Going to San Francisco in October would like info on wineries

[wood1954]

My friend lives in Pacifica California and we plan on taking day trips to sightsee and of course visit wineries. Probably stick to one hundred miles of Pacifica, want to spend time in the mountains and along the coast. We need to do some research before we go, if anyone has any good experiences to share please do. Being frugal I’m not looking for expensive wine tasting fees. I was spoiled when we went to Washington state, most tastings were free if you bought some wine.

 

[ibglowin]

Stay out of Napa and surrounding areas if your looking for reasonable tasting fees. Go east to the Livermore, Lodi, etc or drive south a couple of hours to Paso Robles.

 

[Old Corker]

One consideration may be weather. The further east you go the hotter it will be. Lodi is forecasting 108 today.

 

[wood1954]

My friends wife is a wine drinker and is excited to help plan some trips, definitely want to go to Lodi.

 

[CDrew]

Stay out of Napa and surrounding areas if your looking for reasonable tasting fees. Go east to the Livermore, Lodi, etc or drive south a couple of hours to Paso Robles.

Mostly agree. Napa and much of main line Sonoma is stupid $ and traffic. Avoid. But in my recent experience, Central Coast like Paso Robles has gotten very pricey too. From the Bay Area, South Bay, Gilroy and Livermore still seem somewhat reasonable with enough wineries to keep you busy for weeks!. And, within 1 hour of Pacifica. IF you want to go north, Dry Creek Valley (in Sonoma County) is still somewhat reasonable and most places wave your tasting fee if you buy a bottle or two of wine. It's 90 or so miles north of Pacifica but a good visit. Lodi, even though it's 20 minutes away from me, I don't really know much about, but you'll likely find some good wine there at reasonable prices. Google maps says 96 miles from Pacifica so within your boundry.

If you can travel a bit, there are plenty of wineries in Amador and Eldorado that are still very reasonable and surprisingly good values. They are about 2 hours from the Bay Area depending on traffic. It would likely violate your 100 mile radius but keep it in mind.

 

[BarrelMonkey]

I can't recommend specific places since it's may years since I've been there, but Santa Cruz mountains are close to Pacifica and have (or at least had) many nice wineries. David Bruce used to be one of my go-to places for pinot noir. Added bonus -beautiful drive down Highway 1 and maybe return along skyline blvd (Hwy 35). There are also wineries just SW of San Jose (not sure if these fall within the santa cruz mountains area) - I think Ridge has an outpost there way up on the, well, mountain ridge if you're a fan of their wines. Another one is Picchetti - small family winery, I remember getting a lovely chardonnay from them, though again that was probably at least 15-20 years ago.

ETA: Wineries Archive - Wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains

 

[wood1954]

I’ll print out this thread and go over it once we get to Pacifica, thanks everyone, I’ll put together a report when I get back.

 

[GSMChris]

I’d also suggest heading to the Santa Lucia Highlands in the Salinas Valley - towns like Greenfield. excellent Pinot and Chardonnay. Carmel Valley village - about another 30 minutes from Salinas and where I used to live - has a cluster of about 20 wine rooms all within walking distance of one another.

As I now live down here, I‘d also suggest the drive to Paso - many of the wineries waive the tasting fees with a bottle purchase. There are 300 plus wineries down here and with a little research it’s easy to avoid those that charge. I would say it is probably more like a 3 -4 hour drive to Paso from Pacifica.

 

[Snafflebit]

Plenty of places to taste if you don’t want to drive too far.

The view from the Ridge winery is worth the trip, it is a bit twisty.

Across the bay to the east is Livermore with plenty of wineries big and small. I like the funky Rodrigue Molyneaux. Wente is fine. Fenestra, Nottingham, Murietta’s Well. I worked at Big White House, You will be plenty busy. Uncle Yu’s At the Vineyard Chinese restaurant has an amazing wine list and flights.

These wineries do not require a reseervation

 

[Clover]

You have received great tips here, but one I can add is to check online before visiting wineries to see if reservations are required. When we visited Napa and Sonoma two years ago, we found that every winery required reservations. We missed out on some we wanted to try as a result of not doing enough research, but were still able to taste fantastic wines at wineries with available openings during our visit. Some of the tastings can be pricey, too, in excess of $50 per person.

