Limerick Lane

1023 Limerick Ln, Healdsburg, CA 95448

Website: https://www.limericklanewines.com/

Just south of the town of Healdsburg in the Russian River Valley resides the 30 acre winery Limerick Lane.  I love finding a hidden gem like this backroads winery. My husband and I didn’t know what to expect driving in, but we left feeling like this was the best find of our trip.  The winery is modest, yet it has a lot of character. The oldest vines on the property were planted in 1910, and they are still producing wine today. It was all started by the Del Fava family who maintained the property until the 1970s.  Then brothers Michael and Tom Collins purchased the winery turning it into an acclaimed Zinfandel site. After planting 25 acres of Zinfandel, Syrah, and Grenache and improving the existing vineyards, big name wineries began to seek out their grapes – like Ravenswood, Gary Farrell, Chateau Souverain, De Loach, and Davis Bynum.  In 2009 Mike Collins was ready to pass on the property to the next generation but he didn’t want it to fall into the hands of a conglomerate. He approached Jake Bilbro, one of the three sons of the acclaimed Chris Bilbro of Marietta’s Cellars. Jake spent two years trying to get a loan to purchase the property and became the official owner in 2011.

Limerick Lane Tasting Room

The tasting room has a rustic charm.  A wooden sign greets guests at the entrance to the tasting room.  Inside the tasting room is an L-shaped wooden bar that takes up about half of the space.  There are two large windows looking out toward the vineyards with built in seating plus a couple of stools and a chair for lounging.  The tasting menu was written on chalkboards hanging from the stone walls. A cool chandelier that had blown glass that looked like bubbles hung from the white-washed wood plank ceiling.  Our host was very welcoming and passionate about the winery. It was apparent this place is built on hard work and dedication. As we sipped wine the host told us a story about how there was a shortage of workers during harvest the prior fall and the employees went out to help pick the grapes.  Then he offered to walk us around the property. We walked through the fermentation room that looked like it could be someone’s garage filled with oak barrels. Right outside there was a wood plank table atop a couple of barrels. We walked over to the vines and listened to the story of the winery.  It was a gorgeous setting surrounded by vines.

Limerick Lane focuses primarily on Zinfandel and Syrah.  The majority of their wines have limited availability through an allocation program.  Some can be obtained directly through their website. They have some pretty powerful Zins.  It won over my husband over who is a big Zin fan. I appreciate a nice Zinfandel as well, but I can tell you from experience not all Zins are created equal.  I’ve tried my share of over powering ones. Limerick’s were well-balanced. However, the wine that stood out most to me was the Hail Mary Syrah. I found it to be floral and bright, much different from the hearty, smoky syrahs that I usually expect.  The origin of the name comes with an interesting story too. Back in 2011 when the wine was first produced the winery had picked 7 tons of Syrah grapes to crush before the rains came in the next day, but the destemmer broke down (unfortunate timing). Not wanting the grapes to go to waste they threw a “hail mary” and put all of the grapes, stems and all, into two open top fermentation tanks.  A few weeks later when the staff opened the spout to the tank they were shocked by the incredible aromas and flavors that were produced and it soon became a favorite for both the winery and consumers.

I truly enjoyed the overall experience of this winery.  The hospitality was great! Another bonus is that we’re now on the mailing list so we can purchase the wines for at home.

Limerick Lane Vineyards