Donelan Family Wines — Attraction in Santa Rosa

This review is based on a second hand experience with a Donelan family member, Cush and one fabulous Syrah from his family's vineyard. My partner's parents were camping in Great Basin National Park and met Cush, his wife and 2 children. They shared stories and Cush gifted Ray and Shirley a bottle of a 2013 Richardson Family Vineyard Syrah. Oh! My! God! It was amazing! Ray and Shirley, both retired, love to travel. They often meet some wonderful folks. When Ray and Shirley arrived home we grilled some prime steaks, and even though the pairing was perfect, drinking the wine, admiring its beautiful fragrance and observing its rich hue was a pure delight. It made eating this wonderful steak difficult! But the real richness was in the experience Ray, Shirley, and by extension, our family shared with this encounter. Nothing tastes better than pure unadulterated human interaction. I love great wines. And even though this is out of my league in price, I will always remember its beautiful body, flavor and the story behind it. Thank you Cush from the bottom of my heart for this...

We were up in Santa Rosa to celebrate a special day, and decided to do a tasting at Donelan. While the website said they were closed on Tuesdays, they responded to an email and accommodated us!

When we got there, we couldn’t believe the beautiful spread of cheeses, bread, olives, etc! Chris was really welcoming (yes, he was so nice I even remember his name!) and asked what kinds of wines we liked, and then customized the tasting for us. Unlike every other place, where you get tiny pours from already opened bottles (of unknown age), Chris was very generous with fresh bottles. He even had some well aged wines he shared with us. His expertise on winemaking and the whole process (grape sorting was literally going on in the room behind us!!) was really informative and helpful.

All in all, this was the finest and most relaxing tasting experience of my life, and the Donelan Chardonnays and Syrahs are among the very best out there. And no, I have no financial interest in it, beyond the case we...

I’ve been to two different tastings here. On both occasions, it was like sitting down with friends, except they were experts in wine (and unlike mine) that brought excellent wine to the party! Literally, we sat down before a long row of unopened bottles of Donelan wines, and over the course of more than an hour, sampled our way across the table. We went back and forth, comparing wines, while our host educated us on the grape, their terroir, how they were grown, bottled, etc. with none of the usual snobbish descriptions.

Oh, and the wines are among the best in CA. The Chardonnays and Syrahs are my favorites, with great balance and flavor. None of the “over the top” alcohol or fruit that you find dominating everything out of Napa. It’s all about balance.

Worth the time, even if you go...