…read moreby just after opening for a tasting ($25/person). I was very impressed with their sparkling wines. The Blanc de Noir was my favorite of the tasting. The Moonglow Pinot Noirs were ok, but not my preference. Love their label and Karen, the hospitality manager, is lovely. Worth a taste if you find yourself driving through Anderson valley!

Helpful and friendly staff. excellent food and wine. Lovely grounds- great views from the patio.read more

I visited last year and loved it. Went back on a special trip, wayyyy out of our way this past…read moreTuesday and everything said open including a sign on the road which read "Open- Walk ins welcome" Went inside. No one. Waited for 20 to 30 mins. Walked around. Called the phone number. The lights were on and the music playing but not a soul on the property inside or out. Very strange. They also don't sell any of their wines locally so I couldn't buy anything sadly. Wine is good but like wtf?

Great representation of Anderson Valley pinots!…read more Made a tasting reservation for a group of 4 at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon. While we were tasting, a few walk-ins dropped in, but otherwise, it was fairly quiet and had lots of time to talk wine with Mark! In my opinion, the Pinots were an excellent representation of the best Anderson Valley has to offer! Weir and Oppenlander are two of my favorite vineyards, with classic umami and strawberry plum notes characteristic.of the region. I was unfamiliar with Langley vineyard, but it was also a delicious Pinot with more of a bing cherry cola flavor. Overall, we enjoyed Mark's company and local wine knowledge as well as the wines themselves. Our group ended up purchasing 3 bottles - one each of the pinot noir! Worth a visit if you're in Anderson Valley wine tasting!

I'm a big fan of this winery! Phil has been making wine for years and honing his craft over the…read moreseasons! If you get the chance to try his wines will be well worth your time!

We were driving through town on our way to Mendocino and stopped at a place called Jumbo's Win Win…read morefor a bite. Jumbo's has awesome food and my honey had a glass of Scharffwnberfer brut. We were talking about buying a bottle as we pulled out, and the tasing room was right next door!! We stopped in and shared a tasting. Our server, Sam, was awesome. Great selection of bubbles. Of course we became members!!! We will be back!

Dog friendly, kid friendly, relaxing ambiance, great service, friendly, welcoming, and delicious…read moresparkling wine are just some of the ways I would describe Scharffenberger. I can't believe so many negative reviews from over a decade ago have brought the overall rating of this place down. I have never had a bad experience here and will continue to visit every time I'm in the Philo region.