St. Francis Winery & Vineyards

My girlfriends and I spent the day in Santa Rosa visiting different wineries. St. Francis was our first stop. We chose the 15.00 wine tasting as we had just ate brunch an hour before. The wines we tried were delightful! I really enjoyed the 2015 Rose wine. It was very crisp and seemed to be a delightful refreshment for a hot summer day. Our hospitality representative Claire was very friendly, helpful, and welcoming. We sat in the vineyard for an hour to enjoy the scenery and sunshine. We walked around the vineyard briefly and enjoyed taking in the scenery. I’d recommend this winery if you’re in the area.

The wine was good, but the woman who poured our tastings was unprofessional and left a sour taste in our mouths!
We stopped by St. Francis Winery for my birthday and purchased the higher end tasting. Sharon poured our wines and when she found out that it was our first tasting of the trip and that we wanted to hold off on purchasing wines/​memberships until the end of the day, or until the next day, she became unprofessional and made snide comments to us. First, my boyfriend asked if she recommended any other wineries that may be pretty/​interesting to take me to for my birthday (since she’s a local) and she said «well, if you’re not buying, I’d rather not recommend certain places since the employees spend a lot of time with their customers and you’d be wasting their time.» As if! And that wasn’t the only snide comment she made. And what she didn’t realize is that we actually would have bought one of the expensive bottles towards the end of our tasting because we liked it enough to break our «let’s not buy everything at the first place» rule. And we may have also considered a membership a few days later. In fact, we left today and we talked about how, if she wasn’t so rude, we would have bought wines and a membership. Because of her behavior, we don’t have an interest in returning, which is too bad because the wines were decent.

One of my favorites of this week! The people who serve the wines are fantastic, fun to talk to interested in the whole thing and really the gem of the entire spot. The wine was also very good and fairly reasonable. They had a five dollar ship on any case which was great. Love the whole thing is one of my favorite once again

Truly special. On occasion, you have an experience that reminds one to be thankful. Thankful for the great fortune to be born in a time of abundance, to have met people who can dedicate the care and attention to the refinement of a craft. In this case, an utmost expression of food and wine, entirely for the pleasure. So, this starts with a thank you.
The Tasting Room at St. Francis Winery is one of those truly special places. Turns out, I’m not the only one who thinks so. This room at the winery has been ranked as the best restaurant in the US by at least one online group twice, in the last three years. They’re not joking.
Its not really a restaurant. A few times a day, most days of the week, the staff create a tasting menu with food pairings. The food, carefully crafted bites, a few spoonfuls of fresh flavors, ripe ingredients, bold and subtle spice. The wines, selected from the best offerings across St. Francis’ broad range.
On my visit we started with Scallops. Pan seared day-​boat Scallops, soft sweet and briny, set atop a round of risotto and herbs. Aside the scallop was a bright lemon yellow purée and a crispy sunchoke chip. The risotto was beautifully soft, green and grassy, the lemon tart and sweet. Paired with the Gold Medal winning 2014 Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc, light grapefruit and lime citrus, a great match for the shellfish.
Following we enjoyed the crowd favorite Cucumber Gazpacho. In truth, a number of the staff mentioned the gazpacho tasting as their personal prized moment. It is a particularly adept pairing. A frozen icy granita of Cucumber and Mint, a scoop set as an island centered in a shallow Cucumber Gazpacho, then ringed by sliced almonds and mini cilantro sprigs. The cucumber cool and green, warmed with the flavors or toasted garlic and onion, chilled with the ice of cucumber water and mint. The pairing, ’14 Wild Oak Vineyard Viognier, added the body, the mineral weight and spice the dish was missing, now complete.
The Ham & Cheese pairing felt like a work in progress. Fine slices of cured Speck in a fold over a toasted square of Brioche. The cheese, a saucy Fonduta with a bold, strong, and powerful note that muted and dampened the earthy, olivey ground Black Truffle and smoke of the meaty Speck. Paired with double Gold winning and RP lauded 2012 Lagomarsino Vineyard Cabernet, the wine showed well and beyond the dish. In fact, the house made pickles, Cornichons, Turnips, and Cauliflower florets were the highlight of the course, and really set the Italianate flavors alight.
The Beef Shortribs, sourced from Snake River Farms, were just simply decadent. Braised sweet and glazed in Bacon, with toasted Chestnut and roasted half-​rounds of Brussel Sprouts. Rich and sweet, soft and luscious, unctuous and meaty and good. The inky 2013 Anthem Meritage matched every bit of depth of flavor on its own, bold tobacco and leather married together with really dark, black fruit and warm round oak. Its a bottle I have had in years before, and it didn’t leave a memory, this time I made sure to bring a few home. I see some hearty steaks in its future.
The closing note, a pot, in fact a Mocha Pot de Créme. Myself, I’m not a chocolate fan, really not big on sweets of any kind; But the Chantilly cream with which it was dressed, a whipped cream infused with Vanilla liquor and Brandy, that was a rather tasty treat. The pot was topped by a candied Pecan, and a pastry Zeppole. Where I am from, this would be a doughnut. To me, a Zeppole is filled, and often topped with pastry cream, and a cherry. It was a nice doughnut. The pairing, a 2013 Banti Vineyard Zinfandel was a tough match, but the wine I quite enjoyed. I like a spicy cocktail digestif, and this high alchohol (15.5%) fruit forward Zin tickled that little spot, silky, smooth and sweet.
Epic.

