Donelan Family Wines, Santa Rosa

If you can get past the fact that they are located in a functional industrial park, Donelan has some of the best syrah in California. The tastings are done in a room off of the functioning Winery, and feature about 6-8 wines, and ours was led by a gregarious employee who really knew his stuff. Overall a great experience!

I’ve been to two different tastings here. On both occasions, it was like sitting down with friends, except they were experts in wine (and unlike mine) that brought excellent wine to the party! Literally, we sat down before a long row of unopened bottles of Donelan wines, and over the course of more than an hour, sampled our way across the table. We went back and forth, comparing wines, while our host educated us on the grape, their terroir, how they were grown, bottled, etc. with none of the usual snobbish descriptions. Oh, and the wines are among the best in CA. The Chardonnays and Syrahs are my favorites, with great balance and flavor. None of the “over the top” alcohol or fruit that you find dominating everything out of Napa. It’s all about balance. Worth the time, even if you go nowhere else.