Medlock Ames Historic Healdsburg Tasting Room
In 2022 this became the first Sonoma County winery certified Regenerative Organic. You taste it in a 1920s gas station and dive bar the founders converted in 2009, at the corner of Highway 128 and Alexander Valley Road.1
Why go
Chris Medlock James and Ames Morrison were college best friends who moved out from New York, bought Bell Mountain and founded the winery in 1998.1 The ranch is on Chalk Hill Road about ten minutes from this room, and only a fraction of it is planted: the winery says 44 acres of vines on 338, and the Chronicle counts 47 planted on 342.21 The rest is 650 olive trees, an orchard, a market garden for vegetables and flowers, and ground left to oaks and wildflowers.2
A wildlife corridor runs through the vineyards and delivers the animals to the neighboring Pepperwood Reserve, a 3,000-acre sanctuary.2 Solar went in across the property in 2004.2 Parts of the vineyard burned in the 2018 Kincade Fire and the replanted vines are bearing again.1 Julie Rothberg is president and Abby Watt makes the wine, about 8,000 cases a year against a capacity of 20,000.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Signature Tasting at $45, a seated flight of estate wines from the organically farmed Bell Mountain vineyard, for parties up to twelve.3
- Order: a Backyard ticket at $10 if the date works. Live music, a food truck, and the gardens open.3
- Avoid: looking for the speakeasy out the back. Alexander Valley Bar has closed and the winery sold its liquor licence.1
What locals & experts say
- Esther Mobley, San Francisco Chronicle (13 May 2025):
In 2009, the vintners bought a 1920s gas station and dive bar about 10 minutes away from Bell Mountain and transformed it into a modern-feeling tasting room surrounded by organic gardens.
1 - Julie Rothberg, president, on the replanted ground:
The land has come back to life.
1 - The winery on why the corridor exists:
To ensure the natural habitat is protected, we've built a wildlife corridor that cuts through our vineyards, shepherding the animals through our property and safely depositing them to our neighbors, the Pepperwood Reserve, a 3000 acres wildlife sanctuary.
2
Good to know
- Walk-ins are welcome and reservations are encouraged. Book on Tock.3
- Leashed dogs are welcome, and children and non-tasting guests have to be counted in the reservation.3
- The estate has been on the market since May 2025, listed at $44 million with this tasting room included. The Chronicle reported the winery would keep making wine and hosting visits, and there is no news since.1
- No opening hours are published for this room on any page I read, so book a slot rather than trusting a drive-by.
Verdict
should-visit — Regenerative Organic is an audited standard rather than a word on a label, and the auditors walked the ranch behind this bar: 650 olive trees, an orchard, a market garden, most of the land left to oaks and wildflowers, and a wildlife corridor that walks the animals out to the 3,000-acre Pepperwood Reserve. Forty-five dollars gets you the estate wines seated, dogs are welcome, and $10 buys a night when a food truck and a band turn up. The speakeasy out the back has gone and the licence was sold with it. The caveat is dated and real: the whole estate went on the market at $44 million in May 2025 and the record holds no outcome.