Taste Domaine de la Rivière Wines in Windsor, Sonoma County

“Great wines begin with high-quality grapes.” That’s Geoff and Marla Bedrosian’s motto at their Domaine de la Rivière property. They grow and source their high-quality fruit from the Middle Reach Neighborhood of the Russian River Valley, a narrow stretch of land that runs north-south along the Russian River’s banks between southern Healdsburg and Forestville. Known for its mix of fog and sun, the area promotes a long, well-balanced growing season, producing wines with rich, velvety fruit flavors that are distinctive to vineyards in the region. 

History

Native New Yorkers, the Bedrosians bought the vineyards before they lived in the area. After years of bi-coastal living, the duo built a home on the property and moved to California. Their first harvest was in 2017, and they released their first wine, the Rosé of Pinot Noir, in 2018, followed by Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in 2019. Domaine de la Rivière Shoshana Rosé is named for their daughter, Shoshana. “It was only natural to name this Rosé after our first and only daughter, whose name in English translates to Rose.”

Taste Wine at Grand Cru Collective

Domaine de la Rivière’s wine is made at Grand Cru, a custom crush winery collective in Windsor with shared production and wine tasting facility. Grand Cru is home to 20+ local, family-owned wineries and it’s here guests can partake in a private Domaine de la Rivière tasting that lasts 1-1.5 hours.

The experience is a personalized journey during which guests can meet the winery owners, taste a selection of their exclusive hand-crafted wines, and tour the Grand Cru facility. Appointment-only tastings of delicious Rosé, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir provide a unique and memorable tasting experience, and the wines can be paired with artisanal pizza created by a local seasoned chef.  

Vineyard Tour at Domaine de la Rivière Estate Property

Loyalty Members can experience the ultimate tour – the Private Vineyard Tour of Vineyard eleven on the Domaine de la Rivière Estate Property. Vineyard eleven has an illustrious history. The 21-acre ranch formerly supplied ultra-premium Pinot Noir fruit to wineries like Kosta Brown, Patz & Hall, Paul Hobbs, Gary Farrell, Evening Land, Orogeny, and Orin Swift. The Bedrosians replanted 11 acres with two distinct Pinot Noir blocks. The Heritage Block was replanted to the Mt. Eden and Swan clones, and the Red Barn Block was planted to the Pommard, Swan, and UV-Vosne-Romanée clones. 

The 1-1.5 experience tours Vineyard eleven with the Bedrosians, Vineyard Manager Matt Reilly, or Winemaker Kale Anderson. The host will lead guests through the estate property and discuss the growing season, varieties, and terroir. Marla’s expertise in gardening has resulted in a plethora of vegetables all along the property, and if you’re lucky, you may walk away with an assortment.

Winemaker Anderson brings a wealth of winemaking experience to the team with his background working at Colgin Cellars, Terra Valentine Winery, Cliff Lede Vineyards in Stags Leap District, and most recently at Pahlmeyer, where he (and Pahlmeyer) received a 100-point score from The Wine Advocate in December 2016. Robert Parker, Jr. wrote, “The first perfect score I’ve given to Pahlmeyer.” Anderson’s expertise is a testament to the quality of the Domaine de la Rivière wines.

Marla explained the winery’s unique name. “How we make our wines is focused on the traditions of Burgundy. Our estate property, Vineyard eleven, has clones that originated in Burgundy, and it is just above the Russian River—Vineyard on the River—Domaine de la Rivière. Domaine de la Rivière reflects our commitment to Burgundian winemaking traditions and our unique location in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. “