Explore the top Santa Rosa wineries with this guide, which highlights the area’s must-visit destinations and reflects on current trends in the wine industry. The article showcases a selection of wineries renowned for their quality and innovation, offering experiences from intimate tastings amidst the vine-covered landscapes to educational tours that provide insights into sustainable practices shaping the industry. Each winery encapsulates a blend of traditional methods and modern techniques, making Santa Rosa a pivotal spot for anyone keen to engage with Northern California’s evolving wine culture.
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How Many Wineries Are In Santa Rosa?
It isn’t all that easy to say how many Santa Rosa wineries there actually are. Many of the wineries fall outside the official boundaries, and some extend into other regions, even though they are technically quite close. If looking at Sonoma County as a larger area, there are around 425 wineries near Santa Rosa, or in the County as a larger area. This certainly makes this particular Sonoma Valley wineries region one of the winery hotspots of the country.
What Is The Largest Winery In Santa Rosa?
The Vintage Wine Estates is the largest of the Santa Rosa wineries. In 2019, this particular winery produced 2 million cases of wine, a staggering amount. The largest winery in California as a whole is the Tesla group, who in 2019 produced an incredible 50 million cases of wine. The Vintage Wine Estates own 3,200 acres of land, and are best known for their cabernets, chardonnays, and also their pinot noir.
What Is The Oldest Winery In Santa Rosa?
The Buena Vista Winery is one of the top wineries near Santa Rosa that was founded way back in 1857, and as such is likely the oldest winery in this region.
What Wine Is Santa Rosa Known For?
At the best wineries in Santa Rosa, the wines this region is known for is fairly varied. However, perhaps the best-known wines in this region are Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet, Chardonnay, and also the Pinot Noir variety of wine.
DeLoach Vineyards
The outdoor setting and seating at the Deloach Vineyards are quite beautiful, especially when the flowers are in bloom. The gardens are well manicured and are quite varied. In particular, their Theater of Nature is wonderful to walk through and really get a breath of air and feel at peace. The setting still remains quite classy, and they offer some wonderful wines too. Patrons can taste their Pinot Noir, and also their Zinfandel, and then enjoy some leisurely time in the Biodynamic Garden Walk.
Opening Hours: Wed – Sun, 10am – 4pm
Hook & Ladder Winery
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The Hook and Ladder Winery has a different offering to many of the other larger wineries, offering a limited-production run of wines, which are all produced from their Russian River Valley vineyards. The Hook & Ladder Winery, one of the Santa Rosa wineries, was founded in 2003 and has gone from strength to strength ever since.
Opening Hours: 10am – 4:30pm, Tuesday closed
Siduri Winery
What sets this winery apart as one of the best wineries in Santa Rosa is that it is actually located inside a warehouse. When coming for a tasting, patrons are able to taste 6 of the Pinot Noir wines on offer. However, there are typically up to 25 different varieties of Pinot Noir that can be purchased at the tasting rooms, making it a really popular stop off for all Pinot Noir enthusiasts.
The prices of these wines vary a great deal, from low prices to much higher, obviously depending on the quality of the wine, and also its availability. Patrons can mention when they arrive what specific flavours they enjoy in a wine, and Siduri will often be able to find something perfectly suited to your palate. The Siduri Winery is an excellent choice of tasting room to visit.
Opening Hours: 10am – 4:30pm
Romilly Wines
Of the wineries near Santa Rosa, the most popular wine to try at the Romililly Winery is the Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. They have fairly recently opened a new tasting room, which is found inside one of the oldest buildings that exist at the Historic Railway Square.
The tasting room can only accommodate a maximum of 6 patrons at a time, and guests do need to book well in advance for this, one of the best wineries in Santa Rosa. This small tasting room makes for very intimate and cosy tasting sessions, and also allows you to learn some really interesting things during the tasting. Once you have had your tasting, downstairs is an amazing coffee shop called the Flying Goat Coffee, which offers some really good coffee.
Opening Hours: Closed at present
Inman Family Wines
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The owner of the Inman Family Wines prides herself on completely running the farm herself. This includes running the organic and natural winemaking process, driving the farm tractor, and then also running the tasting room, and discussing the Inman Family wines with guests. There is accommodation available at this winery, which includes an option for breakfast, and also an option of making your own dinner after picking vegetables from the organic vegetable garden. While the wine at this farm is not the cheapest, the quality is very good, and there are a number of delicious wines on offer. Certainly worth a visit if you are looking for a different type of wine tasting experience.
Opening Hours: Thursday – Saturday, 11am – 4pm
There are a wide variety of Santa Rosa wineries to choose from. With so many options to pick from in the broader area, it is worth doing some research beforehand. Some of the wineries are open to the public every day and have big tasting rooms available.
Many of the others are much smaller, and typically a reservation in advance is required, particularly during the high season. Of course, there is no reason why you can take a drive on the weekend, and just stop in at whatever winery catches your eye. By visiting a new winery on each visit, you are likely to discover new flavours and new varieties of wine and experience something new.
Born amidst the rolling vineyards of Napa Valley, Chloe’s love for wine was instilled from a young age. This passion led her to the picturesque wine regions of France, where she immersed herself in the rich wine culture and traditions.
Chloe’s dedication to the craft culminated in her becoming a wine sommelier, a testament to her deep knowledge and appreciation for wines.