Enjoy wine with a history lesson at 10 Sonoma Valley wineries
When lifelong Sonoma Valley resident Gail Hardin recommends local wineries for her grown kids and their friends to visit, she tells them, “You should go check out Bartholomew (Estate). That’s where your momma was born.”
She arrived in the world as Gail Ann Hardister in the summer of 1956, when the local hospital was located in the same 1922 hacienda-style building now occupied by Bartholomew Estate Vineyards and Winery. She shares the distinction with other baby boomers born there during the 1940s and ’50s, when Sonoma Valley Hospital leased the property in rural east Sonoma.
Bartholomew Estate is among many tasting rooms in the Valley of the Moon – from Kenwood to the Carneros-region south of town – located in repurposed buildings with rich histories and storied pasts. Some are reportedly haunted.
From a former one-room schoolhouse with a belltower to an historic, pre-cut saltbox home that came around Cape Horn from Sweden, tasting rooms across the valley are as diverse as their flights of wine.
“Old places tell the story of our past,” said Patricia Cullinan, president of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society. “That connection enriches people’s experiences.”
She pointed to the various wine experiences that are popular today – food and wine pairings, wine and art appreciation – but said there’s nothing quite like a tasting room that’s been repurposed from the past. “It’s an adaptive reuse,” she said.
Hardin, 65, appreciates efforts to restore old buildings “and make them a new thing.” The mother of three and grandmother of five enjoys her unique link to local history.
Oenophiles and history buffs alike can spend a weekend, or longer, sampling fine wine and discovering connections to the past. Sonoma Valley is home to some 75 tasting rooms, although a few have closed during the coronavirus pandemic, said Nicole Garzino, executive director of the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance, a nonprofit trade organization.
As vineyards turn brilliant hues of red, yellow and orange, autumn is an ideal time to visit Sonoma Valley. Plus, September is California Wine Month, a time to celebrate the wine-grape harvest.
The following are 10 tasting rooms with a special link to history that serve world-class wines from repurposed locations. COVID-19 safety protocols are enforced, with some tastings offered outdoors. Several waive wine tasting fees with wine purchases. Be sure to check the winery’s website for more information as most require reservations.
Kenwood
Muscardini Cellars: Located in Kenwood, the Muscardini tasting room is housed in the historic Los Guilicos School, a one-room schoolhouse that welcomed Kenwood youngsters more than 120 years ago. Although now featuring an addition, the exterior of the schoolhouse is authentic. The interior was updated, but framed old-time photos serve as a reminder of the past: solemn-faced students at their desks and an outdoor shot of the vintage school. The location was once a boarding house and a hardware store. Wine tasting: $25. 9380 Highway 12, Kenwood. 707-933-9305, muscardinicellars.com
Glen Ellen
Beresini Winery: In nearby Glen Ellen, it’s easy to spot the tasting room for Beresini, a small, family-owned winery based at Black Dog Ranch in Napa’s Carneros-region. Located within the art-filled walls of a 22-foot-tall wine barrel dating to the 1880s, the tasting room offers a unique wine country setting. The related 19th century winery stood across the street at what’s now Jack London Village. Look for the spigot outside the barrel. Wine tasting: $20. 14300 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen. 415-531-5003, beresinivineyards.com
Eric Ross Winery: Right next to Beresini, the Eric Ross tasting room is in an historic building that was an equipment shed/carriage house for the circa 1880s winery across the street. In more recent decades, starting in the early 1970s, Jack London biographer Russ Kingman and his wife, Winnie, ran a bookstore and museum dedicated to the author/adventurer, whose Beauty Ranch (now a state historic park) is a few miles away. The wooden facade today looks much as it did, minus the shelves of books the Kingmans displayed outside their shop. Wine tasting: $30. 14300 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen. 707-939-8525, ericross.com
Sonoma
Bartholomew Estate: Located on the property where the first private vineyard in Sonoma was planted in 1832, Bartholomew Estate Vineyards and Winery is within Bartholomew Park, a private, protected 375-acre space operated by the nonprofit Frank H. Bartholomew Foundation; profits from wine sales support the park. The two-story building that houses the tasting room was originally built as an inmate hospital for the Industrial Farm for Delinquent Women that was on the grounds, and then was used by Sonoma Developmental Center as a treatment facility for epileptics. It was the local hospital from the mid-1940s to 1957, then repurposed as a convalescent home before its conversion to a winery. Wine tasting: $30. 1000 Vineyard Lane, Sonoma. 707-509-0540, bartholomewestate.com
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