Tour a famous vineyard and taste barrel samples

“Speaking of the barrel room, where better to continue the tour on such a hot day? After a brief visit among the fermentation tanks upstairs, we ventured down into the 55 degree cellar to meet Ames, and enjoy some barrel tasting. [...] The beauty of the Experience Alexander Valley event is that the three of us had about 30-45 minutes of interrupted time with the head winemaker. (I was enjoying myself too much to keep track of time.) We could ask whatever questions we wanted, and he took the time to answer in a way we could all understand. You don’t get that on a party bus tour! [...] He thieved us samples of their 2017 Lower Slope Chardonnay, the 2017 50 Tons Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Kate’s & B’s Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2017 Secret Ingredient Malbec.”

“Cakebread - We did the wines and vines tour with Geoffrey. This was by far the best actual tour we did. You walk the vineyard during this tour and we learned so much about how to prune vines, what good yield is like, why taller top branches can sometimes be good shade umbrellas in hot years, how the fans work, etc. He was so knowledgeable! [...] The highlight was a barrel pour of the Benchland Select that was about to be bottled. When tasted in conjunction with the 2018, you could really see how the flavors developed over time. A fantastic tour.”