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Open: 11am-5pm
Appt required? No
Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012
Directions:
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Tasting:
After Dry Creek Vineyard started to be overrun with people around lunchtime, we hightailed it out of there looking for a more relaxed setting. Directly across the street we found what we were looking for. I’d passed Passalacqua every time I’d visited Dry Creek Valley, but had for some reason never stopped in. We parked in the ample (and mostly empty) parking lot and wandered past some antique farm equipment and through an archway to a sprawling wooden deck that overlooked the vineyard. A medium-sized tasting room waited for us around the corner.
Meredith and I split a tasting and got started with the 2011 Sauvignon Blanc. Nothing special there, and we moved to the 2009 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay. This wine was buttery but not over-the-top and pretty decent. We both though this was one Jane Barlin would enjoy (but that’s mostly because it said “Chardonnay” on the bottle).
From there it was time for reds, and the 2009 Estate Zinfandel, sourced from the vines we saw from the deck on our way in to the tasting room. This turned out to be my favorite of the stop, but was a milestone wine for Meredith, but not for any of the reasons you probably imagine.
“This is the first time I’ve ever dumped wine in the bucket at a tasting,” she revealed. I thought back to some of the big tasting days we’d had over the years and just shook my head.
The next red was another Zinfandel, the 2009 Old Vine Zinfandel. This had good flavor and balance, but I preferred the 2009 Estate Zin. We finished with the 2008 TR Passalacqua Vineyards Cabernet, which I thought was just okay.
Or did we finish? Not so fast! Our host poured us a sample of Passalacqua’s flagship wine, the Radici della Famiglia Tre, a Super Tuscan-style blend. I had high hopes, and while I liked the wine, it didn’t astound me.
We headed off to our next stop after some obligatory pictures of the deck and with the farm equipment. This was an above average setting with decent wines. Picnicking on the deck would be a nice alternative to the melee that occurs across the street at Dry Creek Vineyard, and I think I’d send most people here (or to Lambert Bridge) to picnic instead in the future.
From there it was time for reds, and the 2009 Estate Zinfandel, sourced from the vines we saw from the deck on our way in to the tasting room. This turned out to be my favorite of the stop, but was a milestone wine for Meredith, but not for any of the reasons you probably imagine.
“This is the first time I’ve ever dumped wine in the bucket at a tasting,” she revealed. I thought back to some of the big tasting days we’d had over the years and just shook my head.
Or did we finish? Not so fast! Our host poured us a sample of Passalacqua’s flagship wine, the Radici della Famiglia Tre, a Super Tuscan-style blend. I had high hopes, and while I liked the wine, it didn’t astound me.
We headed off to our next stop after some obligatory pictures of the deck and with the farm equipment. This was an above average setting with decent wines. Picnicking on the deck would be a nice alternative to the melee that occurs across the street at Dry Creek Vineyard, and I think I’d send most people here (or to Lambert Bridge) to picnic instead in the future.
Recommended wine: Nothing came home from here with me.
Ratings (out of 5):
 WINE | 4.00 |  TASTING ROOM | 4.25 |
 ATMOSPHERE | 4.25 |  VALUE | 4.25 |
 OVERALL | 4.19 | ||
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