Wonderful food and wine pairing today. It’s been the 5^th time over the last several years and it never disappoints! The chef puts out wonderful and creative and just stunning dishes, each paired with their great wines. Such a fun experience!

A class act. Very nice interior and exterior. Evidently gets booked for marriages. Great bartenders. Karen was excellent, really good host, let us sample a couple of extra wines. Excellent wines at decent prices. You will see a statue of St Francis as you enter. Tasting is $ 15 per person. 2 – 1 with priority pass
The 2012 Zinfandel is amazing, $ 45 a bottle and some of the best most complex taste I’ve ever had in a zin
They have a nice walk through the vineyard one mile maximum but you can make it shorter, take a glass of wine with you and walk and discover vines.
Very nice must visit!

The wine and environment here at St. Francis is incredible, only outshone by the stellar service. The place was more crowded than usual when we went, but despite the huge crowd, the woman who helped us, Karen, was extremely helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable. The receptionist Mary is also super helpful and embodies a rare level of great service.

I just left the tasting room, where my boyfriend and I shared a $ 15 flight.
We had an amazing experience! I turned 21 in August, so I’m still trying to find out what I like/​hate. Karen was very accommodating and knowledgable, taking the time to explain to me which wines I might like and which ones I might want to avoid. She was very thorough in sharing information about the wine and took the time to share with us some valuable wine facts (e.g how to read and interpret the information on wine labels, check the cork, etc).
The winery itself is really pretty and definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area! Also, I’d recommend tasting with Karen if you can — she definitely made our experience a great one.
The service I received from Mary, the tasting room supervisor, over the phone was stellar as well. I really appreciate her professionalism and helpfulness while dealing with our phone call.
Overall, excellent service! I learned a lot, felt comfortable being a beginner wine taster, and didn’t feel rushed at all despite how crowded it was. I’ll be back if I’m ever in the area again!

This review is for the Wine and Food pairing at St. Francis Winery.
The food, the wine, the service and detailed description of the paring experience is in a class or its own.
Wait staff was professional and attentive. The descriptions of why the food was paired with the chosen wine by Josh and Renee was informative and well presented. Most importantly the food creations by Executive Chef Bryan Jones was delicious. Don’t miss out on this wine and culinary experience. At the end of the multi-​course pairing Chef Bryan greeted attendees and answered our every question. What a wonderful afternoon!

