What defines a great wine tasting room? Delicious wine, of course. But more than that, a great tasting room is, in the end, about having an experience. It’s about a unique setting, a friendly welcome and creating a memory that brings a smile to your face. NorthBay biz readers seem to have a knack for choosing places that offer just those things.
Standing on the deck outside the Matanzas Creek Winery tasting room, you feel like you’re in a tree house. Giant oak boughs shade the wood-sided structure, as well as a lower area populated with picnic tables and benches, keeping the hillside location protected from midday sun. The branches hang low enough to touch, adding to the “secret hideout” vibe, as you survey the vineyards and open space of rural Bennett Valley below. Come in the summer (June through October), and you’ll be further treated to the winery’s own two-acre lavender garden in full bloom. Be sure to set aside time to wander through the fields and the barn, where the cut lavender is hung to dry before use.
The vivid, perfumey bunches have become a signature of the winery—so much so that it hosts an annual Days of Wine and Lavender festival (the 16th annual takes place June 30 this year), and lavender-based culinary and spa products are made onsite and are available for purchase in the tasting room. It also makes and sells a small amount of olive oil from estate trees and produces lavender-infused honey from onsite hives (bees love lavender—and grapes!).
As the only commercial tasting room in the Bennett Valley AVA, Matanzas Creek is off the beaten path but still convenient. Inside, it’s inviting and serene, with warm woods and plenty of natural light. Visitors can choose from a variety of tasting options, ranging in price from $5 to $35 per person, which can include a guided tour of the property, a cheese pairing or seating in the more private Vintage Room (appointments are necessary for some of these experiences).
Marcia Monahan, who previously worked for wineries in Chile and Napa, has been winemaker at Matanzas Creek for two years. We tried the 2009 Merlot Bennett Valley, blended by Monahan, which sourced fruit from Jackson Park Ranch and Nicholas Ranch (both located just a few miles away from the winery on Bennett Valley Road). Its complex nose of ripe, dark fruit, sweet spices and dried herbs—“[Marcia] puts an emphasis on the aromatics of wine,” says Tasting Room Supervisor Brad Yoell—lead to juicy, supple flavors.
“Merlot is the prime association of our long-time customers,” says Sian Goad, direct-to-consumer marketing manager. Other tasting highlights included a 2011 Sauvignon Blanc, which sources fruit from Bennett Valley, Knights Valley and Chalk Hill (it has 13 percent Sauvignon Blanc musque and 2 percent Semillon; pink grapefruit aromatics, it’s crisp but not sharp) and a lovely, feminine 2007 Syrah that seemed to change with each swirl and sip.
In addition to Days of Wine and Lavender (tickets available to the public), Matanzas Creek hosts quarterly pick-up events and a few winemaker dinners for wine club members each year. So find a day that works for you and come on by. You’ll be welcomed with a smile.
“Brad and his team are knowledgeable without being heavy-handed,” says Goad of what makes the tasting room experience so special. “Matanzas Creek is a destination that feels worlds away. The atmosphere is so relaxing that customers are inspired to spend time sipping wine, soaking in the views and wandering our beautiful garden estate.”
