Are you used to visiting a wine tasting where the cost is anywhere between $25-$100 for a few tastings?
Maybe you’ll have between 4-8 tastings to try different wines by either walking up to a wine bar or having a seat in a nice setting. Some may come with pairings and others with breadsticks if you’re lucky.
This winery allows you to have your heart's desire. Play bocce, enjoy a barrel tasting, (which they have year-round but call ahead to confirm), or picnic while trying any of their 30 different wines however way you like.
After years of visiting Sonoma County, why do I feel I’m still missing out on the wine country? We’ve never been to Sonoma County during Barrel Tasting weekend but I have tasted out of the barrel. However, this was the first time I had the total experience like any other barrel-tasting weekend.
Our first wine tasting experience was at Sunce Winery (pronounced Soon-say) in the Russian River wine appellation (AVA).
We also visited last year when we had the most incredible pulled pork sandwiches they offered us that paired very well with their wines too.
The beginning of March is the time when Sonoma wineries typically open their barrels for you to try. You can purchase “futures” at nearly 50% off sometimes if you can wait to receive them when they are bottled the next year for you have. If you collect wine, you might as well buy low.
If you think you need to come only during Wine Barrel Tasting weekend in March to try wine from the barrels however, you probably haven’t heard of Sunce Winery and Vineyard. The idea of doing barrel tasting year-round with about 15 different varietals from Spanish, Italian, Rhone, Burgundy, and Croatian wines (Zins), suited us just fine for our first stop.
We tried similar wines like the Primitivo and Zinfindel which were both an interesting comparison. Both of these varietals, the Primitivo and the Zinfandel, originated in Croatia (where the owner is from), and where you can try both side by side. Although the Primitivo is mainly used as a blending grape to make wine, the winemaker at Sunce decided to make this a single varietal barrel. The turnout is still yet to be decided.
The Primitivo is a brat but you don’t know how the kid will grow up; maybe the kid will turn out to be a very successful entrepreneur where after aging, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. The Zinfandel is just a straight up good kid.
The Zinfandel came from Alan Foppiano’s Vineyard. Both were in the same barrel type, a sort of Medium Toasted (MT) barrel, but when tasted side by side, you can get the idea of two types of characters, (hence the brat and the good kid). The Primitivo was still too young to drink but might change over time (hence the bet on the buy).
Alan’s 2021 Zinfandel was cool and smooth, (just like him - keep reading), just the way it was but is typical of a Russian River Valley Zinfandel - just delicious. It’s well-rounded, full-bodied, with just a touch of fruit on the back of your tongue.
Ah yes, the blends. I liked this one obviously because I took a photo. What I noticed was it had one of my favorite wine varietals from Italy: Montepulciano and a great appellation: Lodi. (I knew this winery knew what they were doing.) Lodi is an up-and-coming region near Sacramento where we have noticed great wines are being produced.
Montepulciano was just a favorite varietal we quickly took notice everywhere we ate while in Italy. Hence, meet Tres Italianos; the Primitivo, the Trincadeira, and Montepulciano, the Italian grape varietal from Lodi.
I liked this one. It’s going to age very nicely. This had all the flavors, the right balance of tannins and if you open this at the right time, you’ll be nicely pleased.
Below was my favorite back-to-back tasting: the Alicante Bouschet. This is a rare grape to find all over the world and Sonoma is no exception. It’s amazing how Sunce Winery was able to barrel this grape from two different regions and to offer it up during their barrel tasting. This is part of what makes this winery so unique; to highlight a unique grape from two different California regions.
If winemakers are looking for a different grape to try, the Alicante Bouschet would be it. The one on the left from Fountain Grove (in Santa Rosa where the fires once swept through), is “light and “pretty,” similar to sitting on a pretty couch while sipping wine. It’s delightful.
However, the Alicante Bouschet from Lodi in the Sacramento area (once again) had more of an appeasing taste similar to sitting on a very comfortable couch while drinking wine.
“I was sharing this description with one of our friends drinking with us and when I asked which one she preferred we both said simultaneously “the couch!” ”
Me and Alan Foppiano
You can experience how winemakers like Nikola Đurković experiment with different appellations. Apparently, it turns out that it probably does better in a warmer climate where the sun is able to add a little more sugar to the majority of these grapes while on the vine just like he explained.
I enjoyed talking to Alan Foppiano too. He’s calm and easy-going and was fun talking to. It’s always nice to get the pulse of how the growersfeel about what is happening in and around Sonoma County as well as their take on other wineries.
If you get a chance to chat with a wine grower, you’ll learn a lot about the region.
If you don’t do barrel tasting, just make this an afternoon anyway. For $25 bucks, you can try their entire list of 30 wines, although they do 43 varietals total. Sit under a pergola on a picnic bench, play bocce ball and have lunch. Why go anywhere else?
And if you go, say hi to my nephew Kyle (he’s in the cover photo serving Richard), which made it extra special of course. He’s learning the wine business in his last semester at Sonoma State.
The first weekend in March is Wine Barrel Weekend but why wait til next year? This is a great time to buy low!
Where has there been a great wine barrel tasting experience for you? Please share below.
Always know you have a home to come to in Sonoma County.