Meet the Winemaker in Healdsburg

In Healdsburg, meet-the-winemaker is less a gimmick than an accurate description of how some of these operations actually function.

La Follette Wines was built by three wine industry figures, a former Screaming Eagle winemaker and a Viticulturist of the Year among them. Garden Creek Vineyards in Geyserville is Justin and Karin Warnelius-Miller's project, terroir-obsessed, Anderson Valley climate as the starting point. Vérité offers Bordeaux-style blends across three cuvées, La Muse, La Joie, and Le Désir.

Dry Creek Valley

Rued Winery comes from a grape-growing family with roots in this valley since 1876. Steve and Sonia Rued trained at Kenwood, Dry Creek Vineyard, and Seghesio before launching their own label in 2000. Cartograph Wines has been focused on Pinot Noir since 2008, deliberately small.

Tongue Dancer selects its vineyard sources and clones with unusual specificity. Smith Story Wine Cellars and White Oak both offer relaxed, direct pours in a valley where some experiences can feel overly staged.

Alexander Valley

Anakota works estate fruit from Knights Valley, Bordeaux varieties grown on the slopes of Mount St. Helena under Pierre Seillan. Lancaster Estate farms 53 acres in the southern end of the valley and does the whole thing in house, growing through bottling.

Small operations

Stephen & Walker is a micro winery, Nancy Walker and Tony Stephen sourcing from Dry Creek Valley, Howell Mountain, and Russian River Valley in batches small enough to handle by hand. Dutcher Crossing is Debra Mathy's Dry Creek property, family-focused, with Zinfandel from the Brothers Reserve block.