Right along busy River Road is a historic turn-of-the-century hop barn – now a winery, tasting room and gift shop. No apples here, but plenty of handcrafted, unfined and unfiltered Sonoma county wines, specializing in Zinfandel, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Since 1896, five generations of the Martinelli family have worked together producing apples and wine in Sonoma County. At the ages of 19 and 16, Giuseppe Martinelli and Luisa Vellutini eloped from their small village in Tuscany and made their way to California, looking for land to farm and a place to make wine. Today, the Martinelli family still presides over the operation, having recently lured famed winemaker Helen Turley to their team. She has introduced new viticultural and cellar practices to the Martinelli facility, resulting in an improvement in the quality of the wines.

The rustic 100-year-old hop kiln creates an authentic general store/tasting room atmosphere. Its old redwood doors and siding, black & white photographs, regional maps, working fireplace and the original hop baler make for an interesting and cozy interior. The extensive gift shop features a wide variety of gourmet food products, clothing, dishes, books, cards, posters, linens, Riedel glassware, jewelry and picnic items, as well as a fully stocked deli case and other temptations.