Wine Tasting Tour At Sebastiani Winery, Sonoma County

Hello fellow travellers! Last month, on a fine sunny day, Meenakshi and I found ourselves in the Golden State, California. We decided to spend a day in the famous Wine Country, Sonoma. 

Getting into wine can be a daunting task. However, we have realized that exploring wine-producing regions, getting to know the local culture and most importantly, experiencing wine tastings is a great way of doing it. Therefore, we narrowed down a list of the best wineries in Sonoma and picked the historic 118-year-old Sebastiani Winery to educate our palates while enjoying the cheerful weather.

A little bit of history

In 1895, a young Italian named Samuele Sebastiani emigrated from his native Tuscany to the United States in search of a better life. His first job in the US was hauling stones in a horse-drawn cart all the way from Sonoma to San Francisco, used for building the streets of the city.

As a young boy, Samuele had observed his parents make wine. Being a sharp businessman, he decided to source grapes from local farmers to make wine. He sold the wine to locals, and soon he invested in expanding his business. The rest, as they say, is history. Apart from establishing himself as one of the most successful winemakers in Sonoma, Samuele Sebastiani also helped develop the town, from building theatres to hotels to apartments.

Our wine tasting experience at Sebastiani Winery and Vineyard

Our tasting experience was hosted and led by Victor Aul, the head of Wine Education and hospitality at Sebastiani. He gave us an excellent tour of the historic winery and the barrel room, which still houses some of the original barrels designed and built by Samuele Sebastiani himself, including a giant 60 thousand gallon barrel. Sebastiani was a lover of birds and was evident from the several bird carvings that adorned the barrels.

We sat down by the fireplace, and Victor took the time to understand our taste in wine, what wines we had relished in the past and more importantly, why we enjoyed them.

We tried the following wines.

1. 2019 Sebastiani Pinot Grigio, Sonoma Valley. I can’t exactly remember anything particular about this one, except that it came across as a nice drinkable and inoffensive wine.
2. 2018 Sebastiani Chardonnay, Sonoma County. It was definitely one of the better chardonnays we have had. It had mango, tangerine and vanilla notes.
3. 2018 Sebastiani Zinfandel, Sonoma County. We are not huge fans of tannic and dry red wines, so we did an interesting experiment with this one, tasting the wine right out of the bottle and then stirring in just a dash of water. The result was incredible. The tannic taste that both Meenakshi and I are not big fans of was somewhat subdued. As a result, we got a full-bodied and well rounded, and a more drinkable wine!
4. Cherryblock Cabernet Sauvignon, from the special Cherryblock collection – This was our favourite! We sipped this while walking across the street to the beautiful Sebastiani Vineyard. It was quite an experience to gaze into miles and miles of cordon and cane, filled with grapevines, which would soon be ready for harvest.

Where & how to reach Sebastiani Winery and Vineyard

Address: 389 4th St E, Sonoma, CA 95476

The winery is located in the heart of downtown Sonoma, therefore highly accessible. Bus Route #40 from neighbouring Petaluma will take you straight to Sonoma.

You can book your wine tasting tour at Sebastiani WInery and Vineyards here.

Overall, we came away with a lot more understanding about wine, the winemaking process and why we like some wines better than others. Trying out new wines, doing tastings, and especially having the experience guided by someone who takes the time to understand your palate without being snobbish is a great way to appreciate this fine beverage. 

We’re off to get a glass of Chardonnay! Meanwhile enjoy these photos. 🙂