# 101 Trione Vineyards and Winery, Geyserville, Calif.
# 100 Dolin Malibu Estate Vineyard, Malibu, Calif.
# 99 Hope Family Wines, Paso Robles, Calif.
# 98 Ste. Chapelle Winery, Caldwell, Idaho
# 97 Broc Cellars, Berkeley, Calif.
# 96 Cornerstone Cellars, Yountville, Calif.
# 95 Gruet Winery, Albuquerque, New Mexico
# 94 MacPhaill Family Wines, Healdsburg, Calif.
# 93 Shinn Estate Vineyard and Farmhouse, Mattituck, N.Y.
# 92 Bokisch Vineyards, Lodi, Calif.
# 91 Allis Ranch Winery, Sedalia, Colorado
# 90 Seven Hills Winery, Walla Walla, Wash.
# 89 Frick Winery, Geyserville, Calif.
# 88 Hermann J. Wiemer Winery, Dundee, N.Y.
# 87 Neyers Vineyards, St. Helena, Calif.
# 86 The Ojai Vineyard , Oak View, Calif.
# 85 Va La Vineyards, Avondale, Pennsylvania
# 84 Stony Hill Vineyard, St Helena, Calif.
# 83 McPherson Cellars Winery, Lubbock, Texas
# 82 Favia Wines, Napa, Calif.
# 81 Keplinger Wines, Napa, Calif.
# 80 Gramercy Cellars, Walla Walla, Wash.
# 79 Freemark Abbey Winery, Napa Valley, Calif.
# 77 Balletto Vineyards & Winery, Santa Rosa, Calif.
# 76 Channing Daughters Winery, Bridgehampton, N.Y.
# 75 Inwood Estates Vineyards, Florence, Texas
# 74 Chehalem Winery, Newberg, Ore.
# 73 Pedroncelli, Geyserville, Calif.
# 72 Bergström Winery, Newberg, Ore.
# 71 Truchard Vineyards, Napa Valley, Calif.
# 70 Sandhi Wines, Santa Barbara, Calif.
# 69 Robert Mondavi, Napa, Calif.
# 68 Iron Horse Vineyards, Sebastopol, Calif.
# 67 Jaffurs Wine Cellars, Santa Barbara, Calif.
# 66 Beckmen Vineyards, Los Olivos, Calif.
# 65 Keuka Lake Vineyards, Hammondsport, N.Y.
# 64 Thomas Fogarty Winery and Vineyards, Woodside, Calif.
# 63 Black Ankle Vineyards, Mount Airy, Maryland
# 62 Rochioli Vineyards and Winery, Healdsburg, Calif.
# 61 Foxen Winery, Santa Ynez Valley, Calif.
# 60 Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars, Hammondsport, N.Y.
# 59 Andrew Murray Vineyards, Los Olivos, Calif.
# 58 Swanson Vineyards, Napa Valley, Calif.
# 57 Abeja, Walla Walla, Wash.
# 56 Red Newt Cellars, Hector, N.Y.
# 55 Tensley Wines, Santa Barbara County, Calif.
# 54 Mount Eden, Saratoga, Calif.
# 53 Barbourville Vineyards, Barboursville, Virginia
# 52 Charles Smith Wines, Walla Walla, Wash.
# 51 Saxum , Paso Robles, Calif.
# 50 Chateau Grand Traverse, Traverse City, Michigan
# 49 Ken Wright Cellars, Carlton, Ore.
# 48 Peachy Canyon Winery, Paso Robles, Calif.
# 47 Boundary Breaks Vineyard, Lodi, N.Y.
# 46 St. Supery Vineyards and Winery, Rutherford, Calif.
# 45 Soliste, Petaluma, Calif.
# 44 Quilceda Creek, Snohomish, Wash.
# 43 Evening Land Vineyards , Dundee, Ore.
# 42 SpottsWoode Winery, St Helena, Calif.
# 41 Elk Cove Vineyards, Willamette Valley, Ore.
# 40 Hanzell Vineyards, Sonoma, Calif.
# 39 Wind Gap Wines, Sebastopol, Calif.
# 38 The Eyrie Vineyards, McMinville, Ore.
# 37 Arnot-Roberts, Healdsburg, Calif.
# 36 Hirsch Vineyard, Cazadero, Calif.
# 35 Acorn Winery, Healdsburg, Calif.
# 34 Diamond Creek Vineyards, Calistoga, Calif.
# 33 Domaine de la Cote, Lompoc, Calif.
