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Geyserville Wineries

Geyser Peak Winery
22281 Chianti Rd., Geyserville, California

In its early years, this winery in Geyserville was affectionately referred to as "Geyser Plonk" by wine snobs. Then came the Aussie winemaker invasion of Daryl Groom, followed a few years later by Mick Schroeter, and everything changed. The wines got better and better, and several of the bottlings attained "world-class" status. This created considerable congestion in Geyser Peak's tiny tasting room. Now, even that minor annoyance has been addressed with the opening of the winery's brand-new, sparkling, 4,000-square-foot hospitality center. Visit. Sample. Then try to keep your wallet in your pocket or purse. --Bob Johnson

Clos du Bois Winery
19410 Geyserville Ave., Geyserville, California

Let's face it, Geyserville is a bit of a haul. Located about as far north as most North Bay residents are willing to go without a tent and a cooler of beer, Clos du Bois sits just off the freeway, surrounded by vineyards and, well, not much else. The winery, however, is something of a compound, with massive production and barreling rooms dwarfing the small, modern tasting room in the center. And although the wine country tchotchkes take away a bit from the clean lines the architect probably had in mind, the lack of formality is appealing.

In fact, despite a fairly busy Thursday afternoon tasting room and some nine pours for each customer, the staff members are fast, efficient and friendly without being overbearing. Anyone who's been to a tasting room and been accosted--or interrogated, rather--can attest that there's a fine line between friendly efficiency and someone trying to make the hard sell. Plus, they have a great little picnic area.

Crack that wallet and pry out a $5 bill, because the free tastes are barely worth the visit north. However, a fiver will get you a parade of some nine wines, several of which are worth the money all by themselves. For the most part, I can easily tell you to breeze past the "classic" varietal wines (I tasted the 2003 Chardonnay and 2001 Merlot). If anything is classic about them, it's the fact that you've probably had them at just about any party you've ever been to, because your host bought them at Costco along with his toothpaste for the year. Both are perfectly acceptable wines, but they lack any real allure and frankly belong in a plastic cup next to the potato salad and barbecue-flavored chips.

From the Appellation Reserve Series, the 2002 Alexander Valley Fumé Blanc ($16) is a surprisingly oaky light white wine with only a gentle amount of apple and pear and none of the usual floral flavor of Sauvignon Blancs. The 2000 Alexander Valley Shiraz ($20) left me cold, but the 2002 Temparnillo ($20), a Spanish varietal, is a unique wine that has a spicy, fruity character somewhere between a Chianti and a Zinfandel.

The must-taste is a pour from the highly regarded Marlstone series, an annual Bordeaux blend that varies each year according to the harvest's best grapes. The 2000 ($55) is an almost equal mix of Merlot and Cabernet, with a hint of Malbec. The Merlot dominates slightly, but the balancing tannins of the Cab give it body and strength. If you're a sushi fan, try the 2002 Malvasia Bianca ($16), a lightly sweet wine that has tons of peach and flowers that makes a nice pairing with raw fish.

Deadheads now have their own wine--uh, in a bottle and stuff. It turns out that Jerry Garcia was a fan of Clos du Bois and his estate gave the winery the rights to bottle a series of J. Garcia wines featuring his super-trippy artwork on the label. Right on. (Open daily, 10am-4:30pm. 800.222.3189.) --Heather Irwin

Chateau Souverain
400 Souverain Rd., Geyserville, California

Chateau Souverain has some of my very favorite white wines. They're completely approachable, inexpensive and just darned yummy. The Alexander Valley '03 Sauvignon Blanc ($14) is exactly what I think a Sauvignon Blanc should be--ripe and lusty with some obvious muskiness of melon and peach. It's the kind of wine that just makes the lips smack with happiness. The Sonoma County Chardonnay ($17) has lots of spice and smoke, with its eight months of French oak aging coming through loud and clear. The Rosé de Souverain ($12) is a dainty, pink pluck of a wine with bright cherry and strawberry notes. The best of the reds is the Winemaker's Reserve '00 Cabernet Sauvignon ($35), which is like a chocolate-covered cherry--dark, deep, luscious and thick, with a note of maple on a long finish. Decadent. (Open daily, 10am to 5pm. $5 tasting fee. 888.80.WINES.) --Heather Irwin

