Williamson Wines — Attraction in Healdsburg

Yeah, the wine is actually pretty good, but then are many of the wines in Sonoma County. So why am I giving it a 1 star, because we were talked into joining their wine club after having a rather nice tasting experience. I forget his name, but the son was really good and explained to us that our membership included a tasting party, where we come to pick up our wines and then taste the wines in our shipment and sample other cheeses and foods. This sealed the deal. Nothing else was said.

Then the truth was discovered when I called about going. You see, only tell you in their emailed newsletter that it is very limited and to make your reservations immediately. Guess where I found that email, exactly where it should be - in my spam folder. When talking to the lady on the phone, she explained that their May events (every Saturday) where booked pretty instantly in February and the for the next tasting party, which is in October, I should be watching everyday in September for the announced dates and be on top of making my reservation.

Yeah. No. This is not the Oscars. This is a tasking party.

I should have realized joining their wine club was too good to be true. All scams are. When I expressed my displeasure with this and that I was sold that we would be going to the tasting parties, and that now, I would just come pick up my wine, the lady then had the audacity to sell me on coming in for a wine tasting, and food sampling, at the reduced price for members. So instead the promised event where I would be able to taste the wine and sample the cheeses, I am now being sold the line to pay for it. This is such a racket.

I will NOT be renewing my membership, that...

Avoid Williamson Wines if you are young and melanated

Owners Dawn and Bill act like they don't want to be there, but if you are young and melanated, they will make sure you know you are not welcome.

I have been going to their first tasting room since 2015, and the tasting room staff (other than one of the older managers) is always a delight. They are really wonderful. We finally joined the wine club and cheese club in 2022. We started attending member events, which owners Dawn and Bill seem to be obligated to go to, and we realized how they both made sure to avoid us (usually the youngest and almost always the brownest customers there). This weekend was the last straw, and we canceled our membership after being blamed for something staff forgot to do on a past order. They checked my account and realized they were in the wrong, admitting it to us, and still managed to blame us for their mistake.

Update: this was not a one off issue, we have noticed being treated differently than other guests many times. I emailed in full detail of the many incidents, this was the full response: We are acknowledging your cancellation and have removed you from both the wine and cheese club moving forward and...

This is our second time doing a tasting with food pairing at Williamson, and it’s always delicious. The weather was perfect to sit on the patio; we originally were seated inside, but the staff was nice enough to move us outside. Here’s what we tasted:

1. Coconut Thai Green Shrimp Curry with Gertie Gewurztraminer. Nice way to start the tasting! Bright flavors in both the food and wine.
2. Jerk Salmon Taco with Tickled Pink Rosé. Probably my least favorite pairing, I didn’t get a ton of flavor, but the textures were nice.
3. Entice Cuvée with Marinated Pepper Steak. The fan favorite of all the tastings! The food was scrumptious and paired with the wine, it really mellowed the tannins and brought out the fresh fruit notes (vs. being woodsy on its own).
4. Arouse Mélange with Red Velvet Crumble Cheesecake. Cheesecake isn’t really my thing, but the wine was the best out of the four on its own. Lots of delicious black and blue fruit on the nose and pallet. Since my partner’s parents are members, our server allowed us to try any of the wines on the main menu. We decided to have a touch of the Blanc de Blancs, which was a perfect way to end our tasting. Crisp, bubbly, and cool -...