 

[BarrelMonkey]

You have received great tips here, but one I can add is to check online before visiting wineries to see if reservations are required. When we visited Napa and Sonoma two years ago, we found that every winery required reservations.

It's always a good idea to call ahead and see if they need reservations (and/or are too busy to take walk-ins). But 2 years ago we were still in the midst of the pandemic, and in most wine country counties all tasting was mandated to be outdoors and by reservation only. I'm sure that many places have relaxed their rules by now.

 

[gilroyca]

Santa Clara County (Gilroy, Morgan Hill and the hills above the valley.)
Calerrain Winery for some great all around wines with a quaint and very friendly back yard setting. Geoff the owner and winemaker is very friendly
J Winston Winery for a very different but good tasting.
Alara Cellars has a tasting room in Morgan Hill and Janeu (the winemaker and owner) is super friendly. Easy on the eyes too!
Verde Vineyards in Gilroy has quite a following.
Ridge in Saratoga is great and has some excellent atmosphere.
Thomas Fogarty on Skyline Drive in Woodside is nice. I haven't been in years but it used to be great. Tastings are a little more $$
Martin Ranch Winery and Fernwood are practically next door to each other and both have beautiful sites with good wines.

I'm sure that I have forgotten many but these are close to Pacifica and small enough to be affordable and fun!

By the way, most of these have free tastings if you buy wine.

 

[rahulbr]

I live in San Francisco, make wine each year from grapes I pick or get from Oak Barrel Winecraft in Berkeley, and can personally recommend the places below. @wood1954 please message me if any questions at all! Your posts on Marquette and much else have been really helpful, as I'm growing a bunch of that back home in Michigan. Hope these ideas make your trip even more enjoyable.

• Acorn Winery in Healdsburg: Field blend reds with a heavy presence of Italian grapes (Sangiovese, Dolcetto, Mammolo, Canaiolo, etc.) as well as single varietal Syrah, Sangiovese, Dolcetto, etc, a Rose of the field blend if any left, and a hodge podge of aromatic whites (Alvarinho, Kerner, etc.). Bill and Betsy are very friendly people, I apprenticed with them, they have 100+ year old vines planted by Italian immigrants with all sorts of varieties you'd never expect to find in CA, and they're off the beaten path in Sonoma but close to Healdsburg town driving-wise. Make sure to book ahead, it'll be just you and them, maybe a handful of others at most. Tasting fee per person is waived if you buy a bottle, IIRC: ACORN Winery
• Cline: this is an easy drive up from SF, right before the crowds in Sonoma town. Good wines to try there are any of their ancient vines series (also 100+ year old vines, interesting red varietals). I got married here and my wife and I both loved the grounds, just as a pleasant place to walk around (the old Sonoma Mission and Chapel are reconstructed there) and relax. Yes, there are crowds, but no it won't be terrible. Tasting fees are there unfortunately.
• Beltane Ranch: they make very interesting Zinfandels, are all organic and regeneratively-farmed, and were one of the first wineries established in the area with French varietals. Lots of animals at the farm, olive oil production too, and friendly people. They're in Glen Ellen town, between Sonoma and Santa Rosa along a more country road.
• Oak Barrel: a homebrew and winemaking shop in Berkeley that features wines from local winemakers, from time to time. Homer Smith is the professor emeritus of winemaking there and helped many a winemaker in the Napa and Sonoma areas get their start. Only if you happen to be driving by Berkeley and are curious.
• Ridge: in Saratoga as gilroyca mentioned, or you can go to the one in Healdsburg. Most of their wines use natural yeast, they do slow fermentation, and they were one of the wineries that turned the tables at the Judgment of Paris. I bet their location in the South Bay is less crowded. Tasting fees are there sadly and it will likely be crowded and fancy but it's very good wine and their process is interesting.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[rahulbr]

PS avoid Napa! It'll be crazy. And in Sonoma county, time it so you get there early and avoid Sonoma town proper and Santa Rosa as well. Just head towards Healdsburg, then explore small wineries around there. Or in Glen Ellen area. Sonoma town is bad traffic and crowds wise, Napa county as a whole is pretty terrible too in terms of crowds and traffic.