Murphy-Goode Winery
4001 Hwy 128, Geyserville, California

Murphy Goode was quite possibly one of the most perfect tasting-room experiences I've ever had. It wasn't because it was the best wine I've ever had, though I ended up buying three bottles. And it wasn't the most impressive tasting room I've ever seen. Simple and dominated mostly by the bar, Murphy Goode relies less on selling schwag and more on the wine and its staff to make the sale. While our pourer didn't appear to possess some godlike knowledge of wine, he seemed like a guy who liked wine, liked to talk about it, liked to chat with people who asked intelligent (and not so intelligent) questions and, most importantly, liked his job. Add that to the wine, and perfection is nigh.

Some of the most recognizable wines in Murphy Goode's label are the Tin Roof series. These value-priced screw-top pours (usually under $7) are great for parties, but you'd do well to skip ahead to really get a sense of some of the better wines. Murphy Goode is best known for its outstanding Fume Blanc ($12). Though its actually just a fancy name for Sauvignon Blanc, the Fume is briefly oak-fermented, giving it a deeper, more vanilla-like characteristic in addition to the melon and fruit flavors Sauvignon Blanc is known for.

Also made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes is the Deuce ($19), which is both steel- and oak-fermented, then malolactically fermented. What all that means is that instead of just a crisp, fruit-forward flavor, you get a softer, creamier finish with a little more depth. Think of it as the difference between sorbet and gelato. Murphy Goode is also strong with its reds, with a stable of Pinot Noir, solid Zins, Merlots and Cabs, in addition to the rather unique Alexander Valley Petit Verdot. Usually used as a blending grape, Verdot's inky color is a beauty in the glass. The best of the bunch was the Brenda Block Cabernet ($26), a limited-production wine with lots of dark cherry and chocolate flavors in the glass.

Most people think of the dry, puckery Sauvignon Blanc grape as being almost exclusively steel-fermented. To keep the flavor really crisp, many vintners don't let the grape touch oak. But when young wines are exposed to oak--especially new oak--they pick up the smoky, sometimes toasty flavor of the oak, giving it depth and a more California Chardonnay-like characteristic. --Heather Irwin

Stryker Sonoma Winery
5110 Hwy 128, Geyserville, California

Speeding down Highway 128, it's easy to blow past Stryker Vineyards winery, rising like an ultramodern log cabin out of the Alexander Valley vineyards. Built with widely spaced redwood-hued slats, a sweeping roof line and floor-to-ceiling windows, it's an expansive building that stretches out casually on the property. There are few, if any hints at the award-winning wines housed within. But this country retreat is well worth a stop.

The folks at Stryker don't brag much, but if you get 'em talking, they're pretty proud of the fact that their red wines won a coveted five gold medals at the 2004 Sonoma County Harvest Fair, with an astounding four of them honored as Best of Class. For the most part, the whites are better off skipped. Aside from the 2002 Russian River Gewürztraminer ($18), which is peachy and gentle in the glass, the other two available for tasting are hot on the palate.

Stryker prides itself on its Bordeaux-style blends, with Zinfandels leading the pack. The 2002 Alexander Valley Sangiovese ($22) has great fruit, a nice taste of tart cranberry and easy tannins. The 2002 Sonoma County Merlot ($23) is unusually big and ripe with lots of sweet fruit and chocolate. The 2001 Sonoma County Cabernet ($24) is the best of the tasting-room reds, with intense flavors of cherry, vanilla and currants. But, as is usually true, the best stuff is behind the bar and worth asking for.

I got a sneak sip of the 2002 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, which has tons of spice and vanilla, is an amazing value at $22 and recently won the Best of Class and Gold medals in the 2004 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Also incredible is the 2002 Monte Rossa Petite Verdot ($35), which was aptly described to me as "purple velvet." With a nose of violets, chocolate and plum, I was savoring the memory of this amazing find for miles down the road.

The tasting room opened in 2002, winning the 2002 Architectural Design Award for Northern California. With sweeping views of the Alexander Valley vineyards, the winery is a worthy off-the-beaten-path stop. (Open 10:30am-5pm, Thursday-Sunday, or by appointment. No tasting fee. 707.433.1944) --Heather Irwin