2007-11-01
Tasting Room of the Week:
HOP KILN WINERY
by Michelle J. Baker
For the adventuresome, a trip to Hop Kiln Winery is what visiting Wine Country is all about: finding the hidden gems off the beaten path. Hop Kiln is nestled on a magnificent Westside Road property, a 248-acre ranch that includes 30 acres of established vines, a pond with tame catfish, lush lawns, a sprawling shaded picnic ground and regular wildlife sightings of bobcats, foxes, river otters, quail and jack-rabbits.
The star of the property is the main barn-style building, constructed in 1905 in just 35 days, and just in time for that year’s hop harvest. This historic landmark was a working hop kiln where hops were processed for beer until the 1950s. Most of the historic touches are still in place here, including the old conveyor belt that brought bagged hops to the top of the kiln. And, around the tasting room you can see lots of evidence of history, including a fascinating photo exhibit of hop harvest at the hop kiln in the early years.
Hop Kiln has one of the few tasting rooms where you can still have a close encounter with the winemaking process and smell the wine in process. Downright rustic in the most delightful way, the marketplace is a shopper’s paradise: on one table gourmet mustards, with pretzels to sample a taste; on another pestos, then jams, olive oils and marinades.
At the tasting bar, Hop Kiln’s fun and gracious staff will take you through a complimentary tasting of some familiar favorites and some new ones. There’s something for everyone here, including gold medal-winning Sauvignon Blanc and a seductive, jazzy Gewürztraminer – perfect for a picnic lunch and as fine as any you’ll find in Wine Country. There are also some tasty blends, including Thousand Flowers, with an aroma reminiscent of (no surprise) flowers, and perennial favorite Big Red.
You can also try Hop Kiln’s new line of estate wines, HK Generations. These wines, first introduced in 2006, are limited production bottlings of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that highlight Hop Kiln’s finest estate-grown fruit. These wines have been so well-received that the Chardonnay is currently sold out, with the next release scheduled for spring, 2008.
For a winery as steeped in history as Hop Kiln, it is also becoming modern in all of the best ways. Winemaker Erich Bradley is inspiring a winemaking renaissance at Hop Kiln, bringing in cutting edge equipment this year to process grapes on the winery’s brand new crush pad. Erich is also overseeing new vineyard plantings on the main property and across Westside Road at the Old Windmill Vineyard. For all that Hop Kiln has to offer now, with Erich at the helm the future looks bright.
Hop Kiln Winery is located at 6050 Westside Road in Healdsburg. Visit the winery daily from 10 a.m. til 5 p.m. For more information, call (707) 433-6491 or visit the website at www.hopkilnwinery.com.
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