Sonoma County tasting rooms offering rare varietal wines

Exotic varietals beckon. We're drawn to taste wines made from grapes we can barely pronounce.

Sonoma County, according to Megan Glaab, is ground zero for diversity, and more consumers today are enthusiastic about trying wines produced from left-of-center grapes. Glaab is the co-vintner and co-winemaker of Ryme Cellars, a winery that specializes in rare varietals. Its tasting room in Forestville offers a total of seven nonmainstream varietals.

“There's a world of varietals out there that will do well in Sonoma County, and they just need a platform and someone to embrace them,” Glaab said. “As millennials come into play, they are not restricted by what they think wine should be or what are considered the noble varietals. They tend to be much more open.”

Glaab's latest release is the 2017 Vermentino ‘Hers' for $25. For the uninitiated, Vermentino is an Italian aromatic white varietal that's bright, crisp and refreshing with briny notes.

“It's an exciting time to be in Sonoma County and making wines that are unique,” Glaab said.

Another winery that's making a rare varietal is Holdredge in Healdsburg. Its website reveals its latest release is the 2015 Oscuro Dry Creek Valley Schioppettino for $42. The Italian red grape Schioppettino produces wines that are weighted to black fruits and typically buoyed by bright acid. The Holdredge has tasty notes of sour cherry and black pepper.

Yet another winery, Santa Rosa's Tiny House Vineyard, is producing the obscure pinotage. The red grape is South Africa's signature varietal and typically produces deep earthy, smoky reds. The winery's latest release is the Tiny House Vineyard, Sonoma Coast Rosé of Pinotage for $22, and the rosé version has notes of watermelon and stone fruit.

When your palate wants to buck tradition and search out unique varietals in Sonoma County, explore these tasting rooms:

Ryme Cellars, 6450 First St., Forestville, rymecellars.com, 707-820-8121

Holdredge, 51 Front Street, Healdsburg, holdredge.com, 707-431-1424

Tiny House Vineyard, tasting by appointment, tinyhousevineyard.com, 707-718-4585

Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 707-521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com.