A Rafanelli Winery

Why visit A. Rafanelli Winery?

If you want a touch of tradition in your wine tasting, the Rafanelli family of the Dry Creek Valley have something for you. They have been growing grapes in the same area for 4 generations now, and their expertise shows. Their winery is an ivy-covered wooden ranch house with a steep roof, and their barrel room sports a stone hallway and niche for keeping the wine cool the traditional way. You will know this building when you see it: the stone wall at the front of the property bears their name, and the entrance to the winery itself is guarded by stone planters of gardenias and a metal sculpture of a man tending a grape vine. Two pine trees stand on either side of the door. The whole operation sits on rolling hills dotted with pine trees and surrounded by roses.

The tasting room at A Rafanelli Winery is a bit of tradition and scenic Sonoma County, too. It’s cozy and houses a stone shelf full of old-fashioned knick-knacks. The tables are rustic, polished wood and give an air of familial intimacy. If you get to go back to the barrel rooms, you’ll get to rest your glass on a polished wood slice and wine barrels.

All this rustic intimacy is just the icing on the cake for the first-class Zinfandels made at A Rafanelli winery. Their estate blend is fruity, their Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot charming, but their Zins are famous. Getting a taste for non-mailing list members means calling them after May 1st or making an appointment for a tasting, so if you crave a good zin, be sure to call them. The production is very limited, so you are not going to find their wines outside the winery. Your best bet is to call and see which wines they have available in their tasting room.

Address: 4685 West Dry Creek Rd, Healdsburg

Phone: (707) 433-1385

Tasting Room Hours: By appointment only 10:00 am to 4:00 pm