De La Montanya Estate Vineyards and Winery

Russian River/Dry Creek Valley

We purchased one of those Sonoma Passports late in the year at a discounted price.  If you visit two or three wineries, they definitely pay for themselves.  And if you commit to visiting only the wineries on the passport you will end up going to some wineries that you likely would not have gone to otherwise.  We were unfamiliar with De La Montanya but we were on one of these passport-only outings and after doing a little bit of advanced planning on the internet this winery made the list. 

De La Montanya is just off Dry Creek Road but you have to make a couple of extra turns to get to it.  You would not see it by just driving down the road, although the road is literally 20 feet from the property.  We found it though and to our surprise there were a bunch of cars in front of the winery.  We entered the small tasting room and found a room full of folks; I think it was a group of twelve.  But Jarod spotted us and escorted us outside for what was a very private and quiet spot at a table under an apple tree.  It turns out there was another big group in the area past us. This area was a very nice picnic spot with lots of tables and a bocce court. 

Although Jarod was juggling several groups he spent plenty of time with us telling us about the winery, the property, and the wines.  We got to know him pretty well.  On this day they had just brought in a load of Viognier and Gewürztraminer grapes and we watched the de-stemming process and tasted the grapes that were falling out of the catch bins.  They were delicious. 

De La Montanya has 270 acres of grapes planted throughout Sonoma and Lake Counties and since their case production is at around 4,000 they are selling a lot of gapes.  Their signature wines include Tempranillo, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and Gewurztraminer and we tasted them all.  Their order form lists 25 different wines indicating quite a few small batch items.  The bulk of their wines are reds which suited us fine but they do have a Chard, Viognier and Sauv Blanc and a late harvest white on the list.

 

We tasted the Solstice (a white blend) and the Viognier and a Rose and were very happy.  Being very near the Russian River we were looking forward to the Tina’s Russian River Pinot and again gave it two thumbs up.  I thought their Zins were the highlight.  We tasted three (one labeled a Primitivo) and I liked the Felta Creek best, which is from the vineyard surrounding the property; this was the lowest priced Zin at $30.00.  We also tasted a North Coast Merlot and a Cabernet.  All wines were of high quality. The Cabernet’s top out at $55.00 and there are blends in the $25.00 range but most of the reds are in the mid $30.00 range. 

By the end of the tasting we were thoroughly satisfied and although our initial plans were to hit one more winery after De La Montanya we decided to pack it in for the day and end the day on a high note.

We did not pay a fee to taste because we had our Passport but I think the fee would be reasonable in the $10 range.  No appointment is necessary.

What we liked- This was a nice unexpected find.  We liked the smallness of the winery along with the friendly service.  The grounds are great and not a bad taste in the group.

What we bought- The Felta Creek Zinfandel

Vitals:

De La Montanya Winery and Vineyards
999 Foreman Lane
Healdsburg, CA  95448
(707) 433-3711
www.dlmwine.com