J Vineyards
Sonoma, CA
In the past year we visited Rodney Strong Vineyards just
off Highway 101 just south of Healdsburg.
It turns out right next to Rodney Strong is J Vineyards. They even share part of the same
driveway. Unfortunately our plans
earlier did not include going to J so when we were back in the area for a
pickup at another winery we made it a point to visit J as well as Seghesio
Family Vineyards, another long time established winery that we have never
visited before. Most of us are familiar
with the J labeled sparkling wine but it may not be the standard sparkler we
purchase for special events because we think it is too high end. We tend to buy the Domaine Chandon or Mumm or
Korbel that you can find on sale for $10.00-$15.00. I think the sale priced J is rarely found for less than $20.00. Generally if we are going to spend $20.00
we’ll opt for the Roderer, mostly because we have visited Roderer in the
Alexander Valley pretty much every year for the past 20 years or so. Now that we have visited J, I think J will be
a regular consideration for those not so regular special situations.
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| Entrance to J |
J is actually run by the daughter of the better known
Jordan Winery, known for world class Cab and Chardonnay. Jordan is another spot that has been on our
‘must visit’ list. J was founded by Judy
Jordan who after graduating from Stanford and working at the family winery for
a few years, started a winery focused on sparkling wine in 1986. The winery moved into its present facility in
1999. This facility previously was used
to make Piper Sonoma, another sparkling wine (and bargain priced) that every
year competes strongly in our annual sparkling wine tasting in January.
The best time to visit a sparkling wine facility is early
in the day. We were on our way to taste
Zinfandels and other reds so this was especially important this day. The advantage of visiting a winery that
specializes in sparkling wine is that since sparkling wine is usually made from
Pinot Noir grapes or Chardonnay grapes they usually pour a still (regular) wine
made from these grapes. In our case we
get excited about the Pinot. At J they
offer several different tasting formats.
The most basic, and the one we chose, is called the Signature
Tasting. This includes five tastes
ending with the J Cuvee Brut. This runs
$20 per person. The other tastings done
in the (stand up) tasting room are called the Legacy Tasting and this comes in
two formats, the all sparkler tasting or the tasting that includes the higher
end wines also. This runs $30.00. They also have some seated tastings that come
with snacks at $45 and the Bubble Room experience that costs $75.00
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| Tasting Room |
Our Signature Flight was certainly fine for us. The tasting included a Vin Gris, a nice
salmon color Pinot Gris; a perfect first taste.
Then we had the Russian River Chardonnay which was towards our
liking. We then got to taste two Pinot
Noirs. The list showed seven different
Pinot’s ranging from $37.00 to $70.00.
We tasted the Russian River Pinot priced at $37.00 and a vineyard
designated Misterra Pinot at $50.00. I
personally liked the standard blended Russian River Pinot which is priced
pretty close to what you find out their these days. We finished with the J Cuvee. Of course the sparkler tasted great. My palate, along with most folks I think registers
that we are drinking a premium sparkling wine but I think sometimes does not
register all the subtle differences from one premium sparkler to another. This one though was definitely up with the
better California sparklers we have tasted.
The facility got busier as we were there a while so
arriving when it opens at 11 is a good choice.
And certainly if you went with one of the premium seated tastings you
would avoid any crowd. My choice would
be to go with any one of the Signature or Legacy Tastings and you’ll be
fine. The staff, all dressed in black
handled the bar nicely and were as attentive as needed. I think when it comes to sparkling wine
tasting, J is as good or better than you will find at Domaine Chadon, Domaine
Carneros or Mumm.
What we liked- Quality Sparkling wine as your first stop
on a Sunday of wine tasting.
What I bought- We bought a Pinot Gris at $20 and the J
Cuvee at $28. I think you can get the
Cuvee at Safeway right now for 30% off for about $20 and even as low as $17.50
when you buy six wines at a time. It is
nice to go home from the winery with that classy looking bottle with the big J
on it though.
Vitals-
J Vineyards
1147 Old Redwood Highway
Healdsburg, CA
95448
(888) 594-6326
