Author Archives: Cathy Gartley

Markham

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Markham Winery

Markham Winery

2812 Saint Helena Hwy N, Saint Helena, CA 94574

Website: http://www.markhamvineyards.com/

Markham Winery is located on the site of one of the very first wineries in Napa Valley.  In 1874, Jean Laurent who emigrated from Bordeaux in search of gold, decided to build a winery.  After Laurent died in 1890, the winery continued operating under a number of different owners until Bruce Markham purchased the old winery and founded Markham Vineyards in 1978.  The winery was sold again in 1988 to Mercian Corporation who conducted a four year, multi-million dollar renovation and replanted the vineyards.

The winery is located off Highway 29 in northern St. Helena, adjacent to Charles Krug and across the street from St. Clement.  Both the exterior and interior of the winery have a modern feel.  Two Koi ponds made of stone line each side of the walkway to the tasting room.  The renovated winery itself is made of stone.  Inside the tasting room are stark white walls and shiny wood floors.  As we walked in, to the right was a hexagon shaped tasting bar and to the left was an open area with an artwork display.  It felt very open and bright inside the tasting room.

At the time I visited, the art gallery was featuring covers of Rolling Stone magazine as captured by Baron Wolman and the tasting menu had a “Rock and Roll Tasting Selection”.  The artwork collection changes periodically.  You can check their website to see what is on display currently.  There appears to be a music connection with the winery and the artwork but I have yet to run across anything that explains how they are related.

There are two tasting selections to choose from.  The Rock and Roll Tasting Selection offers a selection of 5 nationally distributed wines.  The Blues Tasting offers a sampling of 5 exclusive wines, including The Altruist Cabernet Sauvignons that has received rave reviews from Wine Enthusiast magazine.  The tasting experience for me wasn’t as inviting as some of the other wineries, but it’s a nice, quick stop to or from Calistoga.

 

Murphy Goode

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Murphy Goode in Healdsburg, CA

Murphy Goode in Healdsburg, CA

20 Matheson St., Healdsburg, CA 95448

Website: http://www.murphygoodewinery.com/

Murphy-Goode winery has a slogan on their website “Serious wine.  Serious fun!” and that sums up my experience with them.  I have visited on a couple of occasions and my husband became a wine club member because we were impressed with their customer service and low-cost quality wines.  Murphy-Goode’s tasting room is located in downtown Healdsburg.  This winery is one of many that make up the Jackson Family Wines portfolio, owned by the Kendall-Jackson family.   Jackson Family Wines owns 20 wineries in Sonoma and Napa alone, in addition to a handful of others in California and Oregon.  The winery was started in 1985 by Tim Murphy, Dale Goode, and Dale Ready over a game of Liar’s Dice (hence the name of one of their wines).  They started by producing Fumé Blanc and Chardonnay and expanded to include Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and other Bordeaux blends.  All of the original founders have since passed away, and Kendall-Jackson purchased the winery in 2006.  Dave Ready, Jr. remains the winemaker.

 

A picture of Dale Ready, Jr. in Murphy Goode's tasting room

A picture of Dale Ready, Jr. in Murphy Goode’s tasting room

There are so many things about Murphy-Goode’s tasting room that make it fun.  For one, the winemaker grew up in Minnesota and is a hardcore Vikings fan.  The décor of the winery is purple and gold in honor of the Vikings.  They hand out viking helmets when you join the wine club.  The tasting room is off a side street in Healdsburg just around the corner from Toad Hollow and La Crema tasting rooms.  Outside the tasting room is a seating area with a couple of couches, chairs, and umbrellas.  If you choose to sit outside, one of the staff members will come out to serve your wine.  The inside of the tasting room was remodeled in 2014.  It includes a shuffle board and photo booth and a large photo of Dale Ready, Jr. on the wall wearing his Viking helmet in the vineyard.  There’s a semi-circular tasting bar that can accommodate a few small groups of people at a time.  On both occasions that I visited I found that the staff was very friendly and the atmosphere was very casual.

 

Murphy Goode Tasting Room in Healdsburg, CA

Murphy Goode Tasting Room in Healdsburg, CA

Despite the playful nature of the winery, they take their wines seriously.  They produce a range of whites and reds that I found enjoyable.  The best part is that most of them can be purchased for under $30 a bottle, some under $20.  Several of the names of the red wines have a poker theme to them in honor of the original owners, like Dealer’s Choice, All In, and Poker Knight.  In addition, they make a red blend called Homefront Red for a very reasonable $14 per bottle, and a portion of the proceeds goes to Operation Homefront that provides emergency assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors.

Simi

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Simi's courtyard and historic winery

Simi’s courtyard and historic winery

16275 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg, CA 95448

Website: https://www.simiwinery.com/

I would classify Simi’s tasting room as a casual hang-out place, even though the winery has lots of history.  The historic winery and tasting room is in downtown Healdsburg.   Given the location, parking can be a bit of a challenge at a busy time of day because you have to park on the street.  However, the winery itself is in a picturesque setting off the road.  Right outside of the tasting room is a stone walkway leading down into a courtyard that is surrounded by redwoods.  There’s a fountain in the center, and the 140 year-old historic stone winery is in back of the courtyard.  Today Simi is part of Constellation Brands.  Just like the other Constellation Brands wineries in Napa and Sonoma, a benefit of joining one of their wine clubs is that you can get free tastings at all the sister wineries. 

This winery dates back to 1876 when the first wine was made from Sonoma County grapes.  Giuseppe and Pietro Simi from Tuscany founded the winery.  They set off for California looking for gold and ended up making wine instead.  They had been making wine in the same stone cellar since 1890.  Unfortunately both brothers died suddenly in 1904 leaving the winery to Giuseppe’s daughter Isabelle.  Isabelle maintained the winery through the Prohibition years.  She made an intelligent decision to cellar the wine until Prohibition ended and wound up with 500,000 cases ready to sell after repeal.  Isabelle continued with the winery until her retirement in 1970.  She has the distinction of starting the first retail “tasting room” out of a 25,000 gallon cask in front of the winery’s stone cellars.  After Isabelle’s retirement, the winery changed hands until Constellation Brands (formerly Canandaigua Brands Inc.) acquired them in 1999.  The new hospitality center opened its doors in 1990. 

 

Simi Tasting Room

Simi Tasting Room

The exterior of the tasting room is made all of stone and shaped like an octagon.  There’s a terrace that wraps around the side.  The winery offers walk-in tastings or wine cellar tours.  They also have food for purchase created by an on site chef.  All of the stone continues on the inside of the tasting room.  This tasting room is spacious with a wood table and some bookshelves covered with items for purchase.  There’s a fireplace to the right of the entrance, and the tasting bar is directly across from it.  This place has the longest tasting bar I’ve seen in any tasting room and can accommodate a big crowd.  Since this winery hosts weddings and other events, I’m sure they have big crowds to tend with fairly often.  Luckily it wasn’t overly busy when I visited.  There is a wide selection of wines from Russian River, Alexander, and Dry Creek valleys.  I sampled the Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Malbec, and an 1876 Cuvée made from a blend of Gewürztraminer and Muscat.  They were all pleasant wines.  My recommendation if you are visiting on a nice day is to grab a glass and head outside to the terrace.

Simi's Terrace

Simi’s Terrace