Moshin Vineyards and Winery

Met Rick Moshin in the tasting room for barrel tasting weekend. AWESOME guy. Really friendly, open… great guy! Wine is great! Did some future orders! Although it was great right out of the barrel. YUMMM!!!

This is where my husband started to like beer, so I’m biased. We had no trouble finding a couple we liked and this small little winery in a very lovely spot. The drive there was awesome, side benefit.

I’m blown away but the wonderful customer service I received in response to my review. Amber Moshin reached out about my wine purchase and offered to send me a new bottle, as there was a likelihood that a bad cork could have spoiled the wine, resulting in a poor taste.
Today, I received the new bottle, along with a nice letter including a card for a complimentary tasting for the next time I visit Moshin. I’m extremely grateful for the gesture and can’t wait to try my wine the next time we have a nice dinner at home (I will edit this review once I do!).

What a warm, welcoming place and the same goes for the folks who run it. I’ve been here a few times, and took a private tour once with my extended family. No charge for tasting if you buy at least a bottle (and you will) and good deals on buying multiple bottles. And you just can’t go wrong with their excellent wines. The soil in the area is known for pinot noir, and it shows in Moshin’s take on the varietal. We pretty much stop by every time we’re in the area as they do not sell in stores. So, stock up.

Love this winery, I have been a fan for years. They are laid back and have great pinots! Tastings are $ 10, plus you can share it, and the fee is waived if you buy a bottle. My favorite there is their dessert wine «Moshin potion», but you can’t taste it since they make such a limited run of them. Staff are always friendly and helpful, and they also have a sustainable process. I love the laid back attitude of this winery and the fact you don’t have to make an appointment to come here.

This was a great stop but it is a bit hard to find if you are not paying attention. It is on Westside Road and if you are coming from the East there are numerous signs however the entrance is right on a bend in the road. If coming from the west the junction at river road is confusing. As you turn off River Rd, just before the bridge if coming from the west you will see four roads as you make the turn. Westside Rd is the one on your right, the others just drop into vacation rental areas.
Moshin is a small tasting room but comfortable. The hostess was extremely knowledgable and did not stick to the menu of tastings. She had 11 bottles open and presented all 11 is an organized fashion each presented with a full briefing on the wine, what vineyards were used and unique differences in the winemaking process which really made for an interesting stop. Definitely do not finish each tasting or you will not be able to drive, they are generous with their tastings. I would rank this as a must stop for anyone who is new to visiting the areas wineries simply for the environment and the presentation (yes their wines are quite good too).

Lovely little winery! Great pinots

Our first stop for a winery in the area and we were not disappointed. After seeing the by appointment only sign (weekends) for Gary Ferrel we had to chose another winery and Moshin was down the street.
The winery isn’t hard to miss as they have signs directing you. The place is decent size with beautiful landscaping in the front. I would consider this boutique. I actually think it’s better than Napa Valley since Napa Valley is so commercialized and corporate feeling. The place was pretty empty and the wine bartender greeted us right away. We did he $ 10 tasting menu and the lady was very knowledgeable. She helped us use the right vocabulary in describing the wine and she also taught us some neat tricks. The tasting was very fun and educational. We tried a variety of Pinot Noir. I wish I was more of a wine sommelier so I can actually distinguish the difference. I thought it was all good. We got more than what we paid for. She also recommended our next winery of Porter Creek.
I would definitely come back and bring my girlfriends!

Our B&B host gave us a free tasting here. They are very knowledgeable and detailed about their wines. Their Chardonnay was great (and I’m not a big Chard fan) — My sister bought a case. They have some good specials as well. I really enjoyed their Pinots — classic and well made.

My family, friends, and I were so excited to experience this winery for the first time ever. We had heard nothing but exceptional reviews about the wines, and general atmosphere of this place. Little did we know what we were in for.
The mature female host, with very short grey hair, greeted us at the counter to present the tasting options. We were bombarded with a ton of tasting options. In my 8 years of wine tasting– in regions all over California– I’ve never experienced this situation. Normally when tasting, you choose from 1 – 2 flights, which I think were the options, but this woman made it sound more complicated than it actually was. Confused, we decided on 2 tastings, and that the 4 of us would share. At one point, the host was pouring a pinot grigio for us, while explaining in precise detail– the origin and flavor palette of the wine…(mind you– I’m from Sonoma County, living in LA, and I’m up visiting friends and family that I haven’t seen in months, so obviously we’re going to be chatting and catching up with each other). This woman was so angry that we weren’t listening to her schpeal on this wine. «Aren’t you listening to me?!» she had asked at one point. After she would pour the wine into our glasses, she would put the bottles down with such force– we could tell she was angry. She poured a Chardonnay (which was not on the tasting menu). I made a comment about being so excited to see a Chardonnay being poured, and she replied with, «I already told you I would be pouring a Chardonnay!!» I’ve never in my life had a host at a winery ruin my day. The wine here was great, the other hosts were so sweet and pleasant, but I was so turned off by this lady’s attitude that I’ll probably never go back, and my friends and family who were with me agree to the fullest.