WOW my goodness.
Before I go on my tirade, here’s a TL, DR: DELICIOUS 5-​course wine pairing meal, and completely worth the money. Wines sampled were high value and excellently matched.
I made a reservation for this place a week in advance through Open Table for myself and a friend, and was looking forward to it for soooo so long based on it’s awesome reviews…
While driving over my friend and I passed a vineyard that was more grandiose and beautiful-​looking on the way, but St. Francis is still pretty with a mini water fountain and stone pathways… It didn’t really end up mattering because they gave us a glass of chardonnay as soon as we got there while we waited for the meal to start. Also, I came here for the food, not for the sightseeing. yum.
The menu must change seasonally since it gets updated online, but basically, everything was delicious. And not in the everything-is-delicious-because-I’m-not-completely-sober-any-more kind of way. Both taste AND aesthetics of the food were decidedly high quality, and while the portions looked small originally, you will end up full and happy and tipsy.
A summary of our menu, for reference:
1. Pan Seared Day Boat Scallop with risotto verde, crispy sunchokes, and lemon purée.
Nice and tender. It was impressive, but probably my my least favorite course. It was a little salty, but it was a nice opening paired with a fruity and sharp Sauvignon Blanc
2. Cucumber Gazpacho with cucumber mint granita, almonds, micro cilantro.
I usually really dislike cucumber, but WOW. This ended up being one of my favorites. The wine paired BYOOTIFULLY with this soup that was cool, creamy, unique and MAGIC. Paired with a smooth, fruity and apple-​like Viognier.
3. Cocoa Tortelli with heirloom beans, smoked calabrian chili sausage, tomato sauce. Paired pretty well with the Rockpile Red wine which surprisingly was one of my favorite wines (I usually prefer whites). The wine was actually kind of chocolaty and spicy, with coffee notes, which went well with the pasta.
4. Grilled Flat Iron Steak with mushrooms, potatoes, and tomatillo sauce. Paired with Zinfandel, which is the St. Francis specialty, I think. A very smokey combination, and in the words of the old dude sitting next to me as he took his first bite of the potatoes: OH MY LORD. WHAT? I usually don’t care that much about spuds. The whole thing was plate-​licking good, but I think everyone in the room was mainly wondering HOW – HOW!!! potatoes can be so flavorful and crispified and perfect…
5. Chocolate Marquise with blue cheese panna cotta and caramel corn. Paired with a nice silky sweet port. Über creamy and milky, salty and sweet. A lovely texture contrast supplied a la caramel corn.
Overall, I was able to get an $ 8/​person discount for the 5-​course wine pairing dinner, so the bill came to $ 60 per person before taxes. Based on the quality of the wine-​ing and fine-​dining they offered, I honestly think it was WELL worth how much I paid. My friend was actually pretty surprised by how much lower the price was than what she expected, so… success! If you’re in Sonoma county, GO HERE. Please don’t deprive yourself.

Amazing. I came here with my boyfriend and his family for the food and wine pairing. The wine went perfectly with all the delicious dishes the chef had made and my tummy couldn’t be happier!

This is a beautiful dog friendly winery very close to downtown Santa Rosa. It has really gorgeous grounds, flight tasting as well as meal options. It is best enjoyed with a group of friends since the tables outside can be reserved ahead of time if you call ahead. I highly recommend the Zin in addition to planning ahead and taking sometime to enjoy the grounds with their food options and have your pets with you at the same time. What a great way to wind down a visit to Napa, plan on spending some time here, it is worth it

Wine — 5
Views — 5
Service — 5
They do movies during the summer, but I haven’t done that yet :(

This grounds here are great and they are so accommodating to dogs. The first time round, we brought in our dog and we grabbed two glasses of wine and enjoyed it outside. The staff later came around to give our dog a bowl of water and treats.
I visited again the next day with some friends and we elected to go with the tasting flight. They have a great selection and are generous with the pours. Overall both times it was a great experience and I couldn’t ask for anything more.

We were able to make a reservation for the food and wine pairing at the St. Francis Winery and I am so glad we did! It was the most amazing experience. Every course was well explained and served as it was being described. Service was not rushed at all and our hostess was knowledgeable and helpful. The menu changes monthly, and they only have seating for 16 people, 3 times a day, so book ahead. I know I will be making this a regular stop every time we come to the Sonoma area. The winery is beautiful so come early and enjoy a complimentary pour before your pairing as you explore the grounds.

