Brooks Note Winery and Tasting Room — Attraction in Petaluma

It all started earlier this year, somewhere deep in the heart of Fort Worth, where the air smelled faintly of mesquite and wine dreams.

My adoring sidekick and I were invited to a private wine tasting and that experience poured straight into our memory like a perfectly decanted dream. Gary Brooks himself was there, the soft-spoken sorcerer behind Brooks Note Winery. His wines didn’t whisper, they sang. Balanced. Elegant. Honest. The kind of Pinot that makes your boots buckle and your palate perk up like a hound on the trail. Somewhere between the third pour and the second “this is amazing,” he told us we should stop by if we were ever in California. So, like any pair of polite Texans with a thirst for the finer things in life, we showed up.

And let me tell you: the Brooks Note tasting room in Petaluma is a rustic-modern temple to the wine gods. The exposed beams, gleaming ductwork, and warm wood details make you want to cozy up and swirl your glass. It’s the kind of place where your taste buds grow up and your Instagram feed gets a glow-up.

We had reservations for a late afternoon tasting and were greeted by none other than Lucy, the softest, fluffiest winery pup in California. She strolled over like she owned the place, and honestly, I think she does. My adoring sidekick gave her the full greeting: head rub, affirming tone, instant friendship secured.

Then came the Pinot Flight Tasting Menu, a five-part aria of California terroir: • 2022 Monroe Vineyard: Fruit-forward with a hint of the forest floor, like autumn bottled and ready to dance. • 2023 Russian River Valley: Silky as a tuxedoed lounge singer. Red fruit, spice, and grace. • 2022 Weir Vineyard: Earthy, old-soul depth. The kind of wine that feels like it remembers the first time someone planted vines in California. • 2023 Petaluma Gap: Cool, coastal, and fresh like ocean wind meeting orchard breeze. • 2022 Panther Ridge: Lush, structured, with a finish so long it could anchor a ballad.

We were mid-way through the second glass when Gary appeared like a magician stepping onstage after the opening act. He welcomed us, remembered Fort Worth, and then proceeded to give us the full behind-the-scenes tour: the tasting room, the barrel room stacked high with rich oak dreams (no clue what kind of wood, but it smelled like wine-soaked heaven), and the metal vats where fermentation magic bubbles into being. It’s one thing to drink a wine. It’s another to see its origin story.

We eventually made our way back to the table, finished our tasting, then slipped into that late afternoon golden glow. Before leaving, my wife said her goodbyes to Lucy with the kind of fondness usually reserved for lifelong friends or the last bite of a perfect dessert.

We didn’t take any bottles with us because we already had some back home in Texas. As we stepped outside into the California sun, I said, “Their wine bottles don’t gather dust, they disappear gracefully after dinner.” My wife rolled her eyes and muttered, “You’re aging like wine, all right. Getting drier by the year.”

She’s not wrong.

Final thought? This is the kind of tasting that doesn’t end when you leave the building. It lingers in your memory like a perfectly aged vintage.

TL;DR:

Petaluma charm meets Pinot perfection. Balanced, elegant wines served in a spacious, welcoming room. Lucy the wine pup deserves her own label. Gary Brooks delivers not only extraordinary wine, but an unforgettable experience. The only thing smoother than the Pinot is my wife’s way of saying, “That’s enough, dear.” Brooks Note isn’t a stop, it’s a chapter worth savoring.

Bonus Dad Joke: What did the grape say when it got stepped on? Nothing. It just let out a little wine… but probably not as gracefully as a...

I met winemaker and owner Garry Brooks at a tasting nearly ten years ago at a winery in Novato, CA (of all places)! When I tasted his Marin County Pinot Noirs it was game, set, and match over! This man crafted WORLD CLASS pinot noir from grapes grown in Marin - AMAZING! I know a bit about wine - I spent twenty years in the business - and the quality of BROOKS NOTE wines are, without a doubt, WORLD CLASS.

Now that Garry has opened a modern, yet cozy tasting room on "The Boulevard" in Petaluma, adjacent to and in front of the winemaking facility he has created, do not pass "Go", do not collect $200, go directly to Brooks Note Tasting room to enjoy fabulous wines in a thoroughly relaxed and delightful setting.

Don't waste another hour driving north from SF to pretentious, expensive, "undiscovered, wine country" tasting rooms. Go have a seriously high quality and fun time at Brooks Note Winery in Petaluma - you'll be pleasantly surprised and handsomely rewarded when you stop by!

Garry Brooks is not only a master winemaker, he is a first-class host! Despite the fact that the winery has been open only a short while, during a busy Saturday afternoon Gary took the time to not only barrel taste with us, he broke open several special vintages of about to be released wines for us. In this day and age of overpriced, overhyped wines, here is a master; call him the "Pinot Noir Whisperer" of winemaking as he produces wines with balance, fruit and terroir that are a tour de force...

I set up a tasting here for myself, my mother, and a friend of ours. I had just stumbled upon the existence of this winery and tasting room the day before. I am always on the search for local wineries to taste and to support, so finding this place made me smile as a local Petaluma resident with this place right on the north end of downtown Petaluma.

We found this tasting room, which was apparently a former auto shop, to be amazingly upgraded and a beautiful setting to sit for a flight of wines. The staff serving us on this day were friendly, patient, and very informative.

I'm not a "wine snob", so for me a wine is either good...or not. In the case of all 5 wines in the flight (and an additional taste of a Syrah), they were all good. We took a few bottles home, waiving a fee for one of the tastings in the process. I would recommend this tasting room to anyone passing through Petaluma or searching for a winery that produces a...