Rodney Strong Vineyards
11455 Old Redwood Highway
Healdsburg, CA 95448
(707) 433-6511
| Tasting: |
|
Tasting daily 10 to 5 pm
Complimentary, $10 for premium tasting, credited with purchase
15% case discount
|
|
Tours:
| |
Tours by Appointment
, Informal Tours
|
Amenities:
| |
Annual Summer Concert Series
|
|
Price Range:
| |
$14 to $55 per bottle
|
|
Established:
| |
1969
|
|
Vineyards:
| |
930+ acres
|
|
VIP Tasting:
| |
Yes
|
Description
One of Rod Strong's more famous quotes is, "I knew I couldn't be an old dancer, but I could be an old winemaker." Thus, Rodney Strong retired from dance and, with his wife, started making wine and becoming a leader in the burgeoning California wine industry.
After a successful international career in the dance world, Rodney Strong followed his heart into the wine business, launching Tiburon Vintners in 1959, and ten years later a winery under his own name.
He was among the first to advocate vineyard-designated wines in Sonoma County, releasing the first single-vineyard Cabernet from the county in 1974. Today Cabernet is still the flagship wine from this sizeable Sonoma County producer, with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and port rounding out the winery’s portfolio.
The tasting center is a modern architectural specimen, with a tasting room seeming to hover over the production facility. The self-guided tour is a series of catwalks that look down on the operation, with displays of maps and diagrams of the winemaking process.
Inside the stunning and sizeable tasting room is a crescent-shaped tasting bar with a granite-topped tasting counter. Gourmet food items are for sale, including artisan cheeses from their deli case. A large green lawn seen from the tasting room windows is the site of many summertime concerts. Picnicking is also encouraged on their spacious winery grounds. Mr. Strong, who passed away in 2006, was happy to share his love of art, music, dance and wine.
|
