Balo Vineyards

As good as it gets! Amazing wines, beautiful setting and knowledgeable, friendly staff! Molly and Alex made me feel so welcome!

Outstanding! My wife and I visited Balo last summer on a wine tasting trip through Sonoma and Anderson Valley, and the wines and tasting experience here were our favorite, by far.
The wines: I tried the riesling (2013 I believe) which was very good, and tasted more like German rieslings than most American riesling I’ve tried. Enjoyed it very much. But the main event here was the Pinot, of which I tried the 2012 and 2013. Both very good, and quite distinct from each other. I just recently drank the bottle of 2012 I purchased at the winery, and am kicking myself for not buying more — It was even better than I had remembered! I immediately went to Balo’s website to see if it was still available (sadly, it was not).
In addition to the high quality of the wines, the tasting experience really made this place stand out. The woman pouring the tastings happened to also be the owner of the winery, and she clearly enjoyed sharing her wine with others. We were welcomed to taste the wines, play some bocce (on their very well maintained courts), and we even had the opportunity to speak with the winemaker. These days many winery tasting rooms have a very transactional feel — enter, taste, buy (or don’t), leave — but this was not at all the case with Balo. Great, great experience.

Balo nails it. Small production winery offering high quality-​wines in a tasteful setting. The staff is awesome to boot — Molly and her team allowed us to use their back patio and the two bocce courts to host our group for a picnic, and we even got a personal tour of the cellar!
If you go, check out the The Estate Pinot and Suitcase 828 Pinot — both are top notch.
Thanks again guys — we’ll be back for sure!

The grounds of Balo Vineyards are stunning. They provide lots of places to have a picnic and enjoy the scenery. If we hadn’t already had lunch at Navarro we would have definitely enjoyed a picnic here.
The tasting room is clean, and provides great art to look at. The young man pouring our wines was very friendly and accommodating. He provided us with a good tasting. The only thing is, I wasn’t a huge fan of any of their wines. What’s interesting is that across the street they provide grapes for many of the wine makers in The Madrones. For some reason, I enjoyed the wines across the street more than here.
This is a tasting room that I would suggest stopping into first and enjoying their property with a picnic. Overall their grounds are 5 star but the wines were more around the 3 star rating for me.

What a lovely winery, what scrumptious wines! Balo is a tiny family-​owned winery in the Anderson Valley, a hundred plus miles north of San Francisco, and we were lucky enough to discover it on the southbound portion of our cross-​country journey. The tasting room manager wasn’t busy, and we enjoyed hearing his story of growing up in the Anderson Valley, and the changes he’s seen. Generous tastings in the recently completed tasting room, with gorgeous garden outside, flowers perking up in the sunshine. Two world-​class bocce courts add a European flair to the site, and we could easily imagine sitting down for a leisurely bottle under the umbrellas next to the courts. If you’re ready for a special experience at a small winery, put Balo on your list!

We visited Balo Vineyards for the first time this weekend and loved it! The setting is beautiful, as are the grounds. The landscaping is lush and the bocce ball courts offer comfortable seating where you can enjoy some great wine and play a game or two.
The Pinots are incredible. The Suitcase 828 has a great story behind it (ask Michele or Amanda) and the Estate Pinot is to die for. Better than most Oregon Pinots and certainly one of the top Anderson Valley Pinots I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking. The Pinot Blanc is a fun, dry (experimental) wine and the Vin Gris is delicious — perfect for an afternoon in sunny California.
Balo is also family owned and operated. Everyone is super-​friendly and the Winery has an upscale homey vibe.
If you find yourself within 100 miles of family-​owned Balo Vineyards, make the trip — you will not be disappointed.

The problem with wine tasting is usually this: Too much wine, too little time, too old for hangovers.
Assuming you’re only in Anderson Valley for the weekend, you absolutely must visit Balo during your ‘tour de vin’. They have one of the most luxurious & inviting spots in the valley, and an easy stop right off the highway. They’ve got the full package: charming farmhouse-​style tasting room, two bocce courts, brick patio with tables & umbrellas, vineyards all around you, and… a snaggle-​toothed bulldog named Boo! Watch out, he doesn’t like his picture taken, but he is sure a sight to see.
They specialize in Pinot Noir, and were unfortunately sold out of most of their offerings when we visited (good sign), but they gladly poured us a half glass of Pinot to enjoy while we played bocce. It’s a very welcoming environment, with a swanky-​meets-​rustic design. You’ll feel like you’re living the life.
Right across the street is «The Madrones», a collective of wineries and shops. So, you can hit up Balo, Signal Ridge and Bink all within walking distance, and all offering a very different tasting menu. Too much wine, just enough time.

Another vineyard sent me to Balo to try this crazy Pinot Noir Blanc that only had 18 cases bottled. This crazy white Pinot just rolls like a super smooth red Pinot and yet finds its way to stand as a white. Unique and interesting. I should take a star off because Travis, the enjoyable Philly transplant tasting guide, limited my purchase to one bottle but then I get that I have to share! The Rose was also outstanding and deserving of my purchase. A classy, new vineyard open less that a year that’s surely got success written all over it when they make wines unlike anything out there. I love to see a risk taker win, so can we get more cases of the Blanc bottled next year!!!

My husband and I stopped here for about 45 minutes, as we got into a pretty extensive and pleasant conversation with Travis, who was leading the wine tasting.
This winery is less than a year old and only had three wines to taste. I didn’t think it was the best rose, but their 2009 and 2010 pinot noirs were interesting.
This vineyard only has a small number of cases, but they obviously know their stuff. The bochi ball court in the front is a nice, personal touch.
Worth the stop!

Love Balo! Went to the Pinot Festival and discovered a beautiful, friendly vineyard. The owners were there and shared their wonderful story. I bought a case of mixed wines Pinot 10, 09 and the rose. Such great wine. Hard to choose a favorite. Next time you want a fun, friendly good tasting wine be sure to visit Balo! CM

We had an amazing time visiting Balo Vineyards and can’t think of a nicer place to spend an afternoon. Grab a bottle of either their Pinot or Rose (both are terrific) and some cheese from the tasting room and relax on the back patio or if you rather, head out front and play a game of bocce on their pristine courts. Great family owned business and we can’t wait to return.

Stopped by today with Tess from Mendo Wine tours. Very nice brand new tasting room, bocce court with lovely picnic area, knowledgable and friendly pourer. Adorable bulldog named Boo, very cuddly until you pull out a camera. BOO DOES NOT LIKE CAMERAS. Heed the warning. :)