Sojourn Cellars

Recently, I had a chance to visit Sojourn Cellars just off the plaza in Sonoma. The tasting salon has only been open for about 18 months, but is quite successful already. They specialize in small lot Pinot Noir and Cabernet. When I heard that, I was very curious because those two wines are usually made in very different ways. More on that in a moment, but first some pictures...


The outside of the salon....

What a cool little "house"....no wonder it's so comfortable.

We were met with quite a spread....

Oh, how I love cheese, especially when paired well with wines!

Okay, let's get back to the wine.

I was greeted with the Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. In case I need to remind you, I'm a hard sell on Pinot. This one was good, not great, but good. It takes a lot for me to really enjoy a Pinot Noir and while I wouldn't kick any of these wines out of bed, I liked a couple of the other ones better.

Next I had the Rodgers Creek Pinot and I thought this one had a little more complexity and thought immediately that it would be a perfect Pinot for a lot of different food pairings. Dishes with mushrooms came to mind.

Then came the Gap's Crown Vineyard and the Sangiacomo Vineyard Pinots. These two blew me away. Seriously. This is what Pinot is all about. The winemaker was there to talk all about the differences in the vineyards and the locations. Maybe there was just more of a story to tell about these two places, but I think that these two vineyards are just more expressive. I would drink a glass (bottle) of either of these wines in a heartbeat. Their velvety smooth texture and abundance of aromas and flavors were just amazing.

Now on to the Cabernet Sauvignons. Unlike Pinot, I generally like most Cabernets. Of course, there are many styles and I can't say that I like them all. It was interesting to learn that the Cabernet wines were made in the exact same way as the Pinot Noir - open top fermenters (very rare for Cab) and basket pressing, one of the oldest ways to crush grapes. Sojourn is also small enough that they can do a lot of sorting. They sort clusters in the vineyards and then again back at the winery and they also sort berries. Yes, berries. Now that is meticulous. All of this extra work leads to higher price wines, but generally better quality and flavor. Pretty important, if you ask me.

Like the Pinot Noir, the Cabernet differences were based on vineyards (soil, heat, vine management, etc...). They currently have three different releases: 2006 Sonoma Valley, 2006 "Reserve" Mountain Terraces Vineyard and 2007 Home Ranch. All three were good, solid wines. The standout, for me, was the reserve. And before you jump to conclusions about reserve being better, you should know that the term / word "reserve" on a label is not controlled by the government. A winery or winemaker can use it on any of their wines. In this case, I really thought it was the best of these particular wines. I will let you know that these Cabernets were lighter than the typical Cabs, due in part to the way the grapes are handled. It was a nice change though because the wines were ready to drink now - you wouldn't have to wait!

The setting: relaxed, home-like. The service: outstanding. The wines: very good - great. Will I go again? Yes. And I recommend you visit the tasting salon on your next trip to Sonoma.

Cheers!