Sterling Albert Winery

Having a red from the cupboard, reading the label and surprised to see its from Concord! Good stuff!

Great host. Really knowledgeable and passionate A good number or tastes for the price. It’s a good deal.
Small tasting room but with the visit. Don’t miss if you are in the area!
Open on Sat and Sundays.
There is also a distillery here.

Got pulled into coming here for wine tasting. My initial response. WINE TASTING? IN CONCORD? DO I HAVE TO?! However, we got there and one key thing changed… I found out that they make liquor as well.
Sign me up!
Tried their Caribe rum as well as their brandies. After trying them I bought bottles of the aforementioned liquors. The guy was also very pleasant to chat with and he dropped the bomb that they also make release Whiskey in the summer. Looks like I just got convinced to go back!
Seriously though the wines were pretty good as well and in my humble opinion, you should ALWAYS support a local distiller.

I agree with a previous review in that we found a hidden gem. Bought the Living Social deal a few months back and used it today. Very low key tasting room. LOVE that we could pour our own wines. And Sterling and «Doc» were very friendly and helpful. Also, the prices of their wines are very reasonable, and they were tasty. My wife and I stuck to the reds, but we’ll be back when the weather gets warmer to try the whites, too. I highly recommend giving this place a try if you are in the area!

Another Living Social person here and what a great experience. Sterling is very knowledgeable about wine and his current vintages show it. There’s a wide selection of wines to try and even grappa and brandy.
We spent about 90 minutes with Sterling and the Doctor and left with a bottle of each Syrah, some brandy and a bottle of Doc’s wine. A great time was had by all!

Came here yesterday with my husband and two friends. We had purchased Living Social coupons and at 4:30, the little tasting room was pretty packed. People really seemed to be having a good time. I can see why — it’s a self-​serve tasting room and Sterling has many wines available to taste. I think there was a moscato, riesling, chardonnay, merlot, syrah, cabernet, zin, etc. Our coupon included tasting for two plus two bottles of wines. After tasting several varietals, we were hard pressed to find even one to take home with us. Unfortunately, all four of us did not care for a single wine that we tasted (and we enjoy wine all the time and wine is my passion!). So we are not inexperienced at all when it comes to wine. I don’t know how all these other Unilocalers gave such good ratings… they must have lucked out on the wines the times that they tasted. I don’t see any redeeming features about this place; Sterling Albert did not seem like any other winemaker I’ve met. Maybe he doesn’t make the wine — I don’t know since he had nothing to offer in the way of details about any of the wines. Bottom line, we’ve never tasted so many bad wines in one place in a long time. Don’t bother stopping here if you are knowledgeable about wine and appreciate good wine.

A winery in Concord you say? That’s right.
As you drive to the winery you may become slightly confused, because you are in an industrial area, and you think that there is no way there could be a winery around. When you think of a winery, you think of somewhere in the hills, with beautiful fields of grapes, and giant mansions turned into tasting rooms.
Well this place was not in a mansion, no grape fields surrounding it, but was amazing all the same.
I don’t consider myself a wine expert at all, but I still love the experience of the tasting. This place has a very small tasting room with a giant rack of wine against one wall, and two sets of tables and chairs against the other side. The owner was very nice and explained the tasting menu to us. We both have never been to a tasting room where you serve yourself. He has eight or nine bottles of wine lined up in the order he prefers you to taste in. We would taste as he explains the wine were having and also tells us stories.
Along with the wine tasting we also were able to try brandy and grappa, which were both amazing. Actually tasting brandy like you would wine, exploring it, brings a whole new depth to the alcohol.
Along with our tasting we were given a tour of his winery. He told us in detail about how he makes it, and why he makes it that way. It was like visiting an old friend, rather then being his customer. In the end that’s what made the whole experience come together.

I feel rich, because I just found a gem in Concord!
Thanks to Living Social, BF and I arrived for Sunday afternoon tasting with a voucher for two free tastings and two bottles of wine to take home. This winery is located in the industrial area of Concord, so unless you really know the area, your GPS will likely be needed. Well worth the drive and the hunt, and be on the lookout for signs once you hit Forni Road.
The tasting room is small but elegant and welcoming, and tasting is all done very lowkey — 8 bottles of wine are there for tasting, all pours are self-​serve, and we were indeed encouraged to be as generous or dainty as we preferred — very cool! We sampled 2 whites and 6 reds, and agreed that each wine was better than the last! Their viognier was lovely, and their Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon are just killer! I’ve visited wineries so packed with people that you’re at least 3 butts away from the tasting counter, and those wines didn’t have an ounce of the love in them that I tasted in the Sterling Albert, Corkscrew and Château Merrill wines we tasted here. This is truly a labor of love, and I applaud the winemaker for his love and devotion to his craft!
We were also extremely privileged to be given a tour of the small facility by the winemaker, getting some wonderful insight into his whole process. The facility is also a distillery, and we were able to try wine-​derived grappa and brandy — WOW! We went home with a bottle of the Corkscrew Syrah and the SA Cabernet Sauvignon, and I will definitely only share them with people I love. ;)
**BE AWARE!** Several of the photos up here are not of the correct location, but instead are of Sterling Vineyards in Napa. This facility is in a small industrial park only — no gondolas in sight. The owner and fellow Unilocalers have done their part to let admins know about this discrepancy but until it is resolved, keep that in mind. Trust me — great things come in small packages! I can’t wait to return and sample more wines, and I’m very tempted to join their very reasonably priced wine club!

I live in Vallejo so this little winery is pretty close. I could normally go to napa but it’s pretty expensive and I’ve never been.
A friend of mine bought a living social to try out wine. I’ve also never been wine tasting before. I had a good experience here. The owner was nice and social. He lets us try other items he distills just for being here!
Thank you for the fun firs time and the found memories. Some really awesome wines.

