Porter-Bass Winery — Attraction in Guerneville

Visited Porter-Bass winery today on a whim: just google it, as I was passing it by on my way from a coastal hike back to the hotel. What a gem! Sue, the owner, was serving her estate wines in a shade of a huge wallnut tree. I absolutely loved this concept, as (in my opinion) wines/wine making is not about some fancy tasting rooms, but it's about working the earth, and farming the grapes. Porter Bass makes excellent Rhone style wines. Their chardonnay is light, elegant, without that overbearing oaky/butter taste. Truly french style! Their Pinot is excellent. Thank you for a wonderful time at your estate and great quality of wine that I will cherish at home (bought some Pinot,...

Finally opened their Pinot from 2020, no joke, one of the better Pinot noirs I’ve had in a long time. it was light and peppery. Enough blush to let you know that it came from and was handled by individuals that care about their craft. Going to the winery, you don’t get a huge hullabaloo, or glitzy glam, like you would from the the Disneyland, wineries of today’s Sonoma and Napa, counties, but something of more of a throwback of yesteryear, When it was more about the grape, and less about the show. I would recommend this winery to anyone who likes to take a road less traveled. The journey will...

Take your time to get there, look around and appreciate what this place is. A biodynamic / organic winery set on 18 acres and the tasting (managed by Sue and her beautiful Saluki "Toots") Sue knows the land, the grape, and the product as well as she knows herself. The wines are great, and the price of a bottle comes off the $10 tasting cost - so take advantage.

The Grenache was a really nice wine but my favorite was the Zin. It doesn't have the bite of a traditional Zinfandel, and there was a light residual sweetness that was uncommon, but really welcoming, Just like the...