Boutique winery’s tastings highlight the role “terroir” plays in wine production.
A boutique winery with a bungalow tasting room a little east of Sonoma Plaza, Sojourn Cellars receives high praise for its Pinot Noir lineup. The winery also makes winning Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignons. Comparative tastings highlight the role terroir—a vineyard’s combination of soil types, microclimates, elevation, and wind and sun exposure—plays in wine production. The clones, or variants, of a grape varietal such as Pinot Noir are another essential factor.
High-Caliber Vineyards
Sojourn sources grapes from vineyards whose caliber is so high the growers only sell to wineries deemed capable of living up to the land’s reputation: Durell for Chardonnay; Sangiacomo and Gap’s Crown for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; and Rodgers Creek, Riddle, Reuling, Wohler, Walala, Ridgetop, UV Lucky Well, and several others for Pinot Noir. With Pinot sources ranging from the Petaluma Gap in southern Sonoma County to the Pacific-view hills in the county’s northwestern section, winemaker Erich Bradley coaxes a diversity of flavors out of these grapes.
Sonoma and Napa Cabs
All the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyards are in Sonoma County, as is one of Cabernet sources, the Home Ranch. The grapes for other Cabernets come from Napa Valley vineyards that include Beckstoffer George III (Rutherford) and Oakville Ranch. The first wines released by Sojourn when it debuted were Cabernets and the varietal remains a strong suit.
Why go: Pinot Noir lineup; high-quality grapes; comparative tastings.
Itinerary
Sojourn Cellars appears in Sonoma Pinot Noir Day Trip.
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This story originally appeared online in 2017; it was fact-checked and updated in 2022. Lead photo of Sangiacomo Vineyards is courtesy of Sojourn Cellars.
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