Porter Creek Vineyards

Porter Creek wines are excellent, the tasting room is quaint, and the help is friendly and, surprisingly not pretentious. We tasted some delicious wines, chatted with the gentleman (I wish I could remember his name), he gave us good recommendations for places to dine, and bought some bottle of Pinot Noir to bring home. This was our first stop on our first day in Russian River wine country, and somewhat sadly, our best experience there. We didn’t find anyone else in the area that had the same combination of good wine and good people.

We visited on a Saturday during a bike race… Really? Racing bikes on a skinny road knowing most the drivers have been tasting wine? So be it. The tasting room was small and much busier than expected and only a single pourer. He handled it surprisingly well plus most everyone cooperated by getting a pour and moving away so others could approach. Nothing blew us away but they were good enjoyable wines so we bought a few.

From 2 stars to 0stars…
If I can give this place negative stars, I would…
Being harassed by JD that states he is the manager here for 10yrs is just not cool after you leave a 2 star review.
My visit here was for «Winter Wineland Event» that The Wine Road in Sonoma will host once a year. That event is truly a lot of fun because the wineries that do participate are welcoming! Except this one…
It is such a disappointment because they are organic and you can see that their vineyards have these triangle bug traps. It’s a different experience to see their organic vineyard.
The manager sent me another disturbing private message this morning! Please see attached screen shot from JD.
The positive thing is… «They made my Unilocal picture famous in their tasting room!!! If you do go… please take a picture of me!!!»
Trying to keep it positive here. I will continue to go the the Wine Events that Sonoma will host, but I will make sure to let all my friends know my horrible experience here and the rude messages that management continue to send me.

Salt of the earth tasting room guys. Sincere people with a ton of knowledge about wine and the area. They were very welcoming and just super people. The wine was excellent. I highly recommend the Rose and Pinot Noir. Can’t wait to come back to this quaint and super cool winery!

These dudes working the tasting room were hilarious. We had a blast at this little spot. I felt like I was on a camping trip. It was raining, there’s a chicken coop and we were hooting and hollering having a great time. It’s small, it’s unpretentious, and it’s just cool as hell. We bought a lot of wine and could’ve left with more. I bought the Zinfandel. It had a little zip to it. Great wine. They added a couple extras to the tasting that day so we really got to enjoy their menu. I’ll go here every time I’m back. For sure.

This place is just awesome. I would say this is the winery that gives you the homey, intimate feel. I love the guy that poured the wine for us, he was personable and a lot of fun!

5 stars all the way!
This is a very tiny winery, the tasting room is pretty much in their garage. When I first called in and they told me that, I was a bit skeptical, however, I am so happy we decided to pay Porter Creek a visit. The staff (Jonathan) was super nice and helpful. My BF and I shared a tasting ($ 15) and we got to try all their wines. We both were so shocked when every single wine we tried ranging from their Pinot Noirs to Chardonnay was super delicious! That is pretty rare for us when we visit wineries. Our favorite wine was probably the old vine Zinfandel, super bold initial taste and it leaves you with a berry like flavor that almost lingers after you sip it. Crazy how you can experience so many different tastes with the Zin!
Anyway, long story short we came in wanting to buy 1 bottle and ended up leaving with 3. That’s how good this place was! If you buy a bottle, your tasting will be free. Prices are very reasonable and you’re getting really great wine.
I would definitely recommend coming when they first open on weekends in order to avoid the crowds since this place is very small.
Jonathan did such a great job educating us on the wines and he was so generous and helpful. The experience was definitely heightened by his top notch service! We only stopped here on our way up to Gualala, but I would have to say this place definitely warrants a stop because everything from the wines to the service was just amazing!

Their smallish tasting room is rustic, cool and intimate.
Your wine tasting comes with fine dialogue.
We had the $ 15 tasting and it was good. You can get the $ 15 refunded with a wine purchase. See the store for details.
Their local Pinot Noir is very good.
The Anderson Valley Pinot Noir had a spicy, cinammon finish. My mouth said yes.
Take time to explore a quaint, organic vineyard. The chickens running around look happy and lively.

We stumbled upon Porter Creek and 2 cases later — so glad we did! The guy behind the counter pouring the wine (wish I could remember his name) was so nice, knowledgeable and took his time explaining every wine to us — it was great! I highly recommend this place!

