La Crema
Saralee and Richard Kunde planted this Windsor ground to Burgundian varieties in 1989 and the vineyard still carries her name. Thirty-five dollars gets you six wines on a patio above it.1
Why go
The estate carries the name of the late Saralee Kunde, and the winery's own account is short: she and her husband Richard saw the land as ideal for Burgundian varieties and planted it in 1989.1 The Nine Barrel bottling is what it says, blended from the top nine barrels of three vineyards.1
Everything here is by appointment, seven days a week, and the tastings are seated outdoors looking at Saralee's Vineyard.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Estate Tasting at $35, six wines for up to eight people, free for club members.1
- Order: the Nine Barrel Tasting at $80 if you want the top of the book with seasonal bites and a host walking you through it.1
- Order: the Best of the Vine Estate Tour at $95 between April and October, which goes behind the scenes into the vineyard and the sustainability work. It does not run in winter.1
- Avoid: booking a picnic table and waiting for somebody to pour. That is $50 for the table, you bring the food, you buy at least one bottle, and no hosted tasting comes with it.1
Good to know
- Buy three bottles and the picnic fee goes away.1
- Groups over six are handled by email rather than through the booking platform. Phone 707-525-6200.1
- Skip the quotes on the winery's own page. They are first-name-only guest reviews and none of them is a source.
- No winemaker is named anywhere I read, and there are no published tasting durations.
Verdict
could-visit — Pay $80 for the Nine Barrel tasting with bites, blended from the top nine barrels of three vineyards, or $50 for a picnic table the winery waives if you buy three bottles. The Best of the Vine tour runs April to October only, so it is off the table half the year. Everything is by appointment, seven days, seated outdoors. No writer has published a word on the wine and no page names a winemaker, so the prices are the only thing you can plan on.