At a recent winery party at Whitetail Winebar in Guerneville, Crinella Wines was in the spotlight, showcasing the Russian River winery’s Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. Guests not only sipped the wine, they learned about how it was made, down to the clone selection for the vines, and viewed charmingly hand-drawn maps of the property.
Every Friday, Whitetail hosts a different winery at its elegant bar, from 6 to 9 p.m., when special pours are offered. Most of the tastings have a fee, but are still bargains, since the wine comes from boutique, often hard-to-find local wineries, such as Amista Vineyards, VML, Enriquez Estate, Brogan Cellars, DH Gustafson Vineyards, and Albini Family Vineyards.
If you’ve never heard of them, that’s the point. These tastings are all about discovering secret Sonoma County gems.
To make it a full evening, a new food menu of small bites and entrees can be purchased to enjoy alongside.
Bottle sales are offered too, at winery-direct savings. In the Crinella case, the wines offered were from sold-out lots, so it was a rare opportunity for guests to taste then snatch up the last available retail sales.
And, if there are any questions, the winery owners, winemakers and other staff specialists are on hand to explain, and to share stories of their often off-the-grid practices.
As Guerneville’s first dedicated wine bar — despite the fact that the small town is smack dab in the heart of Russian River Wine Country — innovation has kept Whitetail popular with both locals and visitors.
Owned by Leslie Bahr, an interior designer, the chic space with chandeliers, cozy living room furniture and bistro tables carved from redwood tree trunks supports tiny bottlings from mostly young winemakers that have no tasting rooms outside of, perhaps, their garages.
She’s also added food into the mix, recently welcoming chef Helena Gustavsson-Giesea into the operations. The owner of the former Charizma Wine Lounge in Guerneville has also baked pastries at Della Fattoria in Petaluma and was chef and manager at the seasonal Jenner Bistro.
Now, the chef runs Helena’s Kitchen out of the tiny pantry space next to the bar, crafting plates like crispy fig-prosciutto pizzettes ($9), meatball plates of shrimp, turkey and beef ($9), curry empanadas ($7), chicken and rice noodle salad in peanut dressing ($14), and cocoa dusted duck and pumpkin ravioli ($16).
Smaller snacks can be had, as well — roasted garlic-truffle salt popcorn, perhaps ($3), or fresh roasted nuts tossed with herbs ($3) — and, naturally, all foods include wine suggestions listed right on the menu.
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