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Open: 11:00am-5:00pm, Thursday-Sunday; by appointment Mon-Wed.
Appt required? No, but private tasting options are available by appointment
Last barlinwine.com visit: 2011 (September 29, 2011 Itinerary)
Directions:
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Tasting:
We went to Copain on the advice of our friends Tim and Jamie Smith. Located on Eastside Road in the Russian River Valley, Copain has a beautiful view from the top of a small hill of the valley, the Russian River, and (as of a year ago), Williams-Selyem’s massive tasting room.
We pulled into the parking lot on a Thursday afternoon and found a sight I dread: a tour bus parked in the lot. We saw the large group was in the midst of a seated tasting on the patio outside, and so we headed into the tasting room. We walked in and found a welcoming room, with a set of couches to the left and a medium-size tasting bar. Unfortunately, this was full, and so we patiently waited. And waited. And waited. No one greeted us, and no one bothered to ask people at the tasting bar to shift a bit to accommodate a few more. After 5-10 minutes, a couple finally finished their tasting and we were able to get started.
At Copain, we started with their Viognier. We then moved to two pinot noirs, the Les Voisins Pinot Noir and the single vineyard Wentzel Pinot Noir, followed by the Les Voisins Syrah. Most of Copain’s fruit is sourced from the Santa Lucia Highlands in Mendocino, north of the Dry Creek Valley. Les Voisins means “neighbors”, and these wines were blends of a number of neighboring vineyards in Mendocino. The wines were all pretty good, but nothing was amazing. Of the first four, the Wentzel Pinot stood out to me. Our last taste was of the 2007 Les Copain red wine from the James Berry vineyard in Paso Robles. This interesting blend of grenache and mourvèdre was one that both Steph and I enjoyed as something different and a wine that strongly suggests food friendliness.
Copain will sell you on the ability for their wines to pair well with food, and I would generally agree with that pitch. All are accessible and for the most part reasonably priced. We left with a couple of bottles of James Berry which waived our tasting fee; I’ll be interested to see how this pairs with a meal and to someday try Copain again, hopefully when it’s less busy. I’d recommend this winery for the view and for wines that are a bit different from much of what else you’ll find in the area. They do offer private tastings, and I think taking that approach could lead to a better and more memorable experience.
We pulled into the parking lot on a Thursday afternoon and found a sight I dread: a tour bus parked in the lot. We saw the large group was in the midst of a seated tasting on the patio outside, and so we headed into the tasting room. We walked in and found a welcoming room, with a set of couches to the left and a medium-size tasting bar. Unfortunately, this was full, and so we patiently waited. And waited. And waited. No one greeted us, and no one bothered to ask people at the tasting bar to shift a bit to accommodate a few more. After 5-10 minutes, a couple finally finished their tasting and we were able to get started.
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At Copain, we started with their Viognier. We then moved to two pinot noirs, the Les Voisins Pinot Noir and the single vineyard Wentzel Pinot Noir, followed by the Les Voisins Syrah. Most of Copain’s fruit is sourced from the Santa Lucia Highlands in Mendocino, north of the Dry Creek Valley. Les Voisins means “neighbors”, and these wines were blends of a number of neighboring vineyards in Mendocino. The wines were all pretty good, but nothing was amazing. Of the first four, the Wentzel Pinot stood out to me. Our last taste was of the 2007 Les Copain red wine from the James Berry vineyard in Paso Robles. This interesting blend of grenache and mourvèdre was one that both Steph and I enjoyed as something different and a wine that strongly suggests food friendliness.
Copain will sell you on the ability for their wines to pair well with food, and I would generally agree with that pitch. All are accessible and for the most part reasonably priced. We left with a couple of bottles of James Berry which waived our tasting fee; I’ll be interested to see how this pairs with a meal and to someday try Copain again, hopefully when it’s less busy. I’d recommend this winery for the view and for wines that are a bit different from much of what else you’ll find in the area. They do offer private tastings, and I think taking that approach could lead to a better and more memorable experience.
Recommended wine: Of the wines we tried, the Wentzel Pinot Noir was good but a bit pricey. Overall, our choice was the James Berry Les Copain.
Ratings (out of 5):
 WINE | 3.75 |  TASTING ROOM | 4.50 |
 ATMOSPHERE | 3.50 |  VALUE | 4.00 |
 OVERALL | 3.94 | ||
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