Banshee Wines

325 Center St.

Healdsburg, CA 95448

(707) 395-0915

Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily

Fees: $10 to $25, waived with bottle purchase

Wines currently offered: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Grenache, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mordecai (red blend)

Appointment necessary: No, but recommended on Saturdays

Pets: OK

What happens when a group of wine-loving transplants from the Midwest and East Coast end up in San Francisco and make a barrel of Pinot Noir? They move to Healdsburg and open a hip, casual tasting room, of course.

OK, well, it didn’t really happen that fast. But it did happen.

The result is Banshee Wines, a space that feels much more like being in someone’s living room than like being in a traditional tasting room—and the experience is as unique as the concept.

Co-founder and winemaker Noah Dorrance is the former marketing director for the now-defunct Crushpad, where he developed relationships with many vineyard owners—his personal favorites located in cool-climate, Sonoma Coast areas. In 2009, he purchased grapes to make a barrel of Pinot Noir. He and his wife, Kelly, named the wine after their terrier-mix dog, Bosco, whose nickname is “the wild banshee.” Its popularity was immediate, especially with the help of Baron Ziegler (another co-founder, along with Steve Graf), who helped sell it. So Noah continued to produce wine made from the grapes of vineyard owners he’d developed relationships with over the years. 

“At one point, it just made sense to focus on the wine full-time,” says Kelly, who designed the tasting room with a friend, and now focuses on direct-to-consumer sales.

The room itself features comfortable, custom-made window seating; reclaimed wood flooring and walls; a communal table in the center (originally from a school physics lab—you can still see stuff the students carved into it); vintage finds including mid-century furnishings, lamps, photos and more (Kelly finds a lot of things at the Alameda Flea Market); a turntable and plenty of vinyl to spin (the music, all kinds, is a key part of the experience as well). And most everything is for sale. “I love antiques,” says Kelly. “I like finding things and giving them new life. So the space is constantly evolving and interesting.” And it’s true—the items make for excellent conversation pieces.

“Noah didn’t want a traditional tasting bar,” she says. Instead, guests relax on the furniture. It slows things down and creates a relaxing vibe. “The staff will often sit down with you and get to know you. It’s been a great way to develop relationships with the people who come in.”

Guests are first greeted with a taste of the winery’s rosé of Pinot Noir (crisp with a clean finish). Then they’re free to do a tasting flight or order a glass or bottle. Every six months, Banshee Wines partners with a local restaurant to prepare several bites people can order in the tasting room. When we visited, it was Spoonbar, and we enjoyed an excellent pork rillette (savory, salty, filling) made with Thai spices and ginger, served on a cheese board with plenty of crackers.

The winery focuses on Burgundian-style wines and is known for its Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. Guests who choose a flight are given five tastes. The house flight ($10) is its appellation series, featuring the largest-production wines. The reserve flight ($25) features vineyard-designate wines that are made in much more limited quantities. We tried a few selections from each flight. One of the standouts for us was the 2012 Sonoma County Pinot Noir (a classic Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, feminine and elegant with a lovely balance of fruit and spice). “It makes up half of our production [4,000 cases]. It’s why we’re here,” says Kelly. Another was the 2012 Sonoma Mountain Sullivan Pinot Noir. Crafted from the most inland vineyard the winery sources from, its high and cool elevation provides a wine that’s bold and spicy—and it went great with the pork. We also really liked the 2012 Mordecai Red, a blend of nine different varietals, the result being thick, inky, dark, spicy and earthy. “We don’t make big wines,” says Kelly, “but this is our big wine.” There always has to be an exception to the rule, right?

Or maybe two. One of the other fun things we tasted is called Jurassic White. It’s a 2009 Chardonnay that was literally forgotten in a barrel for three years. “Noah was going to throw it out. But then we tasted it and we liked it,” says Kelly. So they packaged the full-bodied, lush result into 50 cases of 500 mL bottles. “There’s a guy in New Orleans who buys a few cases at a time,” she adds.

The wine club is separated into two styles, with “fog line” featuring three wines from the appellation series, and the “proprietor’s collection” featuring three single-vineyard and limited release wines. There are three tiers to each club, something that will fit each budget.

In November, keep an eye and ear out for “Banshee Fest,” a music, food and wine festival the winery is currently organizing. “There will be dinners, seminars and small concerts around town,” says Kelly. “We like to come up with different things to get the word out about our winery, so this will be a fun way to connect with the community.”

Many of the appellation series wines are crafted with declassified barrels from the vineyard-designate series—no wonder they’re so good.