Jordan Winery reopens with hikes on its 1,200-acre Healdsburg estate

Healdsburg’s Jordan Winery may have been the first in the Sonoma-?Napa area to reopen on Saturday, taking advantage of Sonoma County’s relaxed coronavirus closure rules for public and private parks.

But it’s a reopening with an asterisk, as Jordan, which bottles only chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon wines, does not have a traditional tasting room and is offering guided hikes, by appointment, for up to 10 people at a cost of $220 per couple.

At the end of a 4-mile hike over hills and valleys and through woods, meadows and vineyards on Jordan’s ?1,200-acre Alexander Valley estate, guests will receive a curbside pickup picnic lunch for two including two bottles of wine.

Lisa Mattson, the winery’s marketing director, said she believes it is the first permitted public use of a winery in the two counties famous for their wines since the coronavirus shutdown was ordered in March. She’s not sure if it’s a statewide first, since Amador and El Dorado county wineries got approval to open last week, she said.

The hikes, offered on eight days between Saturday and May 23 are “a very safe, comfortable way for people to get out and get fresh air,” Mattson said.

The loop trail will prevent hiking groups from passing one another, and to further assure social distancing there will be “luxury” portable toilets on the terrace, she said.

The county’s park closure rules were amended last week to allow people to drive to inland parks. Park use had been limited to people who could walk or bike there from home.

Jordan has offered hikes for four years, ending with a buffet lunch on the terrace. The meals will resume when public health rules permit, but without the buffet, Mattson said.

The coronavirus shutdown has disrupted the wine industry like no other event in modern times, curtailing sales in tasting rooms and restaurants at a time when business was already sluggish and the market glutted with grapes and bulk wine.

John Jordan, the winery’s chief executive officer, said last week he was refocusing customer experiences to the outdoors, with some new locations for people who have already visited the property.

Jordan also said he was pushing for winery reopenings to relieve the shutdown’s impact on Healdsburg’s tourism-oriented economy.

“It’s going to be devastating, not only to the hotels and restaurants, many of whom are locally owned,” he said. “It’s also the bed and breakfasts, all the little shops.”

The tours will start at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from May 23 through June 7.