# 32 DeLille Cellars, Woodinville, Wash.
# 31 Talley Vineyards, Arroyo Grande, Calif.
# 30 Patz & Hall, Sonoma, Calif.
# 29 Ponzi Vineyards, Sherwood, Ore.
# 28 Copain Wines, Healdsburg, Calif.
# 27 Qupé Winery, Los Olivos, Calif.
# 26 Navarro Vineyards and Winery, Philo, Calif.
# 25 Whetstone Wine Cellars, Napa, Calif.
# 24 Mayacamas Vineyards, Mount Veeder, Calif.
# 23 Massican Winery, Napa Valley, Calif.
# 22 Andrew Will Winery, Vashon, Wash.
# 21 Chateau Montelena Winery, Calistoga, Calif.
# 20 Schramsberg Vineyards, Calistoga, Calif.
# 19 Duckhorn Vineyards, St Helena, Calif.
# 18 Bonny Doon Vineyard, Santa Cruz, Calif.
# 17 Corison Winery, Napa Valley, Calif.
# 16 Shafer Vineyards, Napa Valley, Calif.
# 15 Linden Vineyards, Linden, Virginia
# 14 Domaine Drouhin Oregon, Dayton, Ore.
# 13 Matthiasson Winery, Napa Valley, Calif.
# 12 Caymus Vineyards, Rutherford, Calif.
# 11 Littorai, Sebastopol, Calif.
# 10 Robert Sinskey Vineyards, Napa, Calif.
# 9 Leonetti Cellar, Walla Walla, Wash.
# 8 Smith-Madrone Vineyards and Winery, St. Helena, Calif.
# 7 Heitz Cellars, St Helena, Calif.
# 6 Dunn Vineyards, Angwin, Calif.
# 5 Woodward Canyon Winery, Lowden, Wash.
# 4 Calera Wine, Mt Harlan, Calif.
# 3 Au Bon Climat Winery, Santa Barbara, Calif.
# 2 Ridge Vineyards, Cupertino, Calif.
# 1 Tablas Creek Vineyard, Paso Robles, Calif.
Probably a good guide but the listing is without provenance.
Criteria? Best winery to visit, or best wines?
Yeah, is this an effort by Nate Silver’s 538 site?
Does make a nice bucket list for Baby Boomers though.
Chateau Montelena #21?? How is this list compiled?
De gustibus non disputandam est…
I could assemble a list of 100 more wineries that are just as good as any of these. I also
question the criteria used to create this list. Ridge Vineyards — #2 on the list — is rightly
well-known for their zinfandels. They make a chardonnay as well, and I’m sure it’s
acceptable, but I doubt it would rank highly among the best of that varietal. And if you
want a spicy gewurtztraminer or a fruity riesling to pair with your szechuan take-out,
you’ll have to look elsewhere. The world of wine is too complex and varied to be
adequately represented in such a simplistic reduction.
Knowing the NY Finger Lakes wineries fairly well, it seems to me that this is a list of wineries that do the one or two grapes best known in that region well. It seems like there is some personal history or other bias in the selection.
I thought the list did one very important thing by making it clear that there are really good wineries in places other than Northern and Central California.
My take is that it is a good list to start with, but then stop at some of the other wineries along the way as you are driving along, and you will be pleasantly surprised…..
Count me as one of the puzzled by the list of wineries.
Where the heck is Beaulieu Vineyards? Their Georges de la Tour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the finest wines made anywhere.
So, why no BV on this list?