Swanson Vineyards & Tasting Room
Founded in 1985 on Pinot Grigio and Merlot while the valley planted Cabernet. The tasting is modeled on a Parisian salon rather than a bar.
Why go
W. Clarke and Elizabeth Swanson started this in 1985 and built their name on handcrafted Pinot Grigio and Merlot alongside the Alexis Cabernet Sauvignon, which was a contrary set of choices in that decade.1 The tasting was built the same way. The winery models it on a mid-1800s Parisian salon, a few callers at a time being entertained rather than a line at a counter, which is the format the rest of the valley arrived at decades later.1 The vineyards are certified as sustainably farmed by Fish Friendly Farming.1 What I cannot give you is a price, an hour or a booking, because the winery's visit page serves a cookie panel and nothing else.
What locals & experts say
- Swanson Vineyards, on its own founding:
Swanson Vineyards was founded in 1985 by W. Clarke and Elizabeth Swanson and is widely known for handcrafted Pinot Grigio, Merlot and Alexis Cabernet Sauvignon.
1 - The same page, on the salon:
Swanson Vineyards' luxurious tasting experience is modeled after a Parisian salon of the mid 1800's, where handfuls of diverse and fascinating callers were graciously entertained with sinful libations.
1
Both are the winery on itself. Nothing outside it was read, so I have no critic's line for you.
Good to know
- Check the address before you drive. The pin on this list and the town this tasting room has historically sat in do not agree, and the winery publishes no address on any page that loads.
- No price, no hours, no booking route could be established. Call the winery.
- Hygiene: not established. No inspection instrument for this county is on file here.
Verdict
listed — W. Clarke and Elizabeth Swanson founded this in 1985 and made their name on Pinot Grigio and Merlot in a decade when the valley was planting Cabernet and little else, with the Alexis Cabernet Sauvignon alongside. The tasting is built on a mid-1800s Parisian salon rather than a counter, which is a format choice this valley only caught up to in the last fifteen years. The farming is certified by Fish Friendly Farming, which is a named body rather than a claim. Past that the record gives nothing: the winery publishes no address, no price and no hours on any page that answered, and the pin on the list says Calistoga while this room has long been a Rutherford address, so call before you drive anywhere.