Russian River Wine Road Barrel Tasting

One of the best wine events out there. or used to be. All aspects of this event are perfect, with the exception of how many people attend– way overly crowded now. I attended the Barrel Tasting event every March throughout Sonoma country for the past 4 years, with the exception of last year. Ticket/​wrist band prices are great– $ 45 gets you a weekend pass to taste at literally hundreds of wineries, taste some great food, chat with some awesome people over beautiful vineyard views.
Tasting from the barrels, before the wines are ready or bottled, is quite the experience. It’s incredible to see how different each wine tastes straight from the barrel and then pair and compare that with the previous vintage of the same wine. It’s just so interesting– especially when you take the time to chat with the wine maker or winery staff. Fascinating.
The only gripe I have is that this event is now so popular, the price is SO right, that it has become sort of a drinking fest, people arriving in large groups or in limos, stumbling out after they’ve finished their mimosas. it’s just sad. This great event has been taken down a star for those who are seriously into wine and serious about learning more.
All that aside, the event is well executed, a fun time, great people (love all of you who work the wineries those weekends!), outstanding wine, music and food. If you have never experienced a barrel tasting, highly recommend picking one of the two weekends in March and seeing what it’s all about. :)

This is a great time to taste a lot of wine for not much money. You pay I think its $ 30 for tasting at about 150 wineries for the weekend. This has been a sort of family reunion for me for a while now. Trust me you will end up spending more the the $ 30, I usually leave with about 4 cases my cousin with about 15. You will end up tasting some really good wine from 3 different AVA’s.
One thing to watch out for, the party buses. A they don’t belong on those narrow roads and B none of them are buying wine to support the wineries. As one winery employee joked, who needs to buy wine when you have have whiskey on the bus. True, but theres a time an place fore everything. I’m all for being responsible about drinking, but maybe a sedan services with a few friends?
Speaking of being responsible, the dump bucket is there for a reason, no one is getting insulted by you taking a taste and dumping the rest. No one wants to end up at the 10^th winery of the day, buying wine and forgetting tasting it.
Anyway if you like wine it’s a good time

I can’t believe this is real. I didn’t believe it, but then I experienced it, and I probably will not miss one in the following years!
Our check in was a little rocky (which is why it loses one star). Unilocalers be informed that you have a certain winery you are to check into (which we were unaware of). We got stuck at Hanna for an hour more than we wanted to because they had to do all these calls. Our greeter was very nice and sympathetic.
Yes there were tons of people. Yes there were tons of YOUNG people. but yes the weather was beautiful, we got to try sooo many different wineries we hadn’t even heard of!
1. Hanna (smaller winery)
2. Armida (has these beautiful ponds and serving up some yummy zin which they were serving with chunks of chocolate!)
3. Bella (beware that it’s a drive but totally worth it. ambiance was so lovely. late harvest was memorable)
4. Wilson’s (were bbqing yummy prime rib! and a perfect place to picnic)
5. Martorana (new to the game, two bocce ball courts and a concert stage)
6. DeLorimer (I could’ve skipped this one)
As you can see, I drank so much wine I cant distinguish between each winery. However I will say we did all this on ONE sunday and im sure you are impressed =). Next time I will go the whole weekend and take my time. And the time after that and the time after that!

Me and my wife have been going on this for years with my friend and his wife. ITs definitely an event I would recommend you go to, since for a measly $ 20 a person you get to try all these different wineries, many of which have complementary food and discounts on their wine.
Ive been introduced to so many great wineries i would otherwise never have encountered. Wineries like Armida, Hop Kiln, and Moshin. You just cant beat this deal. get a hotel in town or close by, and go the entire weekend. Great romantic trip.
you can pay at most of the wineries, and then you just carry a glass around the rest of the weekend and have each winery fill it up. One of the wineries has a Great Wild boar Chili, so that one is worth searching out if you do go.
With the toddler its gonna be a few years before we get back, but we have plenty of photos from our trips in the past to remember it by. I highly recommend it.

