Chris Hann

Review of V. Sattui Winery

I live in the area and stumbled on this place 16 y...

I live in the area and stumbled on this place 16 years ago when I was still exploring and before it became a destination in its own right and had to start charging for 'tasting'.

First time there in 1998 I had family over from the UK and we just thought it looked interesting. Apparently people talk about the desert wines and Cabernet but I can't drink red without getting migraine and sickly sweet wine is not something I have ever wanted to experience twice.

We go back year after year for the Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. I haven't tried the dry Muscat and will deal with that this weekend.

Over the years they added more options to the overall experience and there is more shelved wine, but the quality has stayed just as high as ever. I have a friend who drives down from Portland in his thirsty SUV just so that he can shop at Sattui without worrying about the weight.

When they added the deli, it made the place in to much more of a one stop shop. I think they sold some cheese and bread the first time I was there, but nothing like the huge deli they have now. The sandwiches are lovely but I am 6'3" and can't eat a whole one. We have never stuck around for the BBQ, but everyone seems to love it.

In some ways I regret their success. The wine tasting crowd spoiled these places for people like us who want to come and buy wine but would like to know what it tastes like. The staff seem to be on commission too, so even if you do what we do (delli then load up from the shelves with the wine you already know you want) they try to write up their "help" ticket to get a cut from what they didn't help you with. When my mother was here around 2000 she actually got to chat with the owners about the wines and the business, they don't have time for that now.

They also sort of spoiled the whole exploring thing for us. We tried Beringer because we thought we shouldn't go to the same place over and over. What a mistake. Tourist trap with bad wines. Perhaps a place for the wine tasting locusts to get some free alcohol, but not a place to buy wine to take home. We occasionally try another winery, but haven't found "the next sattui" yet, just a lot of mild disappointment. Many places want to hit you with the wine tasting charge before they'll show you what they have.

Our 'trick' is to get there early, or go in the depths of winter. I have been there at 9am on a rainy December 24th morning to see them sandbagging the doors to keep the floods at bay. The best way to get the 1998 Sattui experience again.