Sonoma winery hosts tastings at spiffed-up historic adobe.
Grape grower and vintner Bill Price owns two of Sonoma County’s most famous Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyards, Durell and Gap’s Crown. Though he sells grapes to other wineries, he reserves some of the best fruit for his Three Sticks Wines. Winemaker Ryan Prichard crafts wines from these estate vineyards and four others in Sonoma County.
Spiffed-Up Adobe
San Francisco designer Ken Fulk spiffed up a historic 1842 adobe structure Price purchased to house the Three Sticks tasting room, a hundred or so steps west of Sonoma Plaza. With handmade-tile floors, dark exposed wooden ceiling beams, plush contemporary leather chairs, and judicious splashes of luxurious velvet and other fabrics, the interior (lead photo) feels both of its time and the present without shortchanging either.
Tastings
All visits to Three Sticks are by appointment only. The individually hosted tastings include one of recently released wines and another involving food and wine pairing. Two seasonal offerings showcase single-vineyard Chardonnays, one with oysters (from late spring to early fall), the other with caviar (from late fall to early winter). Some tastings take place outdoors in The Adobe’s garden or a tented lounge. You can also book a virtual tasting via Zoom, and on weekends during harvest, hosts conduct tours of Durell Vineyard in all-terrain vehicles followed by a tasting and lunch under an oak-tree canopy.
Why go: historic setting; top winemaker; famous vineyards.
Itinerary
Three Sticks Wines appears Sonoma Pinot Noir Day Trip and Virtual Taste While You Shelter in Place.
Info
143 W. Spain St., Sonoma 95476
Dining Suggestions
Sonoma Restaurants Cheat Sheet
More About Sonoma County
Sonoma County Basics
Sonoma County Vineyard Walks
This story originally appeared online in 2017; it was most recently updated in 2023.
Pingback: Sonoma Restaurants Cheat Sheet – Daniel Mangin
Pingback: Virtual Taste While You Shelter in Place – Daniel Mangin