Fort Ross Vineyard

Fort Ross Vineyard isn’t one of those places you stumble onto accidentally. It’s North of Jenner on Rt. 1. You have to zig zag along the coast past Russian Gulch and then you veer off Meyer’s Grade for a good long while up into the hillside. You will actually pass the winery on the right side and then continue up the hill a bit more before you reach the entrance. This allows you to get the most picturesque approach of the winery as you drive past young vines, through a copse of redwoods and finally up to the tasting room. We even saw a deer grazing.

In the center of the circle driveway is a huge garden full of protea. If you’re not familiar with these plants, it’s because they are native to South Africa. Turns out the owners are originally from Pretoria. This also explains the Pinotage on the tasting menu!

The winery only offers one tasting option: $55 and it includes food! They call them “small bites” but after a big breakfast I easily called it lunch and they happily accommodated my celiac disease! They also brought out a bowl of water for Winston (because well-behaved dogs are welcome on the back deck!)

We enjoyed everything we tasted and walked away with half a case of the Pinotage. We didn’t buy any of the Chardonnay but we did have it with dinner the next night and would have purchased the Rosé (not listed on the menu) if it had been available in 750ml instead of only the magnum. We were there for the coastal pinots though and also bought a few bottles of the Bicentennial.

So many times wineries will use a gimmick to get people in the door but in this case, the view is just as good as the wine.