Tasting Through Downtown Geyserville

Downtown Geyersville

The Wine Road of Sonoma is spread out over many miles through winding roads and up steep hills, downtown Geyserville is the one place where you can experience a lot of what Sonoma has to offer by walking a few short blocks.

At first glance Geyserville Avenue looks like it has nothing there, but take a stroll down the street and you will start to feel differently. In fact, you can spend the day exploring.

Start off at the tasting room for Terriors Artisan Wines where Aussies Dawn and Bill Williamson will let you try out samples from four different labels. From there it’s just a few steps to Mercury Wine, where Brad Beard creates blends in the style of Bordeaux.

After two tasting rooms, you are probably getting hungry, so go to Diavola Restaurant for lunch. It’s a pizzeria-salumeria that also has a selection of salads and paninis on the menu. Order the Salami & Cheese selection along with one of their pizzas. The Margherita is delicious and will balance out the meat-filled first course.

Now that your stomach is filled, it’s time to do some serious tasting — and there’s no better place for that than Locals. Without ever getting into your car, Locals will provide you with the opportunity to taste among 70 different wines from 10 separate wineries – free of charge. Once you’ve narrowed down your favorites, you can even purchase the wine right there.

Continue in shopping mode for a look through Bosworth & Son General Store, where you can get everything from cowboy boots to jewelry, or Geyserville Vintage Gifts & Antiques where Constance and Doug Newton can show you some unique finds. (They also own Alexander Valley Bike Company if you want to rent a bicycle to explore more of Sonoma.) Then grab a latte at Geyserville Mud and head to the final wine tasting stops.

Meeker Vineyard offers unconventional wines (how about a Barbera?) in an unusual setting, a historic bank building. The final stop on your wine tasting in downtown Geyserville is Route 128, where Pete and Lorna Opatz prove that the road they named their wines after is the home to some wonderful grapes.

After an afternoon of shopping and tasting, you are probably ready for another bite to eat. Check out Catelli’s for some fresh pasta before you call it a day.

The Meeker tasting room

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