Going for a long drive is one of the strongest recommendations I make to folks journeying to Sonoma for the first (or fifth) time. But perhaps the top tip, vying with a visit to A. Rafanelli winery and a dinner at Cyrus, is to spend some time at the Locals tasting room in Geyserville.

Started by New York transplant Carolyn Lewis at the turn of the decade, the Locals now pours juice from 11 wineries that either are too small or have no interest in having their own tasting rooms. Lewis carefully scopes out up-and-coming wineries, and her exacting standards serve the operation well.

On my first visit in 2001 or ‘02, a dude named Dan Browne was hanging out and helping with the pouring. Turns out he was the winemaker for a new operation called Kosta Browne, soon to become a revered pinot-noir producer.

The amazing thing is that the pours are free. You can do flights or individual pours or whatever. I had delicious wines from Hawley, Eric Ross, Portalupi and Peterson on Monday, and bought two bottles of Ramazotti’s sensational cab franc.

I also joined the club, in which Lewis and manager Diane Lieberman select two or six wines every three months. Club members get 15 percent off those selections and any other wines they purchase. And these are not spendy wines to start with, ranging from $14 to $45 or so. That’s a way to enjoy the Locals without coming to Geyserville. But I recommend the latter course if at all possible.

OK, so there is one downside to the visiting in person. There is such a great atmosphere and so much swell juice that a designated driver — or at least someone who’s consuming more moderately — is not a bad idea at all.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 at 8:35 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.