Paradise Ridge Winery

A gorgeous and vast winery with a variety of things to see and do during a visit.
I picked this place over the other wineries in the area because the atmosphere looked inviting and it seemed like there were many things to do other than wine tasting.
The place was slightly confusing to find; Google Maps told me I needed to drive further, but once I located their sign, I turned into the path and made my way all the way to the end of it. We passed by a couple buildings and previews of some of the massive sculptures in the area.
We went for a wine and cheese pairing at 11am on a Father’s Day Sunday. They were unable to locate the online reservation I booked the day before, but were humbly apologetic and still made sure we were accommodated promptly on the veranda. The gorgeous view from our table overlooked the vineyard, Highway 101, and Santa Rosa. There weren’t too many people around either.
I am not a big wine person, so I can’t say much about the wines and cheeses. My favorite was the 2014 Vineyard Select Sauvignon Blanc paired with the gouda cheese. The person serving us did a good job explaining the different wines and answered some questions we had.
A gripe I had was that I went to the oven-​fired pizza area and ordered a margherita pizza, and they mentioned that would call out my name when the pizza was ready. I had to go back later to check up on it, and it turns out they gave my pizza away to someone else. The person said he’d make another one but didn’t seem to really care too much as he was on his way to deliver pizza to someone else. The pizza was just okay.
There was a trolley bus that transported people to the lower area of the estate which contains the sculptures and the newly opened art collection. They were all interesting but it was quite warm that day and we weren’t prepared to do a little bit of hiking, so we didn’t stay too long.

I came here with some friends on a nice Saturday afternoon. The seating area has really great views of the vineyards and some sculpture gardens below. It’s very relaxing to sit back with a glass of wine and chat with your friends.
For the wine tastings, we tried some reds and some whites. The staff started out great and explained a bit about where the wines came from and tasting notes. However, after the second one, we noticed that they would just pour the wine but then fail to give us the tasting notes! So the last wines, I actually had no idea what I was drinking or what I was supposed to look for.
Their petit verdot was quite nice. I usually am not a fan of red wine, but I thought this one was quite smooth. I was neutral to most of the other wines, including a zinfandel that we tried.

L is for the way you LOOK at me…
O is for the ONLY one I see…
V is VERY VERY extra ordinary
We travel on weekdays when it’s less crowded. So we were the only ones here for the tasting and taking pictures!
The hostess was very friendly and referred us to other wineries and mini road trip.
I would recommend and thank you for great service!

So popped into Paradise Ridge during Barrel Tasting weekend because one of my friends who was participating chose this as her starting winery. I’d never been here but upon arriving was really glad she picked this property as it’s simply stunning. In talking to the staff, I was informed that the Wine Tasting Buildings were actually built as an event venue (weddings, etc.) and boy, I can see why — views forever and all over the property «LOVE» is just screaming out at you — in a good way. ;)
They also have some pretty fabulous wines and ended up being one of my fav wineries we visited this weekend. My friends & all bought several bottles here. I’ll definitely be heading back next time I’m up in Sonoma.
Also, the staff was all darling but I have to call out Christiana who was just such a doll and took amazing care of my entire group of 4. She walked us thru the tasting, the history and gave us some great ideas for the area — even giving us in an in at another winery we were planning to visit. Hold on to her Paradise Ridge cuz she’s a true gem! :).

I’m giving this place 4 stars mainly because the view was GORGEOUS.
The wines were just okay — I’m not a wine snob or anything, but I had been to several wineries earlier that day which had much better wines. I was also not a fan of the first wine in the flight which tasted like lemon juice.
However, I love the relaxed atmosphere and it was still a great place to stop at. It’s located on top of a cliff overlooking the winery and hillside. You don’t have to stay at the tasting bar the whole time, in fact they encourage you to take your drinks outside to enjoy the view.
There is also plenty of art/​sculptures on the grounds that you can take a look at when you’re done with tasting. Great time!

Love the location, the sculpture garden, the beautiful views. The tasting room staff is very friendly and generous with the pours. Wine is good too. However, a $ 15 tasting fee seems pretty high to me. For two people you are looking at a $ 30 fee to taste 6 wines. Too pricey for me.

Great place, very good wine, and great service. Beautiful scenery even on a rainy, foggy day. Definitely recommend.

