by Richard Paul Hinkle
Gloria Ferrer’s executive vice president, Eva Bertran, has a bit of a romantic side.  “We are celebrating the winery’s twentieth anniversary, as you know,” she says by way of prelude.  “But what you may not know is that, thirty-five years ago, Gloria Ferrer enjoyed a hillside picnic here in Sonoma so much that she immediately wrote to her husband, José, recalling the beauty of the rolling Carneros hillsides, underscoring an impossibly blue sky, the sun-drenched vineyards, and the cool afternoon breezes. It reminded her of their beloved Catalonia. ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful,’ she wrote, ‘to spend more time here, to plant vineyards, and one day make California wine?’”
It doesn’t spoil the story to know the outcome, that Gloria and José – along with sons Pedro and José Maria – founded her namesake winery in 1986, the first sparkling wine house in the Carneros, a region now known far and wide for its crisp, scintillating sparklers.
What makes the winery special is its warm, cozily comfortable tasting room, where folks sit down and relax, take in the Catalan ambiance, enjoy seasoned almonds, and sip their way through a sampling of both still and sparkling wines made at Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves by master winemaker Bob Iantosca. If it’s sunny, taste on the terrace and watch the planes taking off and landing across the highway.  (“It’s fun when they’re doing aerobatics, and shut off their engines, and everybody goes ‘ooooh,’” says Bertran, herself a native of Catalonia.)  If it’s not, enjoy the grand fireplace indoors.  Either way works.

Gloria Ferrer is located at 23555 Highway 121, on the southern outskirts of Sonoma (just across the road from the Sonoma Valley Airport).  The tasting room is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with wine service available until 4:45 p.m. Guided tours are offered throughout the day.  Prepare to be dazzled by the elegantly appointed interiors, the outdoor summer festivals, and the cozy, fireside winter events. There’s always something happening at Ferrer, including their justly-vaunted Catalan Festival in July.
For further information, phone (707) 933-1917 (tasting room) or (707) 996-1999 (special events) or check ’em out on the Internet at www.GloriaFerrer.com. Do phone ahead for daily tour times.

Related Information

• Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards