Donkey & Goat is a family owned and operated winery located in Berkeley California. Tracey & Jared Brandt craft their natural wines from Rhône varietals, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown in the Anderson Valley, Mendocino Ridge and the undiscovered El Dorado appellation in the Sierra Foothills.
Located on a picturesque stretch of the Silverado Trail, the Black Stallion estate recalls the rustic charm of early California. The estate property is framed by century-old olive trees and landscaped with natural grasses and Mediterranean plants. The winery grounds are surrounded by estate vineyards, planted with three different clones of cabernet sauvignon as well as malbec to support our signature red wines and flagship blend. A spectacular sculpture of a black stallion in motion is positioned at the entrance to the winery.
After spending a fair amount of time among the vines with George, we arrived at a massive oak tree overlooking the valley. There, was a lone picnic table with all sorts of wine, cheeses, chocolates and other yummy foods laid upon it. So, besides getting a private tour of a vineyard, up close and personal, the MacLeods take it one step further and do food pairings with their wines.
Stephen Singer founded Baker Lane in 2003 after decades of work in the wine business in the San Francisco Bay area. He was the wine director at Chez Panisse for many years and was married to owner Alice Waters. He has partnered in the restaurants Cesar in Berkeley and Pizza Vino 707 in Sebastopol. Singer farms an estate vineyard just beyond Sebastopol planted to Syrah and Pinot Noir. The winemaker is Steven Canter.
Baker Lane wines have some restaurant and retail distribution and are sold online.
From the lofty heights of Montebello Mountain the grapes make the journey down to the historic ranch where they are examined, pressed and crushed in the shadow of the original Picchetti homestead house. Under the gaze of the ever watchful and vigilant peacocks, sweet juice is magically turned to wine.
Winemaker Cécile Lemerle-Derbès grew up in the vineyards of the Champagne region, where she was and still is involved in the growing of grapes. Cécile and her husband Billy, an Aerospace Engineer, started Derbès Wines in 2001
The tasting room is at the end of the main road in Calistoga, you cant miss it. Its a smaller place with three bars for tasting, all in the same room. Their dog would greet you when you walked in which was kind of nice. I really liked this place because it was smaller, they took their time with your and would answer any questions you had. The other wines were very good too but it was our first winery on the trip so we just picked up the one bottle. We spent about 45 minutes there and will definitely stop back in next time in Calistoga.
The Denner Winery was completed in time for the 2005 harvest. Ron and John believe that great architecture blends with the environment. Denner Winery, therefore is designed to fit into the rolling hills and is complementary to the geography and culture of the Central Coast and the wines they produce.
When volcanoes last erupted in Lake County, people had just migrated to this region. That was 11,000 years ago. Still, in geological time, that is recent. The area around Mount Konocti bears evidence of this volcanic activity, including its famous red soil and ubiquitous obsidian rock. Today, those rocks gleam in the sun, their shiny silica surfaces reflecting their origin – and lend their name to the business Peter Molnar helped build alongside partner Michael Terrien, brother Arpad, and their family: Obsidian Ridge Vineyards.
Nice tasting room with a wide selection of wines is what you will find at Terre Rouge & Easton Wines. There was a wine festival that weekend and all the tasting rooms were bustling. Whats nice about Terre Rouge is that they actually had the space to accommodate everyone. So many wines, so little time.
Hours:
Tues-Weds Closed
Thur 11:00am to 4:00pm
Fri 11:00am to 4:00pm
Sat 11:00am to 4:00pm
Sun 11:00am to 4:00pm
Mon 11:00am to 4:00pm
