“We’re known for being friendly but well-educated about wine.” —Mark Mathewson
Frequent “BEST Of” winner Rodney Strong Vineyards takes the award for Best Wine Tasting Room this year. And after visiting its hospitality center and winery just south of Healdsburg, I understand why. Simply put, the winery has something for everyone.
The aesthetic beauty of the grounds immediately engages visitors. Fountains at the eastern entrance create a sense of drama that’s reinforced by the architectural distinctiveness of the main building, which houses the production center, tasting room and corporate offices. Constructed in 1970 and designed by local architect Craig Roland, this building reflects the back-to-nature sensibilities of the 1970s: The façade is concrete with exposed aggregate, and the roof’s patina echoes the green of distant hills.
At the tasting room, you can take a self-guided tour or join one of the scheduled tours (offeredat 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. daily). Your first stop takes you to an exhibit honoring the achievements of the winery’s three visionaries: Rodney Strong, who founded the winery in 1959; head winemaker, Rick Sayre, who joined in 1979; and the winery’s current proprietor, Tom Klein, whose family purchased the winery in 1989. Entrepreneurs, in particular, will appreciate the twists and turns of the winery’s story.
Heading outside to the north, visitors find a lovely grassy area, the perfect place for a picnic and also the venue for a popular music series held each summer. This year, the series will feature Michael McDonald, saxophonist Dave Koz, country star Dwight Yoakam and blues legend B.B. King. Check the website for dates, and reserve tickets early as the shows typically sell out. Walking just beyond, you’ll find rows of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines, plus a demonstration vineyard with more than 12 varietals represented.
On the south side of the building is the massive equipment used to sort, de-stem and press wine grapes. Only visitors on the guided tours are allowed here, and for good reason: Rodney Strong Vineyards is a working winery and, particularly during harvest months, this area comes alive with churning machines, bustling workers and forklifts.
Also exclusive to the guided tour is a chance to visit the small, artisan winery wheresingle-vineyard and reserve wines are made. Here, state-of-the-art machines sort grapes by gently shaking the berries off their stems while preservingthe delicate fruit. Pressing occurs in small batches and, depending on the varietal, the resulting juice is transferred either directly into barrels for fermentation (Chardonnay) or into tanks that wear special, insulated cooling jackets to slow down fermentation (reds, which ferment in the tanks, skins and all, for a time before the juice is separated at transferred to barrels). These wines are aged in new French oak barrels, which you can see stacked floor to ceiling. One sip of the 2011 Alexander Crown Cabernet, which my tour guide pulled from the barrel using a blown-glass “thief,” and I learned first-hand the difference this extra attention makes.
Rodney Strong Vineyards is a well-distributed brand nationally, and many tourists visit to see where their favorite wine is made. Repeat visitors, particularly locals, often come to try what’s new and for the insights shared by staff, who receive rigorous and ongoing training from the company’s dedicated wine education department.
“We’re known for being friendly but well-educated about wine,” explains Mark Mathewson, director of hospitality and direct-to-consumer marketing. “We make an effort to communicate our knowledge without being pretentious.”
The highlight of this experience, of course, is the wine itself. The team at Rodney Strong Vineyards continues to tweak every step in the “grape to glass” process, and its efforts show. The diverse wine portfolio includes hallmark Cabernets and Meritage wines, as well asSauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Malbec and more. The best way to monitor Rodney Strong Vineyards’ ongoing quality improvements? Visit the tasting room once, and then come back—again and again.
