{"id":2357,"date":"2023-04-28T18:14:12","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T18:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=2357"},"modified":"2023-04-28T18:14:12","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T18:14:12","slug":"iron-horse-vineyards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=2357","title":{"rendered":"Iron Horse Vineyards"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first time we ever heard about the sparkling wines of Iron Horse, it was because Ronald Reagan served it to Mikhail Gorbachev at the White House.\u00a0 It was such a funny name that we wanted to learn more about it, but it took us a while to actually visit the winery.\u00a0 As to the funny name, it comes from a railroad spur that was erected in the 19th<\/sup> century specifically to serve a nearby winery.\u00a0 The fact that Iron Horse is located on Ross Station Road in Sebastopol indicates there was once a stop there.<\/p>\n

Aside from the wines, which we\u2019ll get to later, there are three reasons to visit Iron Horse.\u00a0 The first of these is that it is family-owned.\u00a0 In these days of corporate takeovers, it\u2019s a good idea to support the families who develop, farm and vinify on their own.\u00a0 Sure, there are software zillionaires who buy wineries as a hobby.\u00a0 They have families, too, but they\u2019re not real wine people.\u00a0 We should all help to make sure that these traditions continue.<\/p>\n

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Tasting at Iron Horse.\u00a0 Photo courtesy of the winery.<\/em><\/p>\n

The second is the tasting room.\u00a0 Or, rather, make that the tasting \u201croom\u201d.\u00a0 It\u2019s actually an extended shed with a porch outside and an overhanging wooden roof (so that tasting is possible on a rainy day).\u00a0 On that porch, there are rough-hewn planks suspended between wine barrels.\u00a0 Here you can sip rather elegant sparkling wines, physically proving that these wines don\u2019t have to be reserved for fancy occasions.<\/p>\n

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The view from the Iron Horse tasting \u201croom\u201d.\u00a0 Photo courtesy of the winery.<\/em><\/p>\n

Finally, if you tear yourself away from looking at the wines and turn around, there is one of the most impressive vineyard views in Sonoma County, or maybe anywhere.\u00a0 The tasting area (let\u2019s stop calling it a room) is atop a steep hill and the vineyards extend through the valley below.\u00a0 So when you visit, don\u2019t just stand at the \u201cbar\u201d (there\u2019s something about the Iron Horse experience that just demands quotation marks).\u00a0 Turn around a look over the rows of vines, or better still take your glass and sit on a bench, soaking in both the wine and the view.<\/p>\n

As to those wines, Iron Horse does make some still wines, Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. \u00a0There\u2019s nothing wrong with them, but they\u2019re not the reason to visit.\u00a0 Iron Horse is famed for its sparklers, and justly so.\u00a0 They make twelve (!) different sparkling wines, ranging from an ultra-brut to a somewhat sweet wine that they claim is the best choice for a toast.\u00a0 Their biggest seller (and the one often served at the White House, over five more administrations) is their Wedding Cuvee.\u00a0 The name is clever marketing for a beverage that often accompanies nuptial celebrations.\u00a0 They say that it\u2019s their \u201cinterpretation\u201d (those danged quote marks again) of a Blanc de Noir, but they use some Chardonnay so it\u2019s not really pure white wine from red grapes.<\/p>\n

It seems that Iron Horse hasn\u2019t been served at the White House in the current administration.\u00a0 So, come on, Joe, get with the program.<\/p>\n

We admit to a weakness for any winery that still offers service behind two barrels and a plank, but as noted there are lots of reasons to visit Iron Horse.\u00a0 It\u2019s a bit of a trek across Sonoma County to the far reaches of Green Valley, but\u2019s it\u2019s worth the trip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first time we ever heard about the sparkling wines of Iron Horse, it was because Ronald Reagan served it to Mikhail Gorbachev at the White House.\u00a0 It was such a funny name that we wanted to learn more about it, but it took us a while to actually visit the winery.\u00a0 As to the … Continue reading Iron Horse Vineyards<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2357"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2360,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357\/revisions\/2360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}