Schug Carneros Estate Winery

602 Bonneau Road, Sonoma, CA 95476

Website: http://www.schugwinery.com/

This winery is like a little piece of German heritage in the Carneros region of Sonoma. The winery was founded in 1980 and named after its owner Walter Schug. Both the fathers of Walter and his wife Gertrud managed wine estates in Germany, and that is also where Walter earned his diploma in Viticulture and Enology. After Walter and Gertrud married in 1961, they left their homeland and set a course for California. This began Walter’s career in the wine industry. Walter created a reputation for himself as the founding winemaker for Joseph Phelps Vineyards in the 1970s. He always had a passion for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and started making Pinot Noir under his own wine label when Joseph Phelps stopped producing it in 1979. Three years later he decided to open his own winery.

360 degree view of Carneros from Schug Winery

The Schug Carneros Estate Winery looks like a building from an old German town. It is nestled into the hillside. It was very quiet when my husband and I stopped in. There was one other small group that pulled in at the same time as us. Right outside the winery off the parking lot is the crush pad. The tasting room is on the first level. On the right side of the building there are stairs that leading up to a small, wooden patio with a couple of picnic tables. There is a very pretty view of the hillside from both the front and back of the winery. From the back, visitors can get a 360º view of the surrounding area.

It is a good thing that there weren’t a lot of other people visiting at the same time as us because the tasting room doesn’t accommodate many people. It is small and cozy. When we walked in, there was a simple bar to our right with one girl standing behind it. There were some wine bottles and medals displayed around the rest of the room. A couple of small windows provide lighting. For a very small fee we were able to simple 4-5 wines of our choice off the menu. Although Schug’s main focus is Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, they did also offer a Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Late Harvest Riesling. All of the wines that I tried were enjoyable.

I really liked this winery for its quiet atmosphere. If I lived in the area, I could see myself spending an afternoon at the winery sipping some wine on the patio and taking in the surrounding views.