Hop Kiln Winery

Located in the Russian River Valley area of Sonoma County, Hop Kiln is situated on a California historic landmark. This property has been a working ranch since the mid 1800's. Hop Kiln was built in 1905 to process hops that flourished on farms in the sunny, cool weather of Healdsburg. In the mid 1950's, the hop industry suffered due to an invasive fungus, causing Hop Kiln to become idle. Although grapes were grown on the ranch since the 19th century, the wine was only produced for family use until 1975 when the historic barn and kiln were converted to a bonded winery.

Tastings are free for 4 different wines. As I am much more of a red person, I opted to try most of the reds and they were not bad. Not as strong and earthy as I would prefer from a red, but they were not bad everyday table wines.

Currently they feature:
2007 Sauvignon Blanc
2006 Chardonnay
Thousand Flowers
2006 Zinfandel
2006 Grenache
2006 Big Red
2006 Rushin' River Red

Something that Hop Kiln features is a wide selection of food items which are excellent. Melanie and I tried many of their sauces, pestos, and mustards...every one was excellent.

Some of the mustards featured are:
Cognac and Pepper
Crunchy Cranberry
Curry
Horseradish
Jalapeno
Merlot and Chocolate (sounds weird but loved this one)
Raspberry Jalapeno
Sake Wasabi (excellent)
Sweet Garlic
Tropical Mango
Zinfandel and Garlic

Hop Kiln features Chef Renzo Veronese who was born in Italy and he oversees the wine and food program at Hop Kiln. Chef Renzo also works at their sister property nearby, Kenwood Inn and Spa. Make sure to check out their website for various recipes from Chef Renzo!