The Sonoma Vine | Sonoma Wineries and Vineyards: A Reference Blog

Posted by Steve Palmer on Jan 10, 2012

Holiday Wine Round up

As the new year begins I have been reflecting on the last few weeks and the holiday rush. With the rush comes parties with friends and family and lots of holiday wine drinking! Each time we shared a bottle, I had some great stories to tell either about the wine, where it came from or the people who had previously enjoyed it with me. This holiday season we shared a few wines that we brought from our trip...

Posted by Steve Palmer on Sep 30, 2011

Stryker Sonoma – Our Own Private #CabernetDay

One of the highlights of our trip to Sonoma was having our own private #CabernetDay at Stryker Sonoma Winery. Here’s the background on how we were treated to our private tasting by Brian Shapiro, Media/Marketing for Stryker Sonoma. We decided prior to leaving PA for Sonoma that we would try to attend the #CabernetDay event being held at Stryker Sonoma on September 1, 2011. We were going to meet many...

Posted by Steve Palmer on Sep 23, 2011

Sonoma Wine Country Weekend 2011

It has been two weeks since we returned from our vacation in Sonoma County. We have gone through our pictures, pamphlets, and all of that Visa Signature crap we accumulated during our trip. Visa is a great sponsor of Taste of Sonoma and Sonoma Wine Country Weekend but here’s a hint – we only need the wine glass lanyard! Of course we came away with wonderful memories of wine, Sonoma and many,...

Posted by Steve Palmer on Aug 30, 2011

2011 Sonoma Wine Vacation

My wife and I are leaving very early this Thursday (9/1/11) to take our second vacation of the year (and within a month!) Seems wrong somehow to pack two weeks of vacation in a three and a half week period. Hey, it’s Sonoma so it is so worth it! We plan to attend the 2011 Sonoma Wine Country Weekend, the 32nd annual Taste of Sonoma being held at MacMurray Ranch. This is going to be so great because...

Posted by Steve Palmer on Jun 1, 2011

John Tyler Wines | True Essence

John Tyler Wines, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, CA The story of John Tyler Wines begins in 1956 when Charles and Helen Bacigalupi purchased 121 acres on Westside Road. In the years following this purchase the Bacigalupis heeded the advice of several well respected growers, including Paul Heck, and planted Pinot Noir and Chardonnay . Originally serving the community as a dentist and a pharmacist,...

Posted by Steve Palmer on Jan 12, 2011

Interview: Trini Amador IV, Gracianna Winery

Does it seem as though every entrepreneur’s success story started in their garage? There are so many great stories of successful businesses that were born from the dimly lit, sometimes dusty comforts of the home-based laboratory. I would like to officially add Gracianna Winery to this growing list of successful enterprises. It was not all that long ago that Trinidad Amador IV (Trini), winemaker for...

Posted by Steve Palmer on Jun 1, 2010

Westside Road Wineries

Here is a list of wineries that make up the Westside Road wineries. These are all located along the Russian River with Mill Creek representing the northern most winery and Gary Farrell Winery being the southern most winery (or last one of the group as it may be). Two of the wineries are already featured on The Sonoma Vine: Arista Winery and Armida Winery. * Arista * Armida * C. Donatiello * Gary...

Posted by Steve Palmer on Mar 4, 2010

Sonoma Wineries: Buena Vista Carneros

Today we feature Buena Vista Carneros. I have talked about this winery before so I won’t rehash everything but this winery is the oldest commercial winery in CA! One visit to the winery and you will be hooked. During our visit to the winery we were very impressed with the staff; we had a great time with our server- he was knowledgeable and fun which really made the experience wonderful. The wines...