MacRostie Winery & Vineyards

4605 Westside Rd, Healdsburg, CA 95448

Website: http://macrostiewinery.com/

I discovered MacRostie Winery on my last visit to the Russian River Valley.  This winery is located on Westside Road amongst several other Pinot Noir power houses like Rochioli, Gary Farrell, and Williams Selyem.  Steve MacRostie is at the helm of the winery.  Although the winery was founded in 1987, Steve has been making wine in Sonoma since 1974. This winery has been winning “Best Tasting Room” awards as of late.  In my opinion humble opinion, even though the name MacRostie may not be as well-known as some of those other power houses, this winery can definitely compete with their Pinots and Chardonnays.  That’s not totally a surprise after hearing that they source their grapes from big name vineyards like the Duttons, Sangiacomos, Martinellis, and Bacigalupis, plus their own Wildcat Mountain Vineyard.

Outdoor patio at MacRostie Winery

The tasting room is named the MacRostie Estate House.  It is a contemporary complex.  The experience starts with the drive in along the vineyards that wind around to the back of the tasting room.  There are gorgeous panoramic views immediately upon stepping out of your car.  There are three patios available for guests to take in the wonderful scenery.  My first impression was that this winery is geared toward a younger crowd because of the modern layout.  Regardless, I found the staff to be extremely gracious and welcoming.  MacRostie requires reservations on weekends and they are strongly recommended during the week.  We did not have a prior reservation because we decided to stop in on a whim.  As we walked up toward the tasting room entrance we were immediately greeted by a host who handed us a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.  When we said we didn’t have a reservation she told us that the tasting room and patios were full.  However, she was reluctant to turn us away and told us to have a walk around with our glass while she checked to see if she could get us in.  Fortunately they were able to find us a spot inside. 

MacRostie Tasting Room

The tasting room is so spacious and open.  There are windows from ceiling to floor all around looking out on the vineyards.  Even though we were not sitting outside, it still felt like we were out in the open.  The room has slate colored tile floors, a few small cozy tables with leather seats, and a long wooden community table in the center.  Our host was very gracious and forthcoming with information.  Our experience felt very personalized even though they squeezed us in.  There were two different tasting options to choose from.  They also offer an Elevated Tasting by reservation on weekends that offers a tour of the estate and tasting of their single vineyard wines paired with small bites.

The wines were very suitable to my style.  I enjoyed all of them, in particular the 2014 Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir, 2015 Glasshouse Vineyards Pinot Noir, and 2015 Manzana Vineyard Pinot Noir.  Our host shared an interesting fact that this winery uses all twist tops for their wines.  I know some wine enthusiasts may balk at “no corks”, but to me I thought it was suitable because their wines were easy drinking and could be consumed immediately.  Corks make more sense for aging wines.  This was a great find!  I found the modern atmosphere to be refreshing and I was totally at ease here.