Website: http://www.envolvewinery.com/
Envolve Winery’s tasting room is located right off of Sonoma Square. Downtown Sonoma is a great area to walk around in during the day or evening. It is filled with several restaurants, shops, and tasting rooms. There are currently over 20 tasting rooms around the plaza alone. You may be able to pick up a pamphlet of the wine tasting rooms in downtown Sonoma at a hotel or visitors center, or you can do a search online for tasting rooms in downtown Sonoma. Many of the tasting rooms are open later than other wineries outside of the square. The biggest bonus is that you can easily find a place to eat after you are done tasting for the day.
Envolve Winery was created by three childhood friends –Mike Benziger, a member of the family who founded Benziger Family Winery, Ben Flajnik (former star of the TV show The Bachelor season 16), and Danny Fay. I visited this tasting room on a recommendation from one of the tour guides at Benziger Family Winery. Since I am such a big fan of Benziger wines, I was interested in learning more about Envolve when I heard that it was owned by a family member. Since I visited, ownership has shifted to Mike Benziger and his sister Kate. This winery focuses on organic and biodynamic winemaking, which is another draw for me. In addition, the winery has created a mission called #GetEnvolved to support local and national charities. Chris Benziger, brother of Mike and Kate, is the inspiration behind the mission. He is an active member of the community based service organization called Becoming Independent that focuses on helping people with disabilities lead meaningful productive lives. Check out the winery’s website to learn more about their philanthropic activities.
Envolve’s tasting room is like a cozy lounge. The room was split into two sections. The first section we walked into had a tasting bar on the right and some small tables lined up on the wall to the left. There is an outdoor patio area and a back room with a couch and TV. The place is very low key. We opted to do our tasting in the back room where we lounged on a couch while the server came in to refill our glasses every few minutes. One of the owners can often be seen walking around the place. Envolve Winery produces a variety of wines, including sparkling wine, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Rosé, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Malbec. Most of the wines are reasonably priced in the $20 range and a few of the Envolve label wines were priced in the $40-$50 range. The Envolve Cabernet Sauvignon was my favorite of the several I tried.
This winery is still growing and I expect their wines to evolve over the next few years. The tasting room is a nice spot to relax with friends at the end of a day.