When planning an Edna Valley Wine Tasting Tour, there are many important variables to consider, but your flow chart should often begin with deciding what wineries to visit. If you are looking to find great red wines, below is a list of the region’s top tasting rooms to meet your needs!
Big Bold Reds
Baileyana—Though their tasting room is most commonly referred to solely as Baileyana, they actually carry multiple labels under the Niven Family Estates Umbrella. At their picturesque farmhouse-style location, you will encounter some flavors that are sure to inundate your palate with rich flavors throughout each taste. Our personal favorites are the Baileyana S-BAR Syrah (as a bonus trivia question, let your friends know that S-BAR stands for ‘select blocks and rows’), the True Myth Mosaico, and the True Myth Tinto.
Talley Vineyards—Talley is known for a wide variety of wines, but we always come back to two distinct favorites in their collection—the Bishop’s Peak Elevation and their Stone Corral Vineyard Pinot Noir. The Bishop’s peak packs a robust punch with its smoky and peppery tones, all while being underscored by bush fruit and herbs. For the Pinot, there is fruit on the nose as you work your way through a veritable cornucopia of delicious offerings from their finely-crafted product.
Sultry and Seductive
Tolosa– Take the title of this section for what you (s)will, but we just can’t stop going back to this tasting room for a couple vintages that make you feel both sophisticated and rebellious all at the same time. Their 1772 Syrah is as timeless as the mission its label is named for (Ok, maybe a bit much, but wine being named after a California Spanish Mission is prettttty cool!). With White pepper, vanilla, black plum, and licorice tones, the complexity of this bottle will be on full display to a discerning palate. Following that, we encourage you to experience their Salsonstall Pinor noir out of their Single Vineyard collection—the aromas of starfruit and rose petals are an intro to a wonderland of moderate yet indulgent fruit finishers.
Chamisal—Chamisal represents a beautiful balance in the strength of their wine diversity, but we’ll be focusing on their reds today. Their Califa Pinot Noir is complex and powerful with their signature Chamisal Spice, and finishes with a graceful flourish that will cause you to keep tilting that bottle sideways. Similarly, their Edna Valley Syrah is grown in cool climates during a long growing season, and the result is a rich but subtle flavor that includes notes of plum, black olives, and briary spice. Briary is an adjective used to describe a bold spice or peppery characteristic, so save this fact as well and you’re well on your way to contributing to a connoisseur-level discussion about wine. You’re welcome!
Bonus Grapes– a Unique Varietal!
Wolff Vineyard— While we love all the tasting rooms in Edna Valley, we only have room to highlight one more. We chose it for its truly rare vintage available alongside some traditional winners; have you ever heard of Teroldego? If you haven’t, we recommend you include Wolff’s tasting room as part of your trip, where you can try a rare Italian varietal. Known for its inky, dark, and fruity qualities, the low tannin wine is great to introduce your palate to a wine night. Which then leads us to our next point—try their Petite Sirah for a bolder time that encompasses the true spirit of a winery that allows dogs to lounge on their patio. Mostly, we just want to encourage the coexistence of dogs and wine all at the same time for an ideal experience!
If you love red wine, then these tasting room descriptions should leave you raring to visit Edna Valley. As always, we recommend you designate a driver to maximize your enjoyment while avoiding the hassle of designating a driver, finding parking, and having to deal with multiple cars or ride services if coordinating a large group tour. For more information and services, please visit our website, or give us a call at (805) 620-SAFE.
Cheers!
