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One of the newer tasting rooms in Healdsburg is Portalupi Wine, just a block from the main square at the corner of Healdsburg Ave and North St. We wandered in this past weekend, not knowing what to expect, not having heard anything about them, but they were listed as participating in the Wine Road Barrel Tasting event. (This event typically takes place the first two weekends in March, so you have a chance to catch it this next weekend if you've missed the first weekend.)
This is not a big operation, by the way. Tim Borges and Jane Portalupi, a husband-wife team, own the place, and Tim makes the wine. That's pretty much it.
Portalupi tasting room, with Tim Borges, owner/winemaker, pouring in the back left.
Well, we were pleasantly surprised with their wines. First, the focus is on Pinot Noir and Zinfandel from the Russian River Valley area, which hits my sweet spot. Love those grapes, love those grapes from that region, and Tim has been in the industry for enough years that he has connections to really good grapes. So I was ready to like the wines, but on the other hand, still a bit skeptical about what Portalupi might be doing to their grapes. Not to worry. Portalupi's wines let the grapes do the talking. And what the grapes can't say, Tim and Jane are happy to fill in as they walk you through their wines. A really enjoyable tasting experience, and very good wines.
PS. We bought a bottle of their 2009 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir to bring to dinner that night. Very good decision on our part. You can read more about our dinner here.
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