Joseph Swan Vineyards

I love this place and let me tell you why. First I prefer the Sonoma area for tasting because you can find wineries like JS. Those are wineries that are still about the wine, the experience, not the appearance of something wonderful but the flavor of what is wonderful.
Until last Sunday I hadn’t been in the tasting room for a few years but it has been upgraded (not Napa upgraded) but upgraded.
The tasting room is a barn, not a faux barn but an actual temp regulated barn and it is full (really full) of barrels. It’s fun to watch newbies try to enter… city folk aren’t accustomed to barn doors. And I assure you, they never leave the barn door open.
JS has a great line of wines and they are as generous with their pours as they are with sharing their passion for the vines. Something I enjoy about wine tasting is learning about the history of the land and surrounding area. At JS you can get as much input and information as you’d like. There is no pressure to be a wine snob or make meaningless small talk about the tannins you learned about in your pocket wine guide on the drive up. Sip, enjoy, discuss, move on.
It’s about the wine so don’t expect to pick up kitchen accessories or stumble upon a top chef giving a demonstration and pairing lesson.
Come on and relax and taste some great wine. Bottles range in price so don’t be surprised when you find something you enjoy and leave with a couple of bottles. Vine on!

I recently started working with wine and I don’t know all that much. Joseph Swan winery is highly regarded in my workplace. I recently went to Sonoma and put JS winery at the front of my list. Embarrassingly, I was there before they opened. It was worth it. Rod was so welcoming and warm, taking time to explain his winery’s history and product.
I was always comfortable, and I’m writing this review as I drink a bottle of wine that I bought. My friend, who i am sharing the wine with is over the moon. Superb, sublime, sexy. I can’t wait to visit Rod and the winery again.

Everything about Joseph Swan Vineyards is amazing. It starts with their team of professionals, those who pour and greet guests in their tasting room, to those who manage their wine club (Cody is awesome), to the winemaker, and too the many who work the vineyards throughout the year to protect, grow, and harvest their beautiful fruit. There isn’t a single bottle of wine from Joseph Swan that hasn’t excited my palette and made me smile. I first fell in love with their Zinfandels, then quickly came to respect their Pinot Noir, Syrah, and more recently their (2011) Tannat which continues to wow serious wine enthusiasts across the States. Joseph Swan is a must visit when in the Russian River Valley and if you can’t make the visit then certainly go out of your way to get yourself a bottle of one of their fabulous wines.

Took a 2012 Pinot Noir to Flavor last night. Was an excellent compliment to the grilled lamb. Yum. Great price too.

Joseph Swan Vineyards is likely the most special and interesting winery in the United States. With limited, handcrafted production and a variety of interesting and unique vineyard sources and varietals sold at unbelievably fair prices I have not yet found a peer in quality to price ratio.
The entire staff is friendly and knowledgeable about their wines and ready to provide a favorable tasting experience. Rod, the winemaker for over twenty years, is eager to discuss his wines and techniques, as well as the rich history of the Trenton area and Sonoma County in general.
Give Joseph Swan a try, you too may quickly become enamored of their approach to fine wines.

Non ci posso credere, il miglior vino della California! Mi dispiace. Alta California.

Being in the wine industry, I frequently get asked about places to go wine tasting that are «authentic.» I’ve never quite understood what that meant as I’ve never been to a tasting room serving «unauthentic» wine. Anyway – what the folks are really asking is for a «wine country in-​the-​barrel-​room-​with-​the-​vines» experience – not a tasting room shop nowhere near the winery or vineyards, but right in the middle of it all. That’s Joseph Swan.
Joe Swan was one of the pioneers in Russian River Valley for Pinot Noir… and the current winemaker/​owner Rod Berglund continues that legacy. When you arrive at the winery you literally arrive at the winery – it’s a functioning winery that takes a tiny portion of the barrel room and uses it as it’s tasting room area. You are literally among the barrels. It’s not fancy, nor is it meant to be. I chose a rainy Sunday to go tasting there and Rod just happened to be pouring and telling stories about each individual wine and how it was made, and any little backstory to go along with it. It was awesome. Down to earth and just a great guy to talk with, and his wines are the same – down to earth. He sources great fruit and makes some wonderful wines.
If you’re looking for a polished wine tasting where the servers are wearing slacks and logo’d clothing with a nice printed menu on the granite countertop bar with soft jazz in the background, this isn’t your spot. If you’re looking for a real wine-​country experience with no frills and some good wines to match set in the barrel room of a functioning winery in the middle of gorgeous Russian River Valley definitely plan to stop by Joseph Swan.

Incredible Pinot — and fantastic Chardonnay and I am not a Chard fan. Great lo-​fi tasting room with very approachable non-​snobby staff. Do not miss this winery and support them in every way you can. I suggest becoming a wine club member here — as its a great way to try their wines. Another good way to check them out is during barrel tasting weekends in March.

Really nice people and lovely wines. The setting is humble but homey. A real treat.

Mr. Swan was and is THE GODFATHER of California pinot noirs and zinfandels. Sure, this is not OPUS ONE facility-​wise, but Rod makes great wine (albeit funky at times) at more than fair prices. If you don’t like this winery, you really do not appreciate what wine is all about.
Some people have commented on what they perceive as rude service, but Rod is not there to kiss your ###. What the heck, you come here for the wine, not for a pick-​up date. Take this for what it is, the birthplace of the great pinots and zins of California!

Rude, lack of service, unremarkable wine, fly covered sun rotting grapes on the way to tasting room. Gross.