Cool, down to earth winery with a fantastic location and views certain to wow.
We purchased two wines from this winery and Marsha our tasting host was cool, helpful and open about Sonoma, Santa Rosa, and Napa counties/​wineries/​vineyards. We had a great experience there.
Apparently they have several wine tastings daily and they serve food. In 2013 they were voted the best restaurant in America by Open Table! I would encourage anyone visiting the region to begin their Sonoma Valley day here before moving south through the valley to the other wineries.

After several years of wine club membership, I dropped it out of disgust with the poorly managed group events and clueless staff.
Feb 2015 at an evening invitation wine club event over 400 people attended. All crowded shoulder to shoulder in the main tasting room. There was a total of 3 wine servers on duty. Ridiculous!
Previous November I came in for my membership obligatory wine pick-​up. I literally live across the street. I did not like the wines in the «shipment». The dumbass server could not figure out how to substitute wines on the cash register. I mean 75 minutes of confusion even after her manager showed her how to make the substitutions. Miss dumb-​dumb is still employed here.
Previous July, free movie night on the lawn. Again way too many people. Crowded like a Mumbai train station at rush hour. Several idiot patrons with tall beach chairs sitting up front blocking the view for the 40 rows of people behind. A fist fight broke out with senior citizens slugging it out. I realize it’s unfair to blame the players when the rules of the game as so f**ked up. Again, piss poor management.
If you like the wine, more power to you. Come for a tasting during the week to avoid the hordes. Buy and get out. And don’t take the bait for the special events, they ain’t special.

So the food and wine pairing is not cheap but bite the bullet and treat yourself, your worth it, it’s worth it, what else’s can I say? Make that reservation! just do it!
St Francis is a super busy winery! Just walking in we had to almost push our way through the crowds and were asked twice if we could take pictures of others for them! But we were arriving for the 3pm tasting so you expect a bit of boisterousness by that time of day in a super popular winery! Once we made it to the counter, we checked in at guest reception and were immediately handed a glass of Sav Blanc and were told we’d be collected when the chef was ready for
At some point an employee of the winery started to round up the 16 people that were there for the pairing (a slightly confusing system) and herd us into the room and to our seats.
First course came out quickly, Choucroute Garnie (baby back ribs, sausage, sauerkraut, potatoes) paired with an estate white. Second course was an amazing Arctic char with potato purée and lemon served with an amazingly buttery glass of Chardonnay. Third course was roasted trumpet royals mushrooms with a stinging nettle fonduta and pine nut relish with a curvee logo red wine (this was my favorite dish). Fourth course was St Francis meatloaf, sweet potato tots and creamed spinach with an insanely good Zinfandel and finally, the fifth course was goat cheese and Mexican chocolate pot du crème and port.
Executive chef Bryan Jones knows what he’s doing! Serving sizes were perfect, not huge but each plate contained enough food to give a good opportunity to pair the food and wine and stuff you just perfectly by the end of the experience — I definitely didn’t walk away hungry!
The pairing is a little on the expensive side but well worth the money. Try and make this one of the first vineyards you visit on your day in the valley to ensure you really get to experience all of the amazing flavor combinations!

We came here on a day off to enjoy the sit down tasting. Let it be known that this is unlike any tasting I’ve been to at other wineries. It consisted of a sit down with 4 courses and a desert (which included a wedge of cheese).
Opentable rated this tasting the number 1 destination in 2013 and it was well deserved. The staff was very knowledgable and the food matched the wines with distinction. I left the tasting more educated and more importantly, gustatorily satiated.
Easy to get reservations on the weekdays, a little harder on the weekends.

Kick back and enjoy the scenery with a wine flight and charcuterie plate.
Unfortunately we missed the wine paired meal for the day. But did get to enjoy a nice charcuterie plate and wine on the back patio looking out on the harvested vines turning orange, gold and crimson. If you can’t enjoy all of this for an hour or don’t bother to come.
The hospitality was great. The gal described each wine and gave us locations of where they were grown
It’s also a very lovely property to stroll around
Next time I will certainly call ahead and make reservations for the wine and dinner pairing.