Porter Creek Vineyards: Tasting Review

If you like to get off the beaten track a little and sample some superb wine in an intimate, friendly setting, Porter Creek Vineyards is just about the perfect destination.

Porter Creek Vineyards is a very small operation, easy to miss, with a “tasting room” that is more of a large shed, located around the corner from the main house. This feels more like Anderson Valley than Napa. My last visit was about five years ago, when they were offering superb pinot noirs from two vineyards that flank the tasting area, in addition to a crisp chardonnay. The pinots and chards still have the dominant position at Porter Creek, but the addition of syrah, carignane and viognier makes for a much richer tasting portfolio. I found all five wines to be excellent examples of each varietal; based on a barrel tasting of the forthcoming syrah, it looks like things are poised to get even better.

A large part of what makes tasting at Porter Creek one of the best tasting experiences around is the host, who has perfected the craft of mixing pouring with story-telling and light entertainment, all the while providing the customer with as much or as little information about wine as they desire. I also get a sense that the tasting menu is whatever suits the fancy of the host and makes sense for the customer. This is my kind of place.

Tasting Overview:

Wine: A-
Experience: A
Setting: B+
Extras:
Overall: A-

Pros: High quality wines, in an interesting assortment. While syrah is becoming more popular in the area, carignane is an inspired choice for something different, the viognier is among the best I have tasted of that varietal recently, and blending 10% viognier with the syrah softens some of the edges and adds some mystery to the nose.

Cons: None to speak of, unless you prefer the high end, corporate wine experience. These wines are not inexpensive, but you they are definitely a good value. Finally, Porter Creek is off the beaten track, but that is a plus for me.

Bottom line: One of my favorite Sonoma tasting experiences – and improving. Great wine; great fun.


Quick Facts:

• Winery Location: Healdsburg, California
• Apellation(s): Russian River Valley
  
• Production: 3,500 cases
• Wines
  
• Map and Directions

Iron Horse Vineyards: Tasting Review

For several years I was a member of the wine club at Iron Horse Vineyards, eventually opting out because the backlog of sparkling wines in my wine cellar quickly started to outstrip my ability to consume them at the pace they arrived. Now I know that sparkling wines don’t require that they be accompanied by a celebration, but when we started pretending to celebrate, the second Tuesday in June, the arrival of a new moon, and fractional wedding anniversaries, it was obvious that it was time for us to call it quits. For what it’s worth, our pourer at the winery advised us that the wine club now has multiple membership options, including one that limits shipments to still wines.

Since it had been about 5 years since I had last tasted at Iron Horse, I was curious to see how other things had changed. What stuck in my mind about tasting at Iron Horse were four things:

• The beautiful setting, with almost Tuscan rolling hills falling away from the winery
• An outdoor tasting experience that takes advantage of the setting
• This was the place where I first had the first American sangiovese that bowled me over
• A wide variety of consistently high quality wines

So how did the present compare to my recollection?

Tasting Overview:

Wine: B
Experience: B+
Setting: A-
Extras:
Overall: B

Pros: The setting and the outdoor tasting are intact, making for the perfect pairing with a sunny day. I also liked that I had the opportunity to taste still wines only or sparkling wines only. There is still an excellent selection of wines, including a recently added viognier and sauvignon blanc blended with 10% viognier.

Cons: The sangiovese was undistinguished. The rest of the wines may have been better than average, but not compelling enough for us to start filling up a case box. Finally, I was stunned to see that the $10 tasting fee would not be applied to any purchases. Is this an idea that has been borrowed from Napa?

Bottom line: This was one of the few times I can recall not purchasing any wines when I tasted at the winery. Part of my disappointment was clearly the result of high expectations. Despite my experience, I would still highly recommend this winery for an opportunity to taste a wide variety of very good wines in a top notch outdoor setting.

Quick Facts:

• Winery Location: Sebastopol, California
• Apellation(s): Green Valley, Russian River Valley
• Production: 38,000 cases
• Wines
• Map and Directions