Healdsburg Tasting Rooms: Seghesio Family Vineyards

We moved to Sonoma with one goal in mind: to become the ultimate wine hipsters. Well, two goals: to become the ultimate wine hipsters AND drink a ton of wine from the best wineries in Sonoma. And eat a lot of good food. Fine, we have a lot of goals. Enough about our goals. We’re scouring Sonoma County for the best little known, small run wineries we can find in order to achieve the greatest virtue of hipsterdom: telling you all about the really cool places we love that you've never heard of. We’re doing this for you. Trust us.

We’d love to say that we just discovered Seghesio because it would sound cooler, but we’ve been drinking their wine for a while. We visited their tasting room in Healdsburg on our first trip to Sonoma about three years ago. Back home in Boston, we’re able to get their Zinfandel at retail pretty easily. That’s probably the grape they’re best known for. There’s nothing particularly notable about the tasting room itself. It’s nice looking and pleasant enough. It just doesn’t bring the views that some of the more remotely located tasting rooms provide. That being said, definitely plan a visit. The great thing about going to their tasting room is that you get to sample all the fantastic Italian varietals and blends that they produce, not to mention their assortment of Zinfandels. Speaking of, here are our tasting notes:

2015 Vermentino: Grilled pears on the nose. Pear, dried apricot & lemon zest on the tongue. Clean and crisp with a nice amount of body.

2012 Venom: Venom has been one of our personal favorites since our first visit to Seghesio. It’s one of two Sangiovese’s they offer, and maybe our favorite American expression of that grape. Black cherries and prunes on the nose. Dried cherries, prunes, cassis & baking spice on the tongue. A little bit of pepper and gravel on the finish. Big, rich and delightful. You can drink it now, but try to let it age a bit.

2013 Barbera: Black berries, roses, and cured meat on the nose. Cherries, blackberries, grapefruit & cinnamon on the tongue. Young tasting, but definitely has room to grow.

2012 Block 8 Zinfandel: Candied raspberries, roses & a little bit of red meat on the nose. Blackberries & pepper on the tongue, with citrus notes on the mid palate. Wet gravel on the finish.

2012 Cortina Zinfandel: Fermented cherries & tobacco on the nose. Fruit salad (blend of blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupe & strawberries marinating in their collective juices), coriander, and a hint of steak w/ black pepper on the finish. Mild but noticeable tannins. An interesting and complex Zinfandel.

2013 Home Ranch: This was the bottle we brought home with us. Meaty dark fruits & barnyard on the nose. Black cherries, over ripe plums in syrup, etc. Cherries dipped in dark chocolate & baking spice on the tongue. Very smooth tannins. Something like a cafe au lait at the long end of the tail, adding to the impression of fullness and smoothness.

2012 Pagani Zinfandel: Dark amber maple syrup and cherries on the nose. Blackberry jam, black coffee, naval orange & lime zest on the tongue. With those descriptors, it’s cool to drink this with breakfast, right? It’s sweet and fruity, but still dry. Rich, full bodied, with aging potential, but we wouldn’t say no to a glass right now.

We like to pride ourselves on seeking out new and unexpected experiences, but we’ve already been to the Seghesio tasting room three times, and we’ll be back for another visit before 2017. Sometimes you have to sacrifice the hipster aesthetic for a really nice glass of wine. None of their wines bring anything surprising to the table. They’re just all very good. We’ve never been disappointed by any of their offerings. As a side note, we haven’t tried their cured meats or attended one of their tasting dinners. We see these as personal failings and plan to rectify both soon.

Seghesio Family Vineyards is a staple in our household. Their tasting room is just a few minutes off of the 101 highway and outside of downtown Healdsburg. If you’re not familiar with any of their wines, we recommend you change that at your earliest convenience. You can learn more about their vineyards and wines at http://www.seghesio.com/.