Sonoma Wineries: Chalk Hill Road Wineries in Alexander Valley
A bucolic corner of Northern California and a handful of premium wineries in their own tiny AVA are waiting to be discovered on eight miles of narrow, two-lane Chalk Hill Road, which winds through open grazing meadows and oak-studded fields in the foothills of the western Mayacamas Mountains.
A sub-appellation of the Russian River Valley AVA, Chalk Hill is characterized by shallow, rocky, whitish soil, derived from ancient volcanic eruptions from Mount St. Helena, nearby. Fruit-concentrated, highly flavorful wines result from the combination of poor soil, warm summers and cool nights.
A grand entrance through an olive grove leads to lakes, gardens and a villa at Chateau Felice where you can try gold medal-winning Syrahs and Cabernets. An Englishman and former aeronautical engineer, Barry Rodgers, and his wife, Phyllis, are the proprietors, and their daughter the winemaker, of the twenty-five acre estate winery.
Lancaster Estate offers a guided tour, starting with a drive through
the vineyards, a stop at the winery, a look inside the gigantic
aging caves, and glasses of luscious Bordeaux-style Cabernets.
Lovers of the languorous clematis vine make their pilgrimages to
Chalk Hill Clematis to choose from more than two hundred and fifty
varieties of the flowering vine. This is the world’s largest
producer of field-grown clematis. Such exotics as Purple Spider
and magenta-red Allanah bloom in the warm months, as do dozens
of saucer-sized pink, purple and white varieties. You can also
taste and purchase estate-grown olive oils and balsamic vinegars
here
With the harvest from sixty different vineyards, Chalk Hill Estates Vineyards and Winery makes bright Chardonnays with spicy, smoky flavors of pears and pineapple, and other estate-bottled wines. English gardens and a stunning backcountry setting makes this one of the prettiest staging areas for a winery tour and tasting experience.
The article on this page is adapted from the book, Backroads of the California Wine Country by Karen Misuraca (www.karenmisuraca.com), published by Voyageur Press.
