Yoakim Bridge, Sonoma County

classic Airstream at Yoakim Bridge

The WC crew hit this Dry Creek winery on the suggestion of the staff at Trentadue in nearby Alexander Valley. We got side tracked on the way at Pedroncelli. That turned out to be a mildly traumatic disappointment that required medical intervention. We did manage to recover enough for our picnic lunch followed by one more round of tasting at Yoakim.

I’m glad that we did come here! The winery itself was charming if a little precious. The wines were all very good. This is a tiny winery by California standards. According to their brochure it’s only about four acres. Virginia Morgan and David Cooper co-own and operate the place. Actually we met them, as they were manning the tasting room too.

They’ve a lovely old Victorian farmhouse and classic Airstream on the property surrounded with gardens and of course grapevines. This winery is apparently famous for their wines and for their barbecue sauce. Upon first entering the tasting room, I was overwhelmed by the smell of this sauce on what looked like Swedish meatballs kept warm behind the counter. To me this aroma was repulsive and didn’t go at all with the charm of the tasting room or the excitement over trying the wine. Others in my group thought the opposite. Several of them tried these little balls and one even bought a jar of the sauce for her mother.

resting between tastes at Yoakim Bridge

There’s a ten dollar fee to taste. They do offer a wine club but I believe Virginia said that it’s closed for new members just now. They are small and very boutique is the reason I guess. They didn’t have a take away wine list so all of my notes are by hand.

2006 Zinfandel: We thought that this wine was “OK.” We had been drinking a bit by the time we arrived here so our palates were somewhat flat. It was cherry red almost purple with a tannic bite and good finish. 14.5% alcohol, which is fairly low for California wines these days. It was $36 per bottle.

Yoakim Bridge Cuvee red, Dry Creek Valley

2003/2004 Cuvee: This is a blend of wines from two vintages. It’s a mix of cabernet sauvignon, petit sirah, syrah and merlot. It was dark purple with a long almost smoky finish. Wendy found it “delicious.” $36 per bottle.

2005 Merlot, Gallaway Vineyard: This wine had medium body with a long finish and plum and other stone fruit notes. Virginia recommends this one with shellfish. It’s “really nice.”

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Stromberg Vineyard: This is dark purple and opaque. Carey liked this one a lot. It’s got %14.5 alcohol and sells for $52 per bottle but for the wine club it’s $25.

2003 Syrah: This wine is black and opaque. I couldn’t distinguish subtleties at this point but David Cooper tells me that he thinks it has notes of “cigarette smoke.” It’s got 14.5% alcohol.

I liked this place. All of the wines were good. They don’t actively promote themselves. In fact I think that they’re proud that they don’t release bottles of their wines to professional tasters and that when the Wall Street Journal came to the winery that they charged them the $10 tasting feel. If you happen to be in the neighborhood, you should definitely check this place out.

some old vines at Yoakim Bridge