Three Sticks Wines – Daniel Mangin

Wines from magnificent fruit, poured in 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 Three Sticks Wines. The prospect of working with such magnificent fruit lured Bob Cabral, previously of Healdsburg’s exclusive Williams Selyem Winery, to Three Sticks a few years back.

Grapes from the celebrated Gap’s Crown Vineyard go into a Chardonnay and a Pinot.

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 feels both of its time and the present without shortchanging either. In fine weather some tastings take place outside at a stone table shaded by a willow-covered arbor.

The Adobe’s decor captures its period yet feels contemporary.

Tastings Virtual

All visits to the Adobe are by appointment only. When Three Sticks reopened In June 2020 following California’s initial coronavirus lockdown, the in-person tastings included one of several recently released wines and two involving food and wine pairings prepared by the nearby El Dorado Kitchen. All sessions take place outdoors in The Adobe’s garden. You can also book a virtual tasting via Zoom.