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Fritz Winery
Rating Details »
24691 Dutcher Creek Rd
Cloverdale, CA 95425
(707) 894-3389
Cloverdale, CA 95425
(707) 894-3389
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
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9 reviews for Fritz Winery
i'm a sweet dessert wine kind of person so after 2 of their other wines i requested a dessert wine. she gave me a tasting of this wonderful dessert wine. she then also pulled out a small piece of dark chocolate and told me to let it sit in my mouth after i sip the wine.
OMG, it was the best dark chocolate i have tasted in years. the dessert wine brought out all kinds of wonderful taste buds w/ the chocolate lasting for an hr or so in my mouth. wonderful!!!!
small tasting area but there's not a lot of people so it was perfect for us. very friend staff. there were smell of brownies baking in the back room and the staff said it was for the customers. unfortunately, we left before the brownies were finished baking. i will be back for more dessert wine and brownies next time :)
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Believe the hype about Fritz Winery.
Fritz Winery in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma is some of the best California wine around. Unlike most wineries in Napa, the tastings at Fritz are free and there is no hard sell on the wine. Their incredible wine speaks for itself. The service is stellar - very friendly, knowledgeable, and they give you personalized attention, especially when they are not busy.
We've been visiting Fritz since 2003 and after countless cases of wine, we have never experienced a bad bottle (unheard of!). We have loved every bottle, especially their Cabs and Pinots. Even my Chardonnay-hating hubby enjoys their non-oaky Chardonnay. We always enjoy our quarterly shipment, as part of their underground wine club - named because their production cellar is underground. The winery itself is beautiful, tucked away deep in the Valley. It's a bit of a schlep to get there from SF, but well worth the drive.
Fritz will not disappoint!
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Two comments to preface this review. 1) When employing the power of Yelp I am usually planning something and planning isn't everything! 2) Sometimes I surprise myself by being so easily amused.
Anyway, we had been planning to take an afternoon to go up to the lovely Sonoma wine country. We were debating between Russian River Valley or the Dry Creek Valley. We had been to Dry Creek area a couple of months before and it is really beautiful, but my wife prefers the Russian River grape varietals. So we stop in Santa Rosa at our favorite deli up there, Traverso's, thinking we might get the stuff for a picnic. By the time, we stop in Santa Rosa, the weather is looking ugly. We go into Traverso's anyway and pick up some snacks and sundries. While chatting in the wine section with the wine buyer, he asks what we are up to and I tell him. He give us a free tasting coupon for a some Dry Creek Winery, then mentions that we should go see Ross at Fritz Winery. I had never heard of Fritz and did not know Ross, but being somewhat undecided, we took his advice.
Fritz Winery is built into the hillside in the northern section of the Dry Creek Valley. We find the place easily enough and stop in. We were surprised that the small tasting room was actually busy. So we waited a few minutes until a spot at the counter opened up and introduced ourselves to the gentleman behind the counter, the aforementioned Ross. We proceeded to spend a lovely hour chatting with Ross and learning about the wines and the winery. My wife was totally loving the wines. They did a nice chocolate brownie with raspberries and Late Harvest Zin pairing. Ross was very fun and engaging. I was just enjoying the water and the brownie and the conversation. Ross broke out just about everything my wife wanted to try and gave us an introduction to their wine making approach. I had a blast. I do not know why. I do not drink.
I am not one of those non-drinkers who sort of drinks. I do not consume liquid ethanol unless it is in a herbal concoction (and I am not talking about a Mojito) or cough syrup, which I have not used since I was a kid. (Is Sabayon a liquid?) I am not against alcohol. I cook with wine and use brandies and liquors in desserts. It is more that with my genes and family history, I think it is best to stay on the wagon. (Actually, I never got off and for along time I did not even know I was on the wagon or that there was even a wagon at all.) Strangely, the wagon can be a pretty fun place.
Visiting Fritz for me was like visiting a museum exhibition of a type of art work that I do not really like that much with a true aficionado and guide who helped me to understand the context and the beauty of what is before me. Of course, maybe Ross is just a helluva fun guy? Every time we open one of the bottles we brought home, I think of that strange and wonderful drizzly Sunday afternoon at the Fritz tasting room.
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You can always count on Fritz having one of the friendliest tasting room staffs around and there is never a hard sell to join their wine club.
Over the years, I have found their wines to be very good yet somewhat lacking in consistency. Some years the Zins are better than in others and the same can be said for the Cabs.
My first time at this winery, it was recommended by another winery that we stopped at. All their wines are good. Because it's summer, I've been drinking alot of rose and they have one that was very yummy and I ended up puchasing a couple of their rose wine. But more than the wine, what I will remember most about this winery on top of the hill is the funny and huge English Bulldog who was laying around inside entertaining me and my two cousins from out of town. We took several pictures with her. What can I say, I'm a dog person.
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UPDATE:
We had a great time at their Paella last night! We ended up leaving with a lot more wine than just our club shipment. Fantastic small production winery.....
*****************
I love Zin. I LOVE their zin. And-they have an amazing pinot that is only available at the winery.
People were very nice but we didn't get the full cave tour experience i think because it was President's Day weekend. In any event the zins were good and full bodied inspite not too much tannin. This is good for me because I have an overactive sense of umami and larger tannins leave a metalic after taste in my mouth. It is hard (due to the process of wine making) to find a full bodied wine with soft tannins so if you like that it is a place for you. Dog friendly (though we didn't have Gilly with us) others had poochies there. Late harvest zin was YUMYUM YUM!!!!
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Going on my winery to-do list.
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Consistently incredible reds and whites, a delicious late harvest zin, and some of the best rose I've ever had. We can't give up our wind club membership because that's the only way to get the pinot. Nice people working the tasting room and an amazing wine-maker. This is a really great small winery.
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