Viader Vineyards & Winery
Two hundred and fifty dollars puts Alan Viader in front of you pouring out of the barrel, on Howell Mountain. Four people maximum, and the fee comes off if you buy wine.
Why go
The top of the ladder is the reason. The $250 barrel tasting is led by Alan Viader himself, which means the winemaker is the one drawing the sample rather than a host reading a card.1 The Estate Experience at $100 starts with a private walk across the estate on the Howell Mountain slopes, past the vineyard and the caves, then a seated tasting of current releases looking north up the valley.1 The Cashmere Collector sits between them at $150.1 All three fees come off against a qualifying wine purchase or a new membership, so the entry price is really a deposit on buying.1 I cannot tell you what any of the wines taste like, because the winery's own site returns a blank page on every path tried.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the barrel tasting with Alan Viader if the budget allows. Tasting out of wood with the person who made it is the whole point.1
- Avoid: booking for five or more online. Everything caps at four, and larger parties call 707-200-6205.1
- Avoid: a loose plan. Half the total is taken as a deposit, cancellation is 24 hours, and a no-show is charged the full fee.1
What locals & experts say
- Viader, on the estate walk:
Our Estate Experience begins with a privately hosted walk through our beautiful estate perched on the slopes of Howell Mountain including views of our vineyard and caves.
1 - The same listing, on what it costs:
Our current tasting fees are $100pp for the Estate Experience, $150pp for the Cashmere Collector and $250pp for the Barrel Tasting with Alan Viader, assessed at the time of your visit, and can be waived with a qualifying wine purchase or new Membership sign up.
1
That is the winery on itself, through its booking page. Nothing else answered, so I have no outside call for you.
Good to know
- Days: the weekend format runs Thursday through Saturday. No window is published for the other two.1
- Booking: Tock, with a $50 deposit per person and a $3 non-refundable order fee.1
- Hygiene: not established. No inspection instrument for this county is on file here.
Verdict
could-visit — Two hundred and fifty dollars gets you a barrel tasting poured by Alan Viader, the winemaker, on a Howell Mountain estate, and that is a different proposition from a hosted flight at a counter. Below it the ladder runs $150 for the Cashmere Collector and $100 for the estate walk past the vineyard and the caves, and every one of those fees comes off if you buy wine or join the club, so the entry fee is really a deposit. Four guests is the ceiling on anything you can book online and a 50 percent deposit holds it, with a no-show charged in full. What I cannot give you is a wine or a history, because the winery's own site gives our reader nothing at all on three different paths.