We were so fortunate that Porter Creek Vineyards was our first winery stop yesterday because it set a lovely tone for an amazing day! Even though the wine host was busy and working alone, he was knowledgeable, charming, patient and very kind… oh yeah… the wine was fabulous too but that’s a given! Looking forward to returning to Porter Creek very soon… what a gem!

Absolutely not to miss among the Russian River Valley! Begin here– and hope that it’s Paul’s day to host. He’s one of two hosts that alternate so your chances are good. Ask for his recs for your day and you’ll have good conversations everywhere else. Don’t miss the Rose of a Zinfindel grape, it’s amazing!

Delicious wines, fantastical hilarious host Paul, beautiful scenery. This place is a gem.

My wife and I stopped in for a tasting towards the end of the day and had a phenomenal experience at Porter Creek. The property is beyond beautiful with rolling hills and vineyards. The tasting room is super intimate and our host Jonathan was very welcoming and informative. He made us feel comfortable during the tasting as this was one of our first wine tasting experiences. The wines are excellent and prices very reasonable. We walked away with 3 bottles to take back to Chicago. Watch out for the chickens roaming the property like they own the place! Also note that the wine tasting fee is waived with an equivalent purchase of wine.

Our first stop of the day on Saturday was Porter Creek. It’s a very small tasting room and apparently the secret is out because it became packed around 11:30.
You get to try a lot of wine for your $ 15 tasting fee (waived with purchase). We were able to try 2 chardonnays, a viognier, several pinots, carignane, and I think a zin. Wines range from $ 20s to $ 60s.
We purchased a george’s hill chardonnay and a carignane which were our favorites. We could have easily taken home several other wines we liked and in multiples, but were worried about transporting everything back to TX. Side note: their shipping rates are quite expensive.
They have chickens on property and a nice view. It’s too bad the tasting room doesn’t take advantage of the space. Also, some may find the guy who works in the tasting room (big Scottish guy) a bit abrasive.
A great stop on Westside for casual wine tasting.

The entrance to this winery is lovely and you would think the tasting room is in a big elaborate tasting room, but nope, it’s actually very boutique and the tasting room is in a small ass shack. It was very tiny and intimate. The staff (I think family owned) was really friendly. It was the son and the mother working along with their wine dog chilling in the room.
The small tasting room kept the cool air in so it wasn’t stuffy. Sometimes it’ll be super full but it didn’t feel so bad. There’s no picnic tables to enjoying some food but they sell some home grown pears. We bought some pears and it was delicious. As for the wines, it was really good and I ended up buying a bottle of Zinfandel for my BFs mom because to was really good.
We didn’t really get to talk wine with the guy because it was pretty busy but he seemed very knowledgeable and nice. His mom was really helpful too. Their dog was the cutest thing ever, he was just chilling in the cool room avoiding the heat.

This is my favorite place in Russian River. Very friendly and a unique tasting experience.

Such a wonderful experience coming here. The man pouring was lovely, the chickens were adorable, the day was gorgeous, and I loved the more laid back vibe. We sat outside and took in the beautiful atmosphere while sipping on our pours. Tasting was $ 10 for a lot of pours and the fee is waved if you buy a bottle (we bought the rose which was delicious). Really enjoyable and I highly recommend.

Great find on Westside Road.
Friendly environment. Great greeter in big friendly pooch!
Anyways, the place was packed when we rolled in (special shout out to the pourer at Gary Farrell who recommended we stop in); however, one of the pourer’s walked out and handed us glasses and got things going.
My favorite was their Viognier. We liked it — a lot. Ended up buying several bottles.
All in all, it’s on our new Westside Rd rotation — should be on your as well.

We ended up at porter creek because the day was getting late and we wanted to hit another vineyard before we called it quits – and there it was ahead of us, so we thought, why not?
What a good decision that was! It was everything we had been looking for in a tasting: easy, casual, informative, and tasty. These wines are served in some very serious restaurants, so you might expect something a little more stuffy, but its as relaxed as you can imagine. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants good wine (and good value) in a relaxed atmosphere.

A great, no-​nonsense tasting experience. Porter Creek is not flashy, not elegant, but it doesn’t have to be. The staff is friendly and down-​to-​earth and the wines are fantastic. The winery is beautiful and is inhabited by friendly canines.
We visited Healdsburg for the week. It was the second time we were there and I wasn’t sure if we’d have time to re-​visit Porter Creek. I’m glad we did. Another great experience. Their Carignane is something special.
You’ll love this winery! Make sure to include it on your list if you’re in wine country!