Smith-Madrone Vineyards
Still making Riesling on Spring Mountain, where everyone else pulled the whites for Cabernet. Reservations through Tock only.
Why go
The current release list is the argument. Estate Riesling and estate Chardonnay sit in it beside the Cabernet Sauvignon, a Cabernet Franc and the Cook's Flat Reserve, on a mountain that spent forty years converting to red.1 The winery says Eric Asimov named its Cabernet Sauvignon in his 2026 New York Times recommendations, under the heading 10 Wines You Should Be Drinking,
and hosts a PDF of the piece; I did not open the Times to check it.1 Out in the vineyard they spent this summer on a post-wildfire restoration project using Hügelkultur, which buries woody debris in mounds to hold water and rebuild soil on ground that has burned.1 Who founded this and when, I cannot tell you: both of the winery's own about pages return not-found.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the estate Riesling. It is the reason this address is different from its neighbors.1
- Order: the 2022 estate Cabernet Sauvignon if you want the bottle the Times piece is about.1
- Avoid: driving up unbooked. Reservations go through Tock only, and the winery gives 707/963-2283 for when the system will not take you.1
What locals & experts say
- Smith-Madrone, on the Times listing:
Our Cabernet Sauvignon is featured in Eric Asimov's 2026 recommendations in the New York Times!
1 - The same page, on the vineyard work:
This summer Smith-Madrone welcomed an innovative post-wildfire restoration project using the Hügelkultur technique!
1
Both are the winery on itself, including its account of the Times. I did not read Asimov's piece at source and no other palate was read here.
Good to know
- Booking: Tock only, with 707/963-2283 as the fallback. No price, format or opening hours are published on the winery's own site.1
- Shipping: the winery cannot ship to Mississippi, Rhode Island or Utah.1
- Hygiene: not established. No inspection instrument for this county is on file here.
Verdict
could-visit — There is still a Riesling in the current lineup here, beside a Cabernet Franc and the Cook's Flat Reserve, on a mountain where nearly everyone else pulled the whites out for Cabernet years ago. That alone is worth the drive up Spring Mountain Road. The winery says Eric Asimov put its Cabernet Sauvignon in his 2026 New York Times recommendations and hosts the piece as a PDF, which I did not open, so take that as the winery's claim until somebody reads it. In the vineyard they are burying woody debris in Hügelkultur mounds as post-wildfire restoration, which is a real soil technique rather than a sustainability line. No price and no hours are published anywhere, so book on Tock first.