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Northern California
Our Story and Mission- Ever since we were old enough to drink wine, we have been frequenting winery tasting rooms throughout California. Our trips in the late 70’s involved stops at 6-8 wineries (or maybe more) in a day. My first date with my wife was a day of wine tasting in Sonoma 31 years ago. So we are experienced with this stuff. I think there are several ingredients to a satisfying Tasting Room experience. The wine has to be good for starters and generally the known wineries all put out pretty decent wine. But there are other key factors in making the experience memorable. Sometimes a classy tasting room works for us, but sometimes standing around a barrel outside does the trick. At other times it is just good service that pleases us. Certainly one of the keys is the person serving the wine. So there are a whole bunch of things that make visiting a Tasting Room a positive experience. The point of this blog is to talk about and recommend Winery Tasting Rooms where we have had good experiences.The blog was conceived after spending a weekend with my sisters who normally do not frequent wineries and running into a couple of disappointing stops.

Friday, June 29, 2012


Clif Family Winery
St. Helena, CA

The Clif Family Winery tasting room is located in St. Helena just as you enter town from the south on the left side of the highway.  The Clif Family Winery is an offshoot of the Clif Bar Company, the maker of organic energy and nutrition foods (CLIF BAR).  The tasting room is located in Velo Vino which doubles as somewhat a shrine to all things biking and a retail outlet to many Clif Bar and related products.  There is an indoor tasting bar with bar stools and an outdoor area with additional seating for tasting and picnics. 

Cliff produces a half dozen wine from Sauvignon Blanc ($14 and $20), Gewürztraminer, Zin and Cab (up to $40) and features the premium line as well as the lower in Climber Label line.  A pouch Chardonnay and Cabernet are also available for the sports minded enthusiasts. Tastings are $15 up to $25 which features a sit-down tasting accompanied by assorted dried fruits and nuts. 

The staff is very attentive and you get the sense that like the premium products from the original Clif Bar product line, the company is striving to produce premium wine and a premium wine tasting experience also.  We really felt like we were pretty much provided one on one tasting.  Wines are produced from grapes from the company owned Howell Mountain vineyards as well as purchased grapes from throughout the valley and state.

What we like: Great location (you can walk to other nearby wineries and restaurants), great patio, nice pairings with wine and if you are an avid cycler this is a great place to end your day or even start your day with a bike ride.

What we bought- Over the past year we have bought nearly everything from Clif.  I personally like the lower priced Sauv Blanc and the Gary’s Improv Zin.


Vitals:
Clif Family Winery
709 Main Street
St. Helena, CA  94574
(707) 968-0625
www.cliffamilywinery.com


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