Cruising Sonoma: Weekend at J Vineyards & Winery
In the heart of wine country, there are so many beautiful wineries and vineyards to experience. Tucked in the warm quaint town of Healdsburg, J Vineyards & Winery is the perfect place to get-away to this weekend.
The great thing about J Vineyards & Winery is that you can get the full wine-country experience in one stop. There are so many fun things to enjoy, see, and experience here.
One must-do experience to try on your visit is the wine tasting + tour. This is a unique experience, in which you and your group will be able to tour the vineyard property and taste five different varietals of wine along the way.
Starting outside, the tour begins with a stroll through two of J's vineyards. In the vineyards, you'll get the chance to taste the grapes straight from the vine, including the special 777 grape. Learning about the grape varietals, and tasting the grapes while sipping the wine is truly a fun and unique experience.
From the sun-soaked vineyards, the tour moves across the property and offers guests a special look into the wine-making process, from vine to bottle. You'll see huge bins of grapes, fresh from the vine. As the tour moves inside, you'll also get a behind-the-scenes look of the Crush Pad - the area where these huge bins of grapes are brought in and pressed.
You'll also get to walk inside the fermentation room, where you'll get a birds-eye view of the fermentation process in action, and get to taste more wine of course. On the last stop in the tour, you'll get to take a peek into the bottling room, and see where and how the wine is stored.
The sizes of the machines are overwhelming and magnificent all at the same time. Seeing the wine-making process while simultaneously tasting the wines that are a part of that process is a one-of-a-kind experience. Be prepared to learn a ton and taste a lot, and in the end, if you're a wine-novice like me, you'll walk away with a newfound appreciation and love for the art and science of wine-making.
At the end of the tour, there is also a tasting room + restaurant. Here, guests can enjoy a wine flight paired with 3 delicious bites .
And of course, there's dessert too! This delicious dish includes peaches with fromage blanc and brown butter streusel, paired with J's (and our tour guide Jim's personal favorite) 2009 Vintage Brut Magnum.
Grab your friends, and plan to get away this weekend to Healdsburg for this fun experience at J Vineyards & Winery. There's so much to experience at J's, you can spend most of your day here. It's a relaxing and beautiful property, and you'll be sure to learn a lot and have fun tasting a nice array of varietals!
Ready for the weekend yet? Here are the details you'll need to start planning your get-away:
Tours begin at: 11:30am and 2:30pm and lasts approx. 1.5 hours
Tour is $40 per person
Guests must be over 21
Wine + Bite tasting is separate from the tour. Cost is $55 per person.
For more details, or to make a reservation, click here
Afterwards, take the 10-minute drive to downtown Healdsburg. This cute and eclectic area is perfect for a summer afternoon stroll. Filled with local shops, art, artisanal eats, and or course more wine, there's plenty to enjoy for everyone.
