10 Wine-Fun Reasons to Attend Wine Road’s Winter Festivals

By January, wine fun seems in short supply, especially after the fast-paced activities beginning with Thanksgiving and running through to the new year. But fear not, the Wine Road offers a winter wine festival filled with great wines, plenty of laughter, great photo ops and a whole lot of fun — it’s the 32^nd annual Winter WINEland.

It’s a Three-Day Weekend

Winter WINEland happens on the third weekend in January. Perfectly placed, as Monday is the holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., giving most folks a three-day weekend. This year Winter WINEland is January 18^th and 19^th, with over half the wineries sharing complimentary tasting on Monday, January 20^thfor Winter WINEland ticket holders wearing wristbands and showing up with their wine glasses. That’s three days of January fun!

A very large clay amphora decorated with white Christmas lights. Stacked wine barrels in the background. — Amphora Winery decorates their amphora wine vessels for Winter WINEland.

Never Long Enough

The holiday season flies by fast, and when it ends, it’s always a little depressing to put away the decorations. At Winter WINEland, you can spend the entire weekend soaking in a little bit more of the holiday décor. And, you can enjoy it without putting up or taking down the lights! Your only job for the entire weekend is to relax, enjoy, and soak in the fun.

Holiday decorations with a vase of white roses and baby breath, Pedroncelli wine cases, coasters and wine opener. — Winter WINEland decorations at Pedroncelli Winery

Making Memories

The wineries along the Wine Road are so picturesque, making them perfect for great photo ops. If you like to take selfies with your friends as you taste through the day, you’re in luck during Winter WINEland. The wineries will have special locations or backdrops in their tasting rooms to help you capture memories from each stop. It’s always good to have photos to share on social media, showing your friends and family what they are missing. Photos also remind us of the great time we had, so we mark our calendars to do it again next year!

A compiled image of three selfie station. One with a winter scene with young couple toasting with white wine, middle scene is a back drop of a wine bottle with Ten of Cups on the bottle with the wine pouring down into stacked wine glasses. Last image is of a couple holding a huge bottle of Papapietro Perry Pinot Noir and a sign that reads BFF with arrow pointing in both directions. — Photo op stations at Idlewild Wines (left), Banshee Wines (middle), and Papapietro Perry Winery (right).

If holiday décor isn’t your thing, be sure to check out the decorations at David Coffaro Vineyard & Winery as they celebrate the NFL football season. If you’re a fan, you might even be able check on the scores.

Woman sitting on a holiday decorated red ski lift with skis on both sides and a barrel with wine bottles on it to the left side. — At Martorana Family Winery, enjoy holiday décor as part of the selfie station.

Try Something New

With 70 wineries to select from, you’re bound to find a new one you’ve not been to before. You may also find new wine varietals or blends to try, and you just might fall in love with them. Last year, my stop at Idlewild Wines was all about something new. Idlewild specializes in Italian varietals, and during my visit I tasted varietals I’d never before tried, each memorable and worthy of a purchase.

At Mounts Family Winery, we tried a couple of their Rhône-varietal blends and fell in love with them. Idlewild and Mounts are just two of the many wineries producing and pouring Italian and Rhône varietals and blends. As you look through the list of participating wineries and the program, you’ll find many more “new to you” options that lure to you stop in and taste.

Man with standing behind a tasting bar with four bottles of wine in from of him. Around him are festive winter holiday decorations. — David Mounts at a past Winter WINEland

Meet the Owners and Winemakers

Winter WINEland is a weekend where the folks pouring the wines are often the owners, winemakers, or both. In addition to the tasting room staff, at some wineries you’ll get the chance to meet members of the winemaking team as they proudly pour the wines they helped produce.

Listing out all the wineries where you can have a chance to meet the folks that make the wine would be way too long, so I’ll just share a few locations:

At Carol Shelton Wines, meet the owner and winemaker, Carol Shelton, the Queen of Zin. Carol’s infectious smile, award-winning wines, and willingness to share plenty of stories will tempt you to hang out for a while.
Get to know owners Lana and David Mounts at Mounts Family Winery. David (third generation) is the winemaker and winegrower/farmer. Also meet some of the fourth generation of Mounts as they pour wine during the weekend.
Matt Michael, the winemaker and partner at Baldassari Wines, will be on hand during the weekend to pour you his delicious wines at his downtown Windsor tasting room.
At Peterson Winery, owner Fred Peterson and winemaker Jamie Peterson will be pouring wines along with members of their winemaking team. They promise to also have toasty heaters in their cellar to keep you warm as you sip their wines, which are some of the county’s best kept secrets.
Chris Mengler, the owner and winemaker of Mengler Family Wines, will be spending the weekend greeting guests and pouring wine in his downtown Windsor tasting room.

