Chalk Hill Estate Vineyards

Thirteen hundred acres, three hundred of them planted, and the rest left alone. The signature visit is a two-hour Hummer tour across it, $120 to $150.1 2

Why go

The estate has made wine in the Chalk Hill AVA since 1972, and the vineyards are contoured through native foliage rather than laid over it.1 2 There is a culinary garden, stables and an equestrian pavilion on the property, and the tasting room sits above the vineyards on a raised patio.2 1 The flight that uses the site best is the side-by-side of single-block Chardonnays, which is the argument for a hill made of chalk.1

Order this / avoid

Order: the Taste of Estate Flight, four reserve small-lot wines you choose, whites or reds, $60 for club members and $75 otherwise.1
Order: the Vineyard Overlook at $50 for ninety minutes if you want the view and four wines and nothing else. It runs daily, 10:30 to 3:30.1
Avoid: relying on a rideshare home. The winery's own advice is that driver availability for pickups out here is inconsistent.1

What locals & experts say

The San Francisco Chronicle, as the winery displays it under a Best wineries to visit in the Bay Area heading with no byline and no date: The bucolic property, with its gardens, rolling vineyards and grand, light-filled buildings, is as pleasant as ever, and still one of Sonoma's most fun places to go for an in-depth, sit-down wine experience.1

Good to know

Open daily 10:30am to 4pm. Reservations are encouraged, not required, and the room takes parties up to seven or eight.1
The Hummer tour runs 10:30am and 1pm, Wednesday to Sunday, two hours, up to seven guests.1
No outside food. Dogs are welcome outdoors on a leash.1
Wear closed shoes and bring a layer. The diurnal swing here is the point of the site and it turns cold fast.1

Verdict

could-visit — The estate runs to thirteen hundred acres with three hundred under vine, and more than two thirds of it is left uncultivated, which is why the signature offer here is a two-hour Hummer ride rather than a bar. The winery has made Chardonnay and Bordeaux reds in this AVA since 1972, and the flight worth taking is the side-by-side of single-block Chardonnays. The entry point is $50 for ninety minutes on the overlook patio. Held here because everything on the record is the winery's own, the one Chronicle line it displays carries no byline or date, and the rest of its quote wall is Yelp and Tripadvisor.

Chalk Hill Estate Vineyards.