Entrance to Viansa
25200 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, CA 95476
Website: http://www.viansa.com/
My husband and I stumbled upon Viansa Winery as we were making our way back to San Francisco at the end of our honeymoon. We were driving south on Route 121 and saw a bunch of cars and a tour bus in the parking lot. We said to each other “What the heck. Let’s make one more stop”. I wasn’t expecting to see much on our unplanned stop, but the winery has a lot more to offer than I would have ever guessed. Viansa is not only a winery, it is also an Italian Marketplace and an ideal wedding location. The place seems to be a popular tourist stop, but the tasting room and Marketplace were so large that it didn’t feel overly crowded.
View of Viansa atop the hill
The actual winery is a large Italian style villa that sits on a hilltop surrounded by olive trees and vineyards. It was founded in 1989 by Vicki and Sam Sebastiani of the same family who owned the historical Sebastiani Winery in downtown Sonoma. As Viansa’s website indicates, the winery was built as “a tribute to the early Italian immigrants who brought their winemaking traditions to Sonoma Valley”. The winery has since changed hands but still maintains its appreciation of the Italian heritage.
From the parking lot we walked up a pretty stone stairway flanked by Cypress trees and some bushes with vines off to the slide growing on a small slope, very reminiscent of pictures of Italy that I’ve seen. As we followed the pathway to the front of the winery we came upon a gorgeous courtyard with a statue in the center and some café style tables and chairs scattered around. Off to the side of the building is a breathtaking view of the Carneros region. Viansa overlooks nearly a hundred acres of restored wetlands. Once we were done taking in all of the amazing outdoor views, we ventured through the large wooden doors into the winery. Before heading to the tasting room, we went downstairs where there is an underground vaulted cave. We were able to walk through a small section of the cave on our own.
Viansa’s full service deli
Finally, we went back upstairs to the tasting room and Marketplace. It was like walking into a fancy gourmet store and deli. The place is huge with a full-service deli that has a wide selection of imported cheeses, homemade soups, salads, and more. Throughout the Marketplace are samples of gourmet food items. Viansa also has its own Cucina Viansa product line, hand-painted ceramics, and many other crafts and wine gadgets for sale. This is a wine and food lover’s paradise!
The Marketplace at Viansa
I was so taken away by everything in the Marketplace that I almost forgot that we originally came to sample some wines. The tasting bar is located at the back of the Marketplace.
Behind it is a wall filled from top to bottom with evenly stacked wine bottles and windows looking out over the property. Viansa produces both Italian style and California wines from no less than 16 different varietals of grapes. They refer to this concept as Cal-Ital wines, meaning California-made wines created from Italian varietals grown in Sonoma. Their tasting menu contains two full pages of wines. I found it a bit overwhelming to select a wine to try with so many different ones to choose from.
One of Viansa’s tasting bars
Nevertheless, visitors are bound to find a wine they like out of a selection that big. We were allowed to choose 4 wines from the menu for a $5 fee. At that price, it wouldn’t be a problem to pay to sample more. Most of their wines are reasonably priced but there are some that are a little more expensive in the $40 – $50 range. For anyone who really enjoys Viansa’s wine and food, they offer both a monthly wine club and a food club.
As we left the winery and headed back to our car, I was very happy that we decided to stop into this winery. It was certainly a nice end to our honeymoon. It’s a good place to visit for first-timers, and it’s a nice place to return to on the way in or out of Sonoma.