Welcome to the Swirl, Sniff, Sip, Spit Winery Resource! This community resource is the result of recommendations made by a variety of wine aficionados. It is intended to provide people in search of good wine tasting experiences with recommendations on various wineries and tasting rooms around the world. Entries are made by going to the Entry Page. The results shown can be sorted in various ways by using the “sort by” links below. You can also search by key words using the filter to select the entries of interest to you. We welcome your entries and your feedback. Of course, the opinions expressed are those of the people making the recommendations. Enjoy!
We also have our own list of wineries at our Wineries page.
Posted by Scott on 24 Feb 2009
Orfila »
It‘s somewhat difficult to find a nice, quality winery in San Diego County when much more of the state is regarded for producing better wine. While this is largely true, we have a gem of a little winery here in San Diego in Orfila. Located in the San Pasqual valley in Escondido, the winery also has a tasting room near Julian. At the Escondido site, there is a huge tasting room with helpful, nice, and knowledgable staff. The wines made and served here are, by and large, pound for pound, quite good. My wife, who prefers sweeter wines, likes the Riesling, while I, who prefers reds, likes the Sangiovese (which was introduced to the area by the winery's last master vinter). The 2005 Sangiovese was terrific, but unfortunately, they don't have any more. Try instead the 2006 which is great too. Their Ambassador's Reserve Merlot is award-winning and very nice. At the winery, they have ALOT of spreads, breads, vinaigrettes (try the Pinot Noir--its great), jams, jellies, glasses, and other assorted nick-nacks. The view of the valley and vineyards is outstanding with open trellis features, benches, etc. Here you can get a glass of your favorite wine and relax the way God intended. Overall, if you want a nice, first-class experience in your backyard, go to Orfila. You may also want to check out buying a case of their futures Ambassadors Merlot which will entitle you to their Fall Dinner Party which is absolutely amazing, or join their Owl (Wine Lovers) Club.
This winery is located in Escondido, CA, USA
Posted by Jennifer Dong on 28 Feb 2009
My friend actually picked. I had only recently begun drinking wine and she wanted to broaden my experiences so she took me here one day. The wine was amazing.
This winery is located in Riverhead, New York, USA
Posted by Yachi on 28 Feb 2009
The reason I like this winery is because it is not so big and it is unique and the staff is very friendly and seems to have a lot of knowledge of wine. By the way, I got syrah and the taste was excellent.
This winery is located in San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
Posted by Mary Gollwitzer on 02 Mar 2009
We stopped at Black Wolf at lunch time. We had a personalized tasting right at our table before ordering lunch. Our waitress was knowledgable about the wines, the winery, etc. The wines were reasonably priced and delicious, as was lunch.
This winery is located in Dobson, NC, USA
Posted by Gerry Gollwitzer on 17 Mar 2009
This vineyard is in the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina. It is a beautiful place. They have events with great food, entertainment, and, of course, great wines. Don't miss their Cabernet Franc.
We had a wonderful experience at our last tasting there.
This winery is located in Dobson, NC, USA
Posted by Gerry Gollwitzer on 21 Mar 2009
A large variety of wines to taste included with the admission to the Biltmore Estate. They often have entertainment. Visiting the Bilmore Estates is always a great time.
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This winery is located in Asheville, NC, USA
Posted by Philip Sunseri on 22 Mar 2009
Unique history, great wine.
This winery is located in Vina, CA, USA
Posted by Bettie Infante on 24 Mar 2009
Wilson Creek Winery is a family affair in the Temecula Wine Country in Southern California. We visited this winery three years ago and then just recently. It has grown in three years but still remains a warm and friendly experience. Strolling the gardens you will encounter many of the Wilson family members from the patriarch of the family Gerry to Cabernet the dog. Wilson Creek is known for it's Almond Champagne. More of a wine lover than a champagne lover I was hesitant to try their Almond Champagne but after I did I was sold. Back in the intimate barrel room they serve their signature "Almond Joy." This is port wine poured into a chocolate demitasse cup and topped off with their Almond Champagne. Everything is edible even the cup! WOW! The best dessert you'll ever have, yes better than chocolate souffle.
This winery is located in Temecula, CA, USA
Posted by Rosemary Bluhm on 30 Mar 2009
Welcome to the Sierra Foothills of California
This winery is located in Mt Aukum, CA, USA
Posted by Violeta on 30 Mar 2009
Cambiata »
Their central coast Albarino is delicious, one of my absolute favorites.
This winery is located in Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Posted by Jessica O‘Brien on 30 Mar 2009
I didn't have a choice in going to this particular winery because it was part of a wine excursion for school. But it was my favorite winery out of the three we visited that day. This winery offers a small, friendly feel. The winemaker, Mr. Helm himself will take you on a tour of his winery and will sit down and taste wines with you. He provides you with a "welcome to the family" atmosphere and will chat you up about anything (I really mean anything...he gave us a quick little latin lesson). The winery is located in a somewhat remote area (you have to drive on a dirt road to get to it) but its scenery is beautiful. You are taken away from all the noise of the city and able to enjoy the "outback" of NSW.
