Rochioli Vineyards & Winery
6192 Westside Rd, Healdsburg, CA 95448
Website: http://www.rochioliwinery.com/
Rochioli Vineyards is located off of Westside Road in the Russian River Valley in the same area as Gary Farrell, Williams Selyem, Hop Kiln (now owned by Landmark), and Arista. There are so many good wineries in this area that it is easy to spend a day traveling down Westside Road hopping from one tasting room to the next. This winery has quite a history behind it and is well-known for their wines.
Joe Rochioli, Sr. purchased the property in 1938. It consisted of 162 acres of land that he had farmed for many years. Joe Sr. was an immigrant from Italy with not a lot of money. In the early years, the property was used to grow hops, fruit, grapes, prunes, and vegetables. Joe Jr. grew up helping his father farm the land and as he grew older he recognized that the soil and landscape was perfect for making wine. Like Rodney Strong and Joseph Swan, Joe Rochioli was a pioneer in Sonoma. He introduced new farming techniques that enhanced the quality of the grapes. He started by planting Sauvignon Blanc in 1959 and selling the grapes to other wineries. In 1968 after his father passed away, he planted Pinot Noir which was one of earliest plantings in the Russian River Valley. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he sold grapes to other big name wineries like E&J Gallo, Korbel, and Williams Selyem. He didn’t start his own wine production until 1985 when his son Tom decided that he no longer wanted to work in the corporate world and turned to winemaking. Tom became the winemaker and still runs the winery today (referencehttp://www.princeofpinot.com/article/1124/).
Walkway to Rochioli’s Tasting Room
After pulling into the parking lot from Westside Road, my husband and I walked beneath a wooden trellis covered in greenery and followed the cement pathway lined by hedges and trees to the tasting room. There is a picnic area along the pathway. Directly outside the winery is a patio that overlooks a rose garden and vineyards. It’s a very pretty, quiet setting. The winery and tasting room are inside of a wood paneled building. The tasting room has an open concept with a few gift items around the room. Off to the right is a square shaped tasting bar that can accommodate 5-6 people comfortably. There are windows looking out on the vineyard. I thought it was cool that they handed out a free map of the property to show all of the lots where the grapes are grown. Although Rochioli now produces its own wines, they still sell grapes to other vineyards and have a waiting list of wineries who would like to purchase their acclaimed grapes.
This winery has won lots of awards for their Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noirs. They also produce Chardonnay. Unfortunately they weren’t pouring any Pinot Noir when I visited. They said that they were sold out. I was disappointed because that’s the reason why I stopped in. It had a negative impact on my mood for the rest of the tasting. I was able to sample the estate Sauvignon Blanc, a couple of Chardonnays, and a Rosé made from Pinot Noir. However, none of them really thrilled me. I would like to stop in again one day when I’m in the area to try to get a taste of the Pinot Noir because I’ve heard and read a lot about them.
The patio at Rochioli Vineyards