March Madness, STEP ASIDE! There’s a new star in town.
Sonoma’s annual Barrel Tasting brilliantly shined this past weekend. My besties and I, along with our significant others, spent a weekend getaway in wine country (Happy Birthday Shannon K.!).
Whether you know the difference between a Syrah/​Sirah, able to detect the delicate floral/​fruit/​wood/​nutty notes, or even the proper way to swirl your glass (pinkies down) – this event doesn’t discriminate.
Newbie or seasoned wine connoisseurs have one thing in common – ability to sip wine to optimal merriment!
We wine-​hopped to about 9 wineries in two days – sampled wines directly from the barrels, chatted with winemakers and inhaled the beautiful Russian River Valley scenery. (The wet weather didn’t rain on our parade!)
Highlights:
+ DeLoach Vineyard: We packed a picnic lunch on Saturday and feasted at their outdoor wooden tables. There was also a wine barrel making demonstration and I was amazed to see the whole process was hand crafted! { photos to come } (I just assumed machines were somehow involved)
+ Wilson Winery: Try their award-​winning Zinfandel Molly’s Vineyard at this charming, historic winery.
+ Francis Ford Coppola Winery: Hollywood meets Wine Country. A wine wonderland. You get excellent pours+taste, sausage dogs, breath-​taking views and music. Movie-​goers: take a stroll through the castle and see many of Coppola’s famed movie (Godfather, Dracula, Apocalypse Now) artifacts, including his multiple Oscars (!!!) on display.
+ Simi Winery: I’m longing for their Late Harvest Riesling (tastes JUST like liquid honey. Bzz bzzzz~) and their homemade tater tots.
FAIL PROOF Equation (It doesn’t take a math genius to figure this out)
Friends + Food + Laughs + Wine + Asian Glow + Sonoma Barrel Tasting Event = BEST weekend
Sonoma’s annual Barrel Tasting is an event that should NOT be missed. Grab your loved ones and plan a weekend getaway to this wine and R&R oasis. You still have this weekend March 11 – 13 left!!!
{ photos to come }

$ 20 buys you an entire weekend [even Friday if you can make it up there] of tastings at over 100 wineries in the Alexandria Valley, Dry Creek Valley, and Russian River Valley. How many you visit is really up to you, you lushes! You can even go up BOTH weekends if you want to see just how many wineries you can hit up.
We ended up going up only ONE day, but it was totally worth the experience. It was a great time, and I’m thoroughly impressed by the wineries and how «at home» they really make you feel. While I like drinking wine, I don’t really know all that much in terms of the process or the differences between geography/​grapes and everything else that makes a wine unique, so I was expecting to feel intimidated, but there was really none of that. Everyone was out to have a good time!
Here’s a video of our adventure —
The purpose of the event is so that people can sample from the barrel and then buy futures. I did just that, and while my wallet is hurting, I don’t regret it at all. We visited wineries in the Dry Creek Valley — Fritz Underground Winery, Dutcher Crossing Winery, David Coffaro Estate Vineyard, Sbragia Family Vineyards, and Michel-​Schlumberger Wine Estate.
I tricked Ryan, and he was DD for the day. DD price is $ 10!

When I heard about this event, I was really excited to try barrel tasting. $ 20 is not bad, since you get to sample from hundreds of wineries. Then I find out its good for the ENTIRE weekend, not just the day that you go!
I heard it used to be only $ 5, but I still think $ 20 is worth getting my wine buzz on.
This was a really fun event. You should get a designated driver because you have to drive from winery to winery (they are not within walking distance). MAP OUT YOUR route — because any chances of getting lost will eat away at your wine tasting time.
NOT ALL WINERIES ARE EQUAL! There were some that served REALLY delicious food while some didn’t even have crackers.
But visiting all the different wineries were a lot of fun. It was my first time tasting from the barrel — I prefer sampling the finished product. So I was happy to see that there were bottles to taste from as well.
Can’t wait to go to the next wine event!