The woman pouring was amazing. Wine club prices are competitive, but retail is pricey. Everything we tasted was good to great, with the Pinot blanc and Zinfandel being great. Lots of Pinot Noirs if you like them. Dog friendly, including a treat for our Charlie. $ 10 tasting fee, for five plus pours.

This was one of my favorite stops on our recent trip. The wines were all amazing; it was a treat to try 4 different pinots. My husband and I were sharing a tasting and after the first pinot I almost asked for my own. I do not remember the name of the woman pouring for us, but she was friendly and interesting. She had a nice balance of sharing info about the wine, joking around and giving us space to talk amongst our group as we tasted. She found the group fav and poured us a similar pinot to try just for fun. This place has something for everyone and is worth a visit.

Went up to Sonoma area the past weekend to getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life. Decided to go to Moshin for some tastings and had a wonderful experience. It’s a small winery, so it was intimate and we got to chat with Tessa who was pouring for us. She’s amazingly funny and very friendly. Would definitely go to this Winery again when in Sonoma!

Julia was lovely and so patient with our group. Merlot, unfiltered pinot and rose are yum (technical term). Also discovered a way to drink wine and vodka together. Are you kidding me? Genius!

Won tickets on the radio to see the Dazed and Confused movie this weekend at Moshin Vineyards — what a beautiful little event! Mostly locals and wine club members, seems like everyone is treated like family. Paid $ 22 for a bottle of Rose Pinot and $ 10 for a plate of delicious Greek food. The setting was wonderful, we brought blankets for the outdoor seating, and were treated to free popcorn and cotton candy. Perfect mellow wine country Saturday night!

We came here after being referred from Rodney Strong (hands down one of the best wineries in the area!). The guy doing our tasting was not very knowledgeable and had the audacity to pour us a shared tasting after we brought in a card from Rodney Strong for two complimentary tastings. The pours were stingy to start compared to other wineries and having to share meant less than half a sip and barely enough to swirl on the palate! Despite liking the wine enough to consider buying a couple bottles, we were so insulted we passed. The Pinots were full bodied and smooth, but the guy pouring our wine ruined the experience and guaranteed we won’t consider Moshin on our next trip up here. They could do significantly better if they hired more pleasant staff (assuming the guy pouring our wine wasn’t an owner, which would be a shame given his lack of knowledge about the wine he was serving!).
As an aside, this winery is also not very pleasant to those who are handicapped. There was a special needs child visiting with her parents and the staff was not only disrespectful with their blunt responses to her questions, but kept looking over at her with disdain :/​… perhaps they should be reminded this is Northern California and we accept people as they are!!!

Loooooved this winery!!! A gentleman was our first pourer, and although nice, did not pour us very much. However, after the first taste we got Julia. If you go to the winery, you must ask for her!!! She was knowledgeable, friendly, and had better pours.
The wines were delicious! I truly liked them all. We got to chat w the winemaker, who signed the bottle we purchased. I loved that he’s a retired math teacher who went back to school to become a winemaker!
The photography on the walls was spectacular, printed on metallic sheets helped them pop that much more. I also liked the wine labels! We visited on Wine Tourism Day and each left w a free amazing wine glass!
In between each taste we went outside and sat on one of the two picnic tables and watched hummingbirds go by and the expansive vineyards across the street. It’s normally $ 10 for a tasting.
This is a must stop if you’re visiting!

$ 22 for the 2013 Pinot Rose, and worth every penny. Get yourself some!
Julie is a sweetheart of sweethearts, and was very in tune with our tastes. She guided us to the wines she knew we would like.
I will have to go back again and do a white wine tasting. The reds were pretty delicious.
The winery itself is cute as can be, with a lovely hummingbird sculpture in front. There are several hummingbird feeders so the bird action is quite active.
Definitely check out their pinot rose. It’s wonderful.

One of my favorite memories from our trip to Sonoma is from Moshin! This was our 2^nd and LAST stop on our day of wine tasting that Saturday we went. So be forewarned that if you’re planning to go wine tasting in Sonoma, please try to make this winery LAST on your stop… you’ll thank me :)
I was surprised when we first got there, because the tasting room was pretty small. Fortunately, it wasn’t too packed yet so the bf and I scored a spot. The staff is super friendly and just plain awesome! They told us what we could expect and asked us what we tasted and liked. We are definitely not wine connoisseurs so it was nice to actually be able to talk about the wine with them without feeling stupid or judged ha ha. It was a nice relaxed and chill atmosphere, something you can’t really find in Napa (not hating just saying). Another nice thing is that I didn’t feel rushed like I normally feel at other places. Here they don’t stand there with the next bottle in hand as you take your first sip of wine.
The tasting menu is seriously their entire wine menu, seriously. Don’t say I didn’t warn you earlier!
Side note: Our favorite was the 2007 Moshin Pinot Noir, Moshin Estate — loved it so much we bought a bottle of that bad boy for $ 65! Biggest wine bottle purchase for us wine newbies, so we felt like high-​rollers lol. Least favorite was the dessert wine Moshin Poshin #9, sounds cool right, but too sweet for our taste.
Really hope you enjoy Moshin as much as we did!!! Cheers!

What can I say that they haven’t already said about themselves?
Stop if you like Pinots. There are many other places in Alexander Valley that could be a better visit for WINE.