Small, somewhat hidden vineyard which is really located on Trenton and Not on Laguna (slightly confusing).
The tasting room and pourers are unpretentious, and really reminds me of Unti’s In Healdsburg– it looks like a parking garage; it’s really their barrel room with a couple of tables set up
We tasted 6 wines; whites and reds; their tastings are free.
Would recommend if you’re in the area.

This winery holds a very special place in my heart. It was my deceased great uncle was who introduced me to wine and inspired my passion for it. My many adult hang-​ups and parents are what has spurred it on!
Anyway, my great uncle traveled the world collecting wine. Over the years, I was fortunate enough to partake in many fine bottles on his dime. One Thanksgiving, as he always brought the wine; my uncle brought a 1978 bottle of JS Cab. So fine a bottle was this, that the true wine drinkers hide it from the rest of the family because they wouldn’t know the difference. I was certainly ok with that plan, as it meant another pour for me.
My uncle knew the original owners of the vineyard and use to pick with them during the season. Over the years, his collection grew and grew. This is a very small winery and production is very limited so it is very hard to find anywhere but at the winery. Although, I have found it at very fine restaurants or shops a few times.
I haven’t been back in a few years, so I can’t speak to what charm JS still holds. Rest assured, though. Next time I go to wine country, I will pay another visit to JS.

The last stop on our first day of our wine tasting weekend, and it was a nice way to end. The tasting room is also the barrel room. You can maybe squeeze 8 people to the bar top to taste which gives a nice, quaint feel to the experience.
They have several pinots and zins to taste as well as various sprinklings of other grapes. But the pinot and zin were the best in our opinion. We grabbed a Saralee 2008 pinot and 2007 Ziegler Zin. They were both prototypical for their types. The pinot was fruit forward and soft. The zin was peppery and gamey. For around $ 30 a bottle they were a good deal.

This last weekend my friend & I were tootling around the Russian River area, and stumbled upon the Joseph Swan Vineyards. I’m so glad we did!
Set in an old barn, with the wine barrels right there, this tasting room offers free tastings in a really laid back atmosphere. The assistant wine maker was pouring, and soon after, the wine maker joined him. I always find this to be a treat, to hear what they like and what their thought process is when creating the wines. This time did not disappoint.
We had a terrific Pinot — their 2007 Saralee — and they even offered us a second taste. The wines are not cheap, but they are reasonably priced for a small, quality vineyard. The small room is not fit for large parties, and the road to the tasting room is not fit for big buses. Which is just fine by me, as it feels like an insiders gem.
Also nice to hear it is dog-​friendly!

This was a wine tasting dream-​come-​true in my book.
An unpretentious, low pressure tasting session in the spacious barrel room of a family run establishment. (Trust me, I had to sober up before penning that sentence… *hick*.)
The Syrah and Zinfandel were by far the stand out wines, but these stars are really going toward the friendly atmosphere, the heavy pours on our six samples, the gorgeous setting both inside and out, and of course the price tag: free!
We picked up a few bottles of the Zinfandel for the river float the next day and raised a plastic cup as we floated by on our air mattresses. (We’re classy like that.)

Joseph Swan is old-​school in many ways. First of all, no tasting fee. Second, the wine — real balance and complexity, no fruit-​bombs. Third, you’re tasting in an actual barrel room, not some fancy corporate facility.
Excellent pinot. Make sure to try the cuvee de trois. Great tannat, which people seem to have picked up on. And syrahs that are way too good to be this far under the radar.
They are also dog-​friendly. (They have treats behind the counter.)

This was a nice vineyard we hit towards the end of our day of barrel tasting, and yes I do remember the tastings. My fiancée had bought futures here two years ago so I was excited to give them a try. Unfortunately they didn’t have any of the tannat in the barrel or in the bottle, so I was a little disappointed at that.
All of the wines seemed to be dry and I couldn’t find one that I really liked. They staff was very knowledgeable, they even had a geologist on had to explain how the same grape grown in two different areas can taste different based upon the soil and rocks, but that is where the good parts came to an end.
I was really distracted by the lady who was too caught up trying to taste wines than corralling her 2 year old son. I was surprised that 1), someone would actually bring a young child barrel tasting, and that 2) someone from the winery didn’t say something to her.
I’m sure we will be back here next year, as I would like to see another offering of the tannat.

Moving back east into the heart of the Russian River Valley, we stopped to taste at Joseph Swan Vineyards. Joseph Swan was a pioneer of Pinot Noir in the Russian River Valley. The winery is now owned by longtime winemaker Rod Berglund. They still specialize in small lots of unique and interesting single vineyard Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. The wines are rich and bold with full fruit and spice, yet elegant and very refined with less extraction and alcohol than many contemporaries. In their way they really embody the Russian River Valley. The tasting room is in the middle of the cellar– very low key and all about the wines.
The wines are pretty restrained and elegant by CA standards, but definitely embody Russian River Valley with their bright and bold fruit and spice notes. Single vineyard Pinot Noirs, very fairly priced below $ 40. Several nice Zinfandels as well. I love the branding of their wines as well.

Wonderful place! The people working there actually seem to like their jobs. :-) There were vats of crushed grapes as you walked in, and the large imposing doors were impressive.
The tasting room is part of their storage/​work area, and is only open on weekends or by appointment. (We squeezed in on a Friday.) The rest of the time, the space is used for bottling and daily operations.
This was our first stop of the day, and was wonderful way to see how a small winery operates. They were topping off the barrels while we were there, and happy to answer any questions our group had.
The wines are good, and the location is gorgeous. The only drawback, don’t trust the wineroads map! The tasting room is on Trenton Road not Laguna. (Also note there are multiple Trenton Road exits off of the River Road highway.)