No tasting fee. Good selection of relatively dry wines and friendly service.

The best part about tis winery is their gondola ride. The winery is on a hill and the only way to go there is by gondola… it seemed so fun fun!!! The wines are O. K, not the top class like the ones we found in Sattuvi Winery.

This little out-​of-​the-​way winery is quite a find. The owner, Sterling, was very informative ad the wine wonderful, if a little pricey.

This little local gem is worth the visit. The wine is tasty, the atmosphere is quaint and nice and the owners of the wines are so nice, personable and willing to give you some real amazing information. It is so much better than going to snooty Napa Valley wineries! They don’t skimp on the wine pours and they genuinely want you to taste their product. The best part is that most of the grapes are grown in Clayton or the Alhambra Valley. They have a ton of wine to share and each visit will be different. Thank you to Sterling and Daniel for sharing your wisdom and wine! Support local wineries!

Oops! Apparently my review was actually for Sterling Vineyards, not Sterling Albert Winerly. Here is the link to Sterling Vineyards:

This is a must go to winery for tasting ! I loved it the wines were fabulous and what great prices, Sterling was so knowledgable and our glass was never empty I bought 3 bottles and since I checked in on Unilocal I got a free bottle of wine with purchase !!! A great deal and a great place

First time here. I had a great time! Sterling was a really nice guy who was very informative and social .Plus old man Merrill had some good Riesling and didn’t complain when we finished the entire «tasting» bottle.
The place is a small industrial winery but Sterling let us wander around and answered our many questions. The tastings are free and the wine is very reasonably priced. We bought 5 bottles for about $ 75. We can’t wait for brandy season, haha… we will definitely be back …

It’s about I wrote this review.
What comes to mind many months after the visit is the desire to acquire more wine and the reputation of this wine maker. He’s very skilled at this craft and very happy to share knowledge with others. (Since my visit, I learned a friend of mine who is a hobbyist wine maker received some tips from him that have helped out quite a bit.) He explained a lot about the wines, the process, and the grapes themselves. Tasting same vintage wines with essentially the same grapes grown in 2 different areas was eye opening! Also, our EBWT2 group was there early enough to be given a little tour of the facility, which was great. The large stainless steel vats and just plain cool! We learned they will event host an occasional party here!
SA is located in north Concord and is the only winery in this industrial park. If you plan to visit (and you should), don’t worry that you’re in the wrong place. It’s really is a great winery right in the middle of the building, and worth the trip out to Concord!

Haven’t had a chance to make it to the winery but did have the privilege of sampling the wine.
Normally I’m not a fan of reds but I had their Zin and I’m definitely a fan! These wines are definitely must try for wine fans and connoisseurs alike.

Very strange location for a winery but I’ll go with it. A sign in the middle of the parking lot announces wine tours to make sure you can’t miss it.
The $ 5 tasting fee was a bit annoying but only because it was not reimbursed with the purchase of a bottle of wine.
There were some very neat things about this stop.
As Jenn N. mentioned, Sterling came out and chatted with us about the way he makes his wine and the label design, the way he tests the different soils and the grapes. It was a bit of a science lesson, which I ate up. But the proof was in the wine. Two bottles of wine. Everything about them was EXACTLY the same except for two things. One of the grapes was grown in Sonoma and one in Mt. Diablo. The other was that one set of grapes was 3 weeks older than the other.
This test really shows what a difference soil and climate make. They were two TOTALLY different wines.
The wine tour was very interesting as was the little lab, the banquet facilities (just an open space surrounded by stainless steel vats).
Family run business … happy to buy wine from them. Wine priced around $ 30/​bottle.
BUY local wine!

A very unique tasting experience. Their tasting room is akin to a professionally decorated walk-​in closet. A stunning granite counter, stainless bar stools and an avant-​garde computer. All presented with the beautiful backdrop of their sleek & smoothly labeled wine bottles.
We were greeted by Taylor who explained that he would be alternating us between their Mt. Diablo and their Sonoma coast wines. Sterling himself emerged from the office and elucidated the differences in the four varietals.
The Mt. Diablo Syrah & Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were grown in full exposure, lots of sun, clouds & temperature variation.
The Sonoma County Syrah & Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were grown in a much more moderate climate, being primarily cloudy & cool.
The Mt. Diablo Syrah was excellent, light & smooth with subtle flavors. Think butterscotch & plums.
The Sonoma County Syrah was almost a polar opposite — bold & beautiful with silky tannins. Think chocolate, toffee & oak.
Taylor then offered to take us on a tour of the winery. We followed him back through an immaculate distillery filled with cutting edge technology. When I say immaculate — I mean; I would eat enchiladas off of the floor in this place.
He then opened up the temperature controlled walk-​in filled with barrels of wine. The air was filled with the essence of freshly cut wood. We then followed him into the room where they hold parties & events. It was lined with stainless vertical wine vats, each displaying a portrait of the vintner himself — different eras of Sterling’s life.
When we made our way back into the tasting room, we were greeted by sourdough bread covered in a cheese & roasted red pepper spread. Sterling had whipped it up for us, while we were on the tour of his winery.
We then tasted the Mt. Diablo & Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon — which again were so different from each other. It’s fascinating to experience the contrast between the two. We were also presented with a Cab Franc, which we all agreed would go perfectly with rosemary & herb crusted pork chops.
He explained that after many disappointing attempts at hiring artists to create a label, his wife had sat down in a few seconds and sketched out the two initials. The result was undeniably dramatic & classy. He welcomed us back for tastings as they often change.
I finally decided on taking home a bottle of the Sonoma County Syrah & I know I’ll soon be back for more.
Thanks Sterling!