Family Wineries Kenwood

Coming to the winery for my first time, I was excited to explore the property and visit the tasting room. I am unfortunately unhappy to report that this was a disappointment.
First, I was greeted in one of the most unfriendly ways. I was told to collect a «token» so they could keep track of how many people stopped by. Honestly, made me feel like I was at a grocery store or at the driving range. Secondly, 2 out of the 9 wines were corked that I tried. The staff their seemed somewhat incompetent as colleagues seemed oblivious to a lot of wines for which had been open for several days on end. Third, my pourer was rude. I was told that he would no longer pour me either because I tasted the max amount or they were tired of me pointing out their corked wine. Either way, this experience had left a bad taste in my mouth.
In conclusion, one hopes an iconic winery such as Kenwood would step up their front lines. In addition, the disappointment is attributed to their TR staff and not the wine/​winemaker. To let something with such history lose itself amongst pety, incompetent staffing is sad. I hope other folks don’t have an experience like mine. But then again, you never know. I am just reporting the facts with a critical p.o.v.

This place is a great stop if you really want to experience several wineries without having to drive all over the place. There are 6 wineries that are poured here, so you get quite a range during a tasting. This is not some giant Château, but rather a quaint house that allows you to enjoy the view and some great wines.

I would’ve scored this higher, but the pourer was initially quite rude. We had parked in a spot that looked like a legal place. As we walked in she quite rudely informed us that it was not a space and that no one would be able to get by if we stayed there. First of all, we were the only people there, it was late in the day, and no one showed up the entire time we were there. AND, there was plenty of space to get by.
However, the wine here is fairly decent. The champagne is quite nice… although I’d skip the almondine and framboise (yuck — but I always think it’s yuck). The pourer was quite knowledgeable of all the various tastes and was able to recommend additional stops for our trip.

7 tastings for $ 10…actually turned out to be more like 8 – 9, but who’s counting. Our pourer was the sweetest lady and was very knowledgable. All of the reviews are good because this place is great. Had good wines and bubbly you wouldn’t find in many places at very reasonable prices around $ 24 – 35. They also had BBQ sauces, mustards, etc for sampling which we got a few of. We also got some great cartons to ship cases home on the plane for less than the tasting… which is comped if you buy a bottle. Do yourself a favor and take a break from the hustle and bustle and stop in for a great experience.

Our last stop for the day was a small winery, where we were looking for small sparking wine bottles as a potential parting gift for our upcoming Sonoma wedding.
We found what we were looking for at Family Wineries Kenwood. This small tasting room is an amalgamation of different area wines, one of which was said sparkling that we picked up. The brand, if you’re wondering, is Simon Levi. He makes the traditional cuvee, as well as raspberry (framboise) and almond (almondine) flavored sparklings.
The tasting room itself is rather bland, with a small tasting area and some random knick-​knacks for sale. That said, I’m liking the ambiance of the smaller tasting rooms. For example, VJB was recommended. Next time, smaller IS better.

Wonderful meritiages, but of course you pay for the title. Also a good Merlot. They have artist series which are cute little bottles of wine with unique lables — the wines inside are some of their more reserve styles, and lovely, but too pricey for my taste. But the cost of tasting for all these wines is very reasonable and definitely worth stopping and paying for a tasting here.

The champagne tasting banner made me make a slightly dangerous turn into the parking lot as I was driving by. A very small and home like tasting room, something I might see if I visited my aunt’s kitchen. I tried their champagne line up, the ones that stuck out were the raspberry and Ooooh the almond. It was sooo good! Our pourer was the tasting room manager, I really enjoyed her company!

Come see Kay, she’s amazing. The Chardonnay by David Noyes is phenomenal, Kay is on point. She’s sweet and knowledgeable. 7 different wineries in on tasting room = greatness/​have a DD

After the fiasco with the other winery, our Unilocal search landed us here. This place offers a number of selections from several small family wineries. There is nothing pretentious. Just a bright and simple tasting room and friendly people.
For $ 5, 7 tastings of choice from their 30+ selection list. There was a great variety of wines, some of which we have never heard of. The tastings were hit or miss, which is normal and expected. Our pourer would ask for our honest opinion after each tasting. If we didn’t like a particular one, she would offer us the same blend of wine from a different winery for our comparison. We usually end up liking the second pour of course. Our random picks vs her experienced ones. And then we ended up having beyond just 7 tastings. Hehe.
My friends and I also enjoyed all the oils, sauces and mustards available for sampling. They were delicious and we kept going back for more in between tastings.
–1 star because our pourer was almost too friendly. She was our age and began sharing her drunk stories towards the end of our tasting. It just got a bit awkward and we wanted to scream «TMI!» at her. But overall, it was a great stop.

The top three reasons to stop here are:
[1] Stephanie– She can read your taste and and tailor your tasting.
[2] Macrae– The best winery they pour.
[3] They sell Russian River Valley Fine Foods BBQ Sauce, which I love.

