Williams Selyem Winery — Attraction in Windsor

You need to be an active list member, and tastings are by appointment only. Period. End of story. We reserved a month or so in advance for a Monday slot in late April. The tasting is free, but if you cancel or change your reservation less than 48 hours before your slot, you will be charged $75 pp - this is clearly spelled out in the confirmation email.

Apparently, Mondays in mid-April is not a very popular time, because it was just the two of us for the entire time. It felt like a private tasting/tour. We were seated in the first floor tasting room which is modern and stylish, but still very comfortable for a wine tasting. When you look up, the vaulted ceiling is supposed to look like a half-barrel of wine.

Our tasting consisted of recent vintages of the Drake Chard, RRV Pinot, Anderson Valley Pinot, Olivet Lane Pinot, Beckstoffer Georges III Cab, and an off-list pour of the 2014 Precious Mountain Pinot. Fantastic tasting from start to finish that highlighted some of the many faces of WS. The tasting guide also takes you on a short tour of the winemaking facilities which is nice. When we were there, the employees were busy topping off the Pinot barrels which was interesting to watch. Afterwards, you have the opportunity to purchase some library wines which are pretty much impossible to find retail.

If you are WS nerd, look for the Best-in-Show State Fair ribbon that is on the right wall just beyond the Pinot barrel room. It’s the award that WS won for its 1985 Rochioli Vineyard Pinot and put WS on the map. You can read about it online or have the guide tell you about it. Also, as you enter the building, go to the bottle wall on the right and look at the two bottles on the bottom left. One is a 1981 Sonoma County Pinot with the very first label when WS was still called Hacienda Del Rio Winery. Due to copyright issues, the label was changed to look like the current label. The second bottle looks like the current bottles, but still uses the Hacienda Del Rio name. But there was another winery already using that name, so in 1983, the winery officially adopted the name Williams Selyem.

If you are an active list member, I would highly recommend you to visit, especially if you can go during...

I took my sister for her first wine tasting here. Our host Sierra was extremely knowledgeable and professional. As an industry member, I had a lot of detailed questions and Sierra responded to each one. Her passion for wine is clear and she doesn't leave work at work - she's currently taking a high level wine exam to prove her mastery (the fourth and final level).

The wine was -simply put- delicious. It was also complex and smooth and showcases a style that is both European and Californian. Elegant, not extracted. Flavorful, not big. This is great wine. And the space isn't too bad either 😜

Let's hope the owners have enough respect for the wine and the people involved to keep it going. Wine is only business to some, and that's what kills the soul of any company. As an industry member, my heart broke for Sierra. No tip line? It was a good thing I had cash. It hurts to see wine educators like her suffer because their owners/bosses will not acknowledge their needs. In a nutshell, the hospitality/service industry abuses people. (And full disclosure, I'm speaking from experience). We don't make a living wage and yet we have to put on a happy face and try to keep our hearts open to do what we love: make folks feel at home and give them a great experience. We hope they understand the abuse and tip us.

Go enjoy these wines. Go vote for local, non- corporate wineries with your time and money. And don't forget to tip.

Three stars instead of five for the lack...

BEWARE - there is an incredibly UNSTATED cancellation fee. We scheduled a tasting for this last Thursday and received the confirmation via email. Nowhere on the confirmation or on any of the other communications was the cancellation penalty policy listed. When we notified Taylor at the winery that we were running late due to travel circumstances out of our control I was told that we would have to be there within 15 minutes of the scheduled tasting or we would have to cancel. As we were approximately 45 minutes late I agreed to just cancel. Taylor was very gracious and nice about it and did not mention a cancellation fee. Soon after I received an email from Julie saying that we would be charged $300 for cancelling. I communicated with her back and forth asking where that policy was stated in any of our communications and she could not show me. Instead she replied with a quote about their policy that was put in place this year. Not only were we late due to circumstances we could not control, NOWHERE in any of the emails confirming our visit did it say that we would be charged. I completely understand that the winery is small and boutiquey and that a cancelled visit could be a problem for them - we did not just suddenly decide not to come. Our transportation to the area was cancelled at the last minute leaving us rushing to get an alternative. $300 penalty based on a "policy" that was not stated beforehand is just ridiculous and bad...