This winery is located in MURRUMBATEMAN, New South Wales, Australia
Posted by Gerry Gollwitzer on 31 Mar 2009
A visit to this small vineyard is like visiting the wine makers in their home. The production is in their lower level. The Sangiovese, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon were wonderful.
This winery is located in Kings Creek, NC, USA
Posted by Carolyn Gonzalez on 31 Mar 2009
Biltmore Estates »
I recently moved to NC and so a friend gave us a few bottles of this wine and it was delicious.
This winery is located in Asheville, NC, USA
Posted by Scott on 06 Apr 2009
Sanford »
Sanford was selected as one of several wineries which we visited as part of a wine-tasting weekend in Santa Barbara County. FYI--visit LaFond and Mosby too. I had previously heard that the tasting room was a small old barn and was surprised to see that, in fact, the site has a beautiful, state of the art, wine-tasting facility with beautiful grounds. This area is known for its Pinot, so we tasted these with interest. The Santa Rita Hills Pinot (2007) was quite nice and cost about $40. I bought two bottles. Their premium Pinot was a bit better, but cost $60 per bottle and I thought it was bit pricey. In terms of the whites, their Chardonnay was good and I bought two bottles as well. Overall, this was a nice winery with nice Staff on a lovely site (complete with the very big cat who sleeps outside and allows all visitors time to pet).
This winery is located in Lompoc, CA, USA
Posted by Scott on 06 Apr 2009
We visited this winery to check out the scene. For those of you who don't know, Fess Parker is an 1950s actor/singer who played Davy Crockett on television. He and his family have since gone into the wine making business (he is still alive) and, from what I have seen, this generates a lot of income. The wine-tasting center is new and modern and a scene from Sideways was filmed there (the scene where Miles learns his book will not be published). There is a huge lawn area which adds to the charm of the site. Inside, there are wine tasting areas as well as shelves devoted to gourmet items, oils, food, etc.--even a coon skin cap if you're so inclined. Overall, I would have to say that the wine at Fess Parker is not very good. In fact, I did not finish any of them. However, I did buy some "White Lightning" bbq sauce from Kentucky and some terrific champage dipped chocolate strawberries. If you're looking to find a place that has a nice atmosphere and you don't care about the quality of the wine, this is the place for you. Even though we do care about the quality of our wine, the place was fun and I would recommend a visit there.
This winery is located in Los Olivos, CA, USA
Posted by Billy Thompson on 12 Apr 2009
When at San Pietro Restaurant in NYC we had a bottle of Portalupi Zinfandel and it blew our mind. I contacted Tim Borges and Jane Portaulpi and they are the NICEST couple to work with and are genuine good people. Their wines have won awards in CA and well worth the accolades.
This winery is located in Sonoma, CA, USA
Posted by Gregg on 13 Apr 2009
This is a small boutique winery located in the Dry Creek Valley area of Healdsburg. It's a spectacular setting to enjoy a bottle of their award-winning chardonnay with a sandwich from the local General Store (they have picnic tables out back with a view of their vineyards and the valley). Kudos to the staff for being very knowledgeable, friendly and best of all, not pushy! All in all, a great winery experience that we plan on returning to when we're in the area again.
This winery is located in Healdsburg, CA, USA
Posted by Alex on 13 Apr 2009
Beautiful winery that looks like a Mediterranean villa. We checked this place out during the 2008 Santa Barbara Vintner's Festival. Wines were all good. They were even serving complimentary hors d'oeuvres that rivaled anything you could order in a restaurant (though I think it was only due to the festival that weekend). A bit crowded that day, but still a pleasurable experience. One of Santa Barbara's wine legacies.
This winery is located in Lompoc, CA, USA
Posted by Christian Staples on 17 Apr 2009
The 35,000-square-foot facility at Childress Vineyards is poised to become a destination for visitors and North Carolinians alike. Designed by Winston-Salem, NC architect Kyle Troxell, the stone and stucco building, with its ornate terra cotta roof is inspired by the Italian Renaissance architecture of rural Tuscany. The winery's opulent interiors are the creation of Wolf Design Group in Atlanta, GA.
This winery is located in Lexington, NC, USA
Posted by Blind Muscat on 17 Apr 2009
This has to be one of the funkiest, most unusual tasting rooms on the planet, plus they make some darn good wine--Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc, red blends, unusual grapes like Negrette.
But ah, the tasting room. DeRose is located in one part of the old, nearly abandoned Heublein monster complex in San Benito County (that's the county east of Monterey County). Besides the usual tasting bar and cash register, it has the San Andreas Fault running right through it -- visibly -- complete with cracks in the floor and the walls and the ceiling, and a plaque from the Coast and Geodetic Survey folks indicating it's one of the best places to stare the San Andreas straight in the face.
Plus, Pat DeRose has the best mustache in the wine business -- you can see it on their website.
Until a few years back the tasting room was furnished with used, reconditioned airline coach seats, from a repair facility across the highway, which made lounging along the fault line even more amusing. They finally took the seats out, because too many folks were just spending the day lounging around and not buying wine.
Still, more than worth a trip -- and a fine introduction to the wineries of this overlooked little growing and winemaking region.
This winery is located in Holister, CA, USA
