One Healdsburg Visitor

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Hawkeye's trip report for WineCountry.com

We had a nice visit as we headed over the two mountains to Healdsburg. Our next stop at 11:00 AM, was a jewel of a find, the Williamson Winery tasting room in downtown Healdsburg.

We were escorted into a private tasting room where we were met by the tasting room manager, very charming and very knowledgeable about the wines and the wine making process. He alone made the trip worthwhile. But wait! We haven't even gotten to the wines yet.

What is surprising, there is no tasting fee at Williamson and they even throw in a food pairing with each wine.

We started with their Sparkling Fizz Chardonnay which was just about to die for. I am not a sparkling wine fan, but this one was crisp with citrus and not to sweet, just right.

At just about this point, Bill Williamson, the owner, joined our group. Bill was originally from Australia and we had fun with his accent. This made the visit that much more special.

I thought their Amour Merlot lived up to its name and was quite alluring. I don't know how many wines we tasted, but there were many and thought most of them worthwhile. But, in addition to the Sparkling Chardonnay, we shipped home the '05 Entice Cuvee, a blend of Cab Franc, Cab Savignon and a couple others. The third wine we shipped home was the '06 Malbec which I thought was tasting real well. I had a hard time not ordering the Seduce Cab which I thought exceptional, along with the '08 Passion Pinot which was outstanding.

But, only so many spaces in the cellar. We all tried to get Bill to open a bottle of their '05 Soverign Cab, but at $495.00 per bottle, we did not succeed.

Needless to say, in my opinion, Williamson Winery is a MUST visit. more . . .