These are just a few of the owners and winemakers who will be on hand to greet and meet you. So many of the Wine Road wineries are small and family owned and operated, giving you many opportunities all weekend long to get to know the people behind the wines.

Two woman in front of wine barrels. — Carol Shelton (right) with a Winter WINEland guest

Mysterious Wine Specials

Many of the wineries participating in Winter WINEland will be offering special pricing on some of their wines, including most of the wineries I’ve already mentioned. There are a couple unique offerings you might want to scope out during Winter WINEland.

Soda Rock Winery will be having a Mystery Case Sale. If you’ve tried Soda Rock wines, you already know that they are all delicious, so this Mystery Case Sale is a great chance to get excellent wines at a bargain price.

Sunce Winery & Vineyard will once again hold their annual mystery bottle sale. Here’s the scoop: Disguised in brown bags, these wines have scuffed labels or are the last of the vintage. The prices will be $25 for a bottle of red wine (value $45-90) and $15 for a bottle white wine (value $30-45). Sunce has been holding this sale since the 1990s, and people return year after year to purchase these mystery wines at bargain prices.

The bottles of BACA Zinfandel nestled among a snow scene of white pine trees made of wood, a silver wood carved reindeer, large and small snowflakes and other decorations. — Winter WINEland at BACA Wines

VIP Events

Twenty lucky people will be able to purchase tickets for two VIP events during the Winter WINEland weekend.

To kick off the weekend, on Friday night Gary Farrell Wines will be hosting an intimate VIP Happy Hour at their stunning location with breathtaking views of the Russian River Valley. They are renowned for their highly acclaimed Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which you’ll be enjoying along with the view.

Deck with comfy chairs and a low table overlooking an expansive view of trees with mountains in the far distance. — View from the Gary Farrell Wines deck

To ensure you start your wine tasting Saturday with a delicious meal, Williamson Wines will be hosting the VIP breakfast at their Epicurean Kitchen in downtown Healdsburg. Colin Curtis, Williamson Wines estate executive chef, will offer up a thoughtfully prepared and hearty farm-to-table breakfast showcasing Sonoma County’s seasonal bounty paired with their sparkling wine, Chardonnay and Rosé.

Remember, VIP tickets are limited to 20 people, so get yours as soon as possible. Last year the VIP experience quickly sold out!

Extra Day of Tasting & Fun

On Monday, over half of the participating wineries will continue to extend complimentary tastings to ticket holders who show up with their glasses and wristbands intact. This extra day gives you time to explore more wineries, and visit those you missed over the weekend.

A wall painted with an old time firetruck with stylized vineyards and a lake as the background. Paper snowflakes hand down in from of the painted image. — Hook & Ladder Winery

Sunday-Only Tickets

If you can only break away for a day, the Wine Road will have Sunday-only tickets available at a reduced price over the full-weekend ticket price. Same great benefit and amount of fun, just compressed into one day. Sunday-only tickets are limited, and sell out quickly.

Ticket Time

Ready to buy your tickets?
Information about the weekend
List of Winter WINEland participating wineries
Winter WINEland detailed program
Link to purchase tickets

Holiday Wine Trail & Market

If you can’t wait until January to visit Sonoma County’s Wine Country, the Wine Road has another wine tasting event that includes shopping options for the holidays. The Holiday Wine Trail & Market will take place on December 7^th from 11 – 4. The $40 one-day ticket will get you access to your choice of 30 wineries. Each winery will also have gift items for sale, so you can multi-task — wine tasting, restocking your cellar for the holidays, and holiday gift shopping, too. Check out the list of participating wineries, the wines they’ll be offering, and the gift selections they have available that day.

Several of the wineries will have multiple local artisans or food purveyors at their locations. ACTA Wine will host five artisans, Woodenhead Wine will be displaying the works of 11 local artists, giving you so many excellent gift options, and at Carol Shelton Wines, the staff and friends will be selling various handmade items.

Winter and Wine = Fun!

Don’t let the shorter days and occasional gray skies of winter give you the blues. Visit Sonoma County’s Wine Road and let the fun begin.

Happy Sipping!

A large fireplace with three stocking hung above it. Skis, ski boots and skates sit on barrels on either side of the fireplace. — A cozy fireplace at Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards decorated for Winter WINEland

Holiday tree decorated with white lights and fake snow next to a wall of windows and doors decorated with snowflakes. — Sonoma-Cutrer keeps their holiday tree up for Winter WINEland

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Posted by Rebecca Germolus

Rebecca Germolus, co-owner of Maximum Value Marketing, loves Sonoma County and playing along the Wine Road. Rebecca daily immerses herself in wine country by providing cost-effective marketing and writing solutions to wineries and restaurants.

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