http://www.trustwine.com/
Open: 11am-7pm
Appt required? No
Last barlinwine.com visit: 2011 (September 29, 2011 Itinerary)
Directions:
View Sonoma in a larger map or Get Directions
Tasting:
As we strolled down Healdsburg Ave towards the square in the center of Healdsburg, we passed one of the many tasting rooms located in the downtown area. We started to walk by, but their wine board advertised Howell Mountain Cabernet. Bob Thomas (the younger) would never approve of me passing up an opportunity to try Howell Mountain Cab, and so in we went to Stephen & Walker.
Stephen & Walker is Nancy Walker’s effort at making and selling her own wine. Nancy has consulted on winemaking (and still does) for dozens of high-quality wineries in both Napa and Sonoma, and so she has relationships with owners of just about every vineyard in the area. The result is that she has been able to pick and choose grapes from a number of her favorite sites and turn those into some pretty decent wine. For her own winery, she chooses to focuses on the Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley, and Howell Mountain.
We were the only people in the tasting room the day we visited, and so we had great service from Deb behind the bar. Deb was a friendly veteran of wine country and a big fan of Stephen & Walker wines. She reminded me a bit of Joanne from Soda Rock, but with only 3% of the crazy. For our tasting, she poured us side-by-side tastings of the 2008 and 2009 Pinot Noir, the Zinfandel, the 2008 Howell Mountain Cabernet, their Petite Sirah, and finished with their 2004 “Portentous” Port. Two wines really stood out: the 2009 Pinot Noir and the 2008 Howell Mountain Cab.
Stephen & Walker also features a solid wine club offering: 25% off everything, including wine club shipments, and an entry point as small as 2 bottles four times per year. Once a year, they send large format etched bottles for your shipment instead (if you’re in the 2-bottle club, you’d get one 1.5 L bottle). Given there were a number of wines we liked, the 25% off was good enough to talk us into adding another club to the list!
Overall, this was a worthwhile stop among the many offerings in downtown Healdsburg.
Stephen & Walker is Nancy Walker’s effort at making and selling her own wine. Nancy has consulted on winemaking (and still does) for dozens of high-quality wineries in both Napa and Sonoma, and so she has relationships with owners of just about every vineyard in the area. The result is that she has been able to pick and choose grapes from a number of her favorite sites and turn those into some pretty decent wine. For her own winery, she chooses to focuses on the Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley, and Howell Mountain.
We were the only people in the tasting room the day we visited, and so we had great service from Deb behind the bar. Deb was a friendly veteran of wine country and a big fan of Stephen & Walker wines. She reminded me a bit of Joanne from Soda Rock, but with only 3% of the crazy. For our tasting, she poured us side-by-side tastings of the 2008 and 2009 Pinot Noir, the Zinfandel, the 2008 Howell Mountain Cabernet, their Petite Sirah, and finished with their 2004 “Portentous” Port. Two wines really stood out: the 2009 Pinot Noir and the 2008 Howell Mountain Cab.
Overall, this was a worthwhile stop among the many offerings in downtown Healdsburg.
Recommended wine: The Pinot Noir was tasty, and the Howell Mountain Cab was quite good
Ratings (out of 5):
 WINE | 4.25 |  TASTING ROOM | 4.00 |
 ATMOSPHERE | 4.25 |  VALUE | 4.25 |
 OVERALL | 4.19 | ||
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