«Champagne Tasting» banner outside drew me hear. I tried their Pour la Vie lineup of sparkling. All very interesting with almond, biscotti, and strawberry characteristics.
They are comprised of six small family wineries in one location. I choose to taste a wine from each of the producers. The wineries include Tandem, Spann Vineyards, David Noyes, Macrae Family Vineyards, Collier Falls. It looks like they have some more producers now from their website. The wines were good, nothing blew me away, but I did enjoy their Collier Falls Petite Sirah. Lisa was our pourer and she was pretty new to this tasting room, but loved her job. She was very hospitable.

Thank you Kay!
She is super sweet and knows her wines and is a hoot to boot! They have a great variety of sparkling wines plus a nice representation of wines from around California. No pretense just good wine! Yes there is a fee to taste but they waive it when you buy and you will!

Although I had a laundry list of wineries that I wanted to try, I randomly turned into the parking lot on a early Saturday afternoon. The two gentlemen were lounging outside and ran inside. We were the first customers!
For your information, Family Wineries is not your traditional winery nor vineyard. It is a storefront which transforms itself into a cooperative tasting room. If you want a tour, this place isn’t for you.
I asked for Pinot Noir and almost fainted. There were 5 available for tasting. Our server even offered a 6^th unlisted wine for S and me to taste.
Macrae Family 2005 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley ($ 39/​bottle)
Vander Kamp Pinot Noir ($ 40/​bottle)
Tandem 2006 Pinot Noir, Sonoma ($ 60/​bottle)
David Noye 2005 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley ($ 35/​bottle)
David Noye 2006 Pinot Noir, Sonoma ($ 25/​bottle)
SL Cellars 2004 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley ($ 30/​bottle)
We also tried a Macrae 2005 Cab Sav ($ 55/​bottle) which another couple was raving about.
I ended up purchasing bottles of the David Noye Pinot Noirs, which waived the tasting fees. We also picked up a bottle of a vinaigrette dressing.
I forgot my guys name (but he was a recent college graduate from Georgia Tech). Thank you for making our visit a memorable one. Lining up 6 glasses definitely was cool.
It’s experiences like this that really make me embrace the grape.
IFHTP 1

I never appreciated growing up in the wine country, because I was not 21 when I lived there. But Holy Smokes am I happy the parents still live there, because now I can appreciate Sonoma Country for what it is: beautiful, peaceful, and chock full of wineries!
The fam and I participated in the After Thanksgiving Open House, which included for $ 30, a weekend where you can visit 18 wineries all of which include at least 5 tastings, holiday snacks, delicious treats, and what I find the most fun is seeing thier facilities. Some were caves, some were castles, and some were just quaint little wooden houses.
With that preface, we visited 8 wineries, and Family Wineries was my absolute favorite. The service there was unbeatable. I always prefer wineries that are smaller and serve the locals as opposed the big tourist traps. Our helpers name was Shaun, and he was such a knowledgeable and nice guy! We were able to taste off the list, as well as a few sample tries that he thought we would like. He explained that Family wineries is a mix of 6 wineries within the area, so we were able to try a variety of delicious wines!
The grounds here are so beautiful. A picturesque portrait of fall colors. I have added some pics so you can see for yourself!
Stop by here whenever you are in the area, and make sure to say hello to Shaun!

Bambie & I revisited again last month. This old house tasting room formerly served Simon Levi cellar wines. Now 5 labels are served.
The servers have knowledge enough about all the wines they pour. They are friendly, welcoming and good natured.
The wine variety is impressive. There are flavored sparklers for the neophytes who like berry flavored and chocolate flavored fizzy sweet wines. (Think upscale wine coolers without the Bartle & James headache). Most of the more serious wines are made close to Kenwood. I think that all the grapes are Sonoma county harvested.
Park you car in this lot and you can walk to the adjacent 4 other wine tasting businesses.

The Family Wineries operates two tasting rooms, one in Kenwood and the other in Healdsburg. Each tasting room represents six family wineries. When you go into the room, the bar has lines to represent each winery which is required by California. Clearly a wink and nod to regulations, but it works.
The staff is friendly and presents you with a menu of the different wineries and their offerings. You check seven boxes for a $ 5 tasting charge which is waived if you purchase anything. Rather than offer my own views of the wines, I’d encourage readers to stop by and form their own views.
There’s also a large selection of other food products. In addition to getting some wine, I bought two bottles of jam, one made from cabernet sauvingnon and the other from pinot noir. A $ 3 a bottle, it struck me as a real bargain and something fun to try! I also purchased a couple of bottles of Black Currant Mole Cabernet, a grilling and finishing sauce, which you could sample. This sauce is delicious. I think it’ll go great with grilled veggies and lamb. At $ 8 a bottle, it also seemed price worthy.