http://www.whwines.com/index.html
Open: 11:00am-5:00pm
Appt required? No
Last barlinwine.com visit: 2011
Directions:
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Tasting:
We stopped at Wm. Harrison (you'll never see this as "William Harrison" at the winery, so I'm not going to start here...) on the advice of a co-worker of mine, Alex Bly, who recommended the tasting experience as well as the Rutherford Red Bordeaux blend. Alex’s other recommendation was Van Der Heyden, the current holder of “lowest score ever at barlinwine.com”, and so to say I was skeptical was an understatement.
However, where Alex and I differed on Van Der Heyden, there was no disagreement on Wm. Harrison. Both the tasting and the Rutherford Red were great. We arrived at the tasting room just as a bus full of twenty-somethings was finishing up their tasting. A rough start to be sure -- these days I'm not much of a fan of places that encourage or even accept buses, but with a belly full of Bremer wine, patience and understanding were more prevalent than usual for me. While we waited for the crowd to die down, we enjoyed a couple of pictures with the taxidermy on display before settling in to try what Wm. Harrison had to offer. Despite the large group, the gent helping us was courteous and attentive, and we were able to quickly try five wines: a Chardonnay, a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, their Cab Franc, Cabernet, and the aforementioned Rutherford Red.
Having just come from Bremer, the bar was set high, but the Wm. Harrison wines held their own. As predicted by Alex, the Rutherford Red was indeed the star of the group, but the others we tried were also quite good, and the Cab was a close second to the Red. We came to the end of our tasting (and our wine trip), and while wine purchases had been more curtailed than usual, they were still mounting up. We decided to leave it up to chance.
“Heads we buy and ship; tails we head home.” Steph agreed.
Into the air went the quarter, spinning end over end, bouncing, rolling, and finally settling on...
...heads! Barlin Wine Cellar +6 bottles! Thanks, Fate!
However, where Alex and I differed on Van Der Heyden, there was no disagreement on Wm. Harrison. Both the tasting and the Rutherford Red were great. We arrived at the tasting room just as a bus full of twenty-somethings was finishing up their tasting. A rough start to be sure -- these days I'm not much of a fan of places that encourage or even accept buses, but with a belly full of Bremer wine, patience and understanding were more prevalent than usual for me. While we waited for the crowd to die down, we enjoyed a couple of pictures with the taxidermy on display before settling in to try what Wm. Harrison had to offer. Despite the large group, the gent helping us was courteous and attentive, and we were able to quickly try five wines: a Chardonnay, a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, their Cab Franc, Cabernet, and the aforementioned Rutherford Red.
“Heads we buy and ship; tails we head home.” Steph agreed.
Into the air went the quarter, spinning end over end, bouncing, rolling, and finally settling on...
...heads! Barlin Wine Cellar +6 bottles! Thanks, Fate!
Recommended wine: The Rutherford Red was outstanding, and the Cabernet was also quite good.
Ratings (out of 5):
 WINE | 4.50 |  TASTING ROOM | 4.25 |
 ATMOSPHERE | 4.75 |  VALUE | 4.25 |
 OVERALL | 4.44 | ||
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