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