Dear friends recommended we visit Three Sticks Wines on our latest Sonoma visit and it was one of the best tasting experiences we’ve ever had.

About Three Sticks Wines

Three Sticks Living Room

Three Sticks Wines is a boutique, family-owned winery whose philosophy is to produce wines of world class quality from exceptional vineyards in Sonoma County, including our estate properties Durell, Walala and Gap’s Crown Vineyards.

“Three Sticks” refers to the three Roman numerals that follow Founder Bill Price’s written name. He was known as “Billy Three Sticks” growing up surfing in Hawaii, where the young Price attended high school. Price, an attorney by trade, expanded his passion for wine when his former private equity firm bought Beringer in 1995. Other wine industry investments have been made in Chateau St Jean, Kistler Vineyards, Gary Farrell Winery, Lutum and Head High. Price also owns Durell Vineyard from which Three Sticks sources some of its grapes.

About The Adobe

The historic Vallejo-Casteñada Adobe is one of Sonoma’s few remaining buildings from California’s Mexican period and the longest occupied residence in town. The history of the property is as follows:

1842 – Constructed by Captain Salvador Vallejo, infamous brother of beloved General Mariano Vallejo.

1947 – Gregory and Harriet Jones purchased the property, which they called “La Casita”, and launched into a major restoration.

1997 – Mrs. Jones’ estate sold The Adobe to her dear friends Robert & Leslie Demler who meticulously cared for the building for the next 15 years.

2012 – Bill and Eva Price purchased The Adobe from the Demlers for Three Sticks in November 2012, 170 years after its original construction.

Welcome Tasting

Bill and Eva Price bought Three Sticks Wines’s property to create a company headquarters with multiple functions. Famed San Francisco designer, Ken Fulk, was hired to design the three buildings (see the winery featured in Architectural Digest here) – the original adobe which houses the tasting lounge and kitchen; a newly-built cottage used as an office; and a new wine storehouse where a second tasting area is housed and where we enjoyed our tasting.

About the Gardens

Artwork in Garden

We fell in love with the garden design created by Landscape Architect, Penney Magrane. The challenge was to reimagine the original Helen Van Pelt garden design to compliment Ken Fulk’s building design. The fire pit, sitting areas and outdoor dining area are reflections of the authentic restoration of the property. Several inviting spaces were created in the garden to allow several groups to share common spaces but in a private way. We went home with several design ideas for our own home.

 About the Wines

Veteran Director of Winemaking, Bob Cabral (former winemaker and general manager for Williams Selyem Winery) and Winemaker Ryan Prichard, make exceptional wines and it’s difficult to say which was my favorite, however, the Chardonnay sourced from Durell Vineyards is very special. Here are the wines we sampled:

2016 Casteñada White Blend ($45) – this is the third Rhone varietal in the trio of limited Casteñada label.  We were greeted with this wine upon arriving at the property and loved it so much we purchased a case to have at home for the summer. This wine is only available, in very small quantities, at the Adobe. This wine is a blend of 30% Grenache Blanc, 30% Roussanne, 17% Marsanne and 13% Viognier – grapes I adore. Lovely floral and citrus notes on the nose are followed by great fruit flavors with amazing minerality (concrete egg fermented) and a crisp finish.

2016 Durell Vineyard Origin Chardonnay ($50) – The unoaked Origin Chardonnay from Durell Vineyard is fermented in concrete and offers light tropical fruit flavors. Rich-yet-light wine showing beautiful fruit without any masking from oak.

2015 Gap’s Crown Vineyard Chardonnay ($55) – 100% Dijon clones which are perfectly suited to match the cool, foggy climate. This wine is bright with great minerality and a rich palate. This wine is aged 15 months in 100% French oak (40% new).

2016 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($65) – This vintage is a blend of William James Vineyard, Alana Vineyard and Earl Stephens Vineyard creating the perfect Russian River blend. Lovely fruity nose with typical cherry cola flavors and oaky notes on the medium finish.

2016 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir, “The James” ($65) – Made with fruit from the famed Sanford & Benedict and La Rinconada Vineyards in Santa Barbara county, The James (named after Bill Price III’s son) is so different from Three Sticks’ Sonoma Pinot Noir and fun to drink side by side. Big red berry aromas and spiced ripe red berries on the palate on this wine in its last vintage.

The wines are sold through an allocation list so sign up if you’d like a chance at tasting these wonderful wines.

Tastings are available by appointment and range about 60 minutes for tastings and 90-120 minutes for a private luncheon. A current release tasting is $40 and $80 for the addition of library wines to the current release tasting. There are two food and wine experiences, the $85 Food & Wine Pairing – five wines paired with food from The Girl and the Fig and the $200 Private Luncheon – three-course meal with wine pairings, prepared by El Dorado Kitchen.

Three Sticks features some of the best wines in Sonoma and a visit to its historic tasting room right off the town square is a must when in wine country.

Three Sticks Wines – www.threestickswines.com 143 West Spain Street, Sonoma, CA.

Cheers,

Veronique