Great views, lots of seating areas. Very friendly staff. Reasonably priced tastings. The wine was not all to my liking, but they had lots of varieties to try.
Don’t be alarmed when driving through a residential area to get there. Once you are there you will wonder where the houses have gone.

First of all, the property appears to be in a residential area, but when you get in the gate, the long road has interesting artwork to view. Once you get into the winery, the views are great. They have a nice big deck to overlook Santa Rosa looking west. The tasting room itself was decent. Not sure what they had going on, but it looked like a clothing store with a lot of racks in the middle of the room.
We were totally surprised to find out that they have a tasting charge of $ 15.00 per person… and only a flight of 5 wines to taste. (This is Sonoma County, not Napa). Anyway, we decided to try the wines. The wines were fine… but have to say that we felt like they were doing us the honor to have their wine. This was the 3^rd winery of the day and they first 2 blew them out of the water… and no tasting fee. We feel that the first 2 wineries we went to were very knowledgeable people who told us about the wines that they were pouring and were personable. Here… we felt like they just poured wine into our glasses.
Since we were there, we felt like we should buy a couple of bottles. We thought that they would waive the tasting fees, but no. They did waive the fee for one of us. We chose the Sauvignon Blanc, which in our opinion was easily the best of the 5 pours, but quite a bit expensive for a Sauv. Blanc. at $ 28.00 a bottle. So, for 2 bottles of Sauv. Blanc, not great service, feeling like one of the herd… We walked out spending over $ 70.00. That it may be a lot to some… but for the service and tasting we prefer going to the RRV or Dry Creek.
So, if you are in the area, check out the view. If you want to have a good wine tasting experience (besides the view), I would check out somewhere else.

The winery may be in town but you can almost touch the clouds if they could lure your eyes away from the dazzling view below you. We went for wine tasting (and very good wine it was)
but can see why Paradise hosts so many weddings and events because the location is stunning.
The gentleman behind the bar was attentive and very sensitive to how much interaction was appropriate for each of the groups present. He made us feel at home while successfully preserving our private experience pleasure.
Looking out at the section of the vineyard where the grapes were grown for a particular wine reinforces the sense of a partnership between the bounty of nature and the skill of man in creating a miracle in a bottle.
If I did not want to return again and again, I would make sure that Paradise was shipping me their delightful Sauvignon Blanc on a regular basis.

Always nice to discover a beautiful property and tasting room serving high-​quality wines. I thought the wine showed nice balance and restraint — no fruit bombs here! The tasting fees were reasonable, and Bob in the tasting room was welcoming.

Don’t be put off by the strange drive through a residential neighborhood. This is absolutely the coolest winery I have ever been to! You must come here if you like modern sculpture art — and even if not, it’s a unique alternative to the played-​out vineyard pictures. Also, I recommend getting a few drinks in before wandering through the garden, for maximum amusement. There are two main areas to park and walk around the sculptures: to the left of the ceramic mask wall for the majority of the art installations, and then there’s a turn lower down for the big LOVE sign and metal temple.
The tasting room is in the event hall, and it was beautifully decorated for Christmas. The view down the valley is stunning, in spite of the 101 cutting through on the horizon. The staff was very attentive and chatty as we did our tasting. We checked in for the bogo tasting (so basically $ 15 for two); or the fee is waived if you buy two bottles. I liked the red blend, while my friends loved the dessert Ode to Joy enough to buy a bottle. It was a bit chilly, but in better weather, there are plenty of tables and chairs on the deck to enjoy some wine and snacks at. We saw plenty of couples taking pictures and enjoying their time together, and no wonder, as this is the perfect date spot in Santa Rosa.

A must-​see and must-​try in Santa Rosa. After having gone to two wineries/​vineyards in Napa just the day before, I was ecstatic to find a place with only $ 15 tastings! And if you check in on Unilocal,you get BOGO free – so TWO tastings for $ 15! And if you buy two bottles of wine, the tasting fee is waived. Bottles generally range $ 28 – 60.
The tasting currently consists of five different wines – two whites and three reds, my favorites of which are the Sauvignon Blanc and the Cabernet, two complete opposites. But the Blanc is really one of the best I’ve ever had – and I normally don’t like white wines. The Cab is good, but not exceptional by any means.
Meanwhile, the property is just beautiful. It’s a popular wedding venue, and when we went today, there was a company luncheon going on. The building is nicely designed and very well-​maintained. From the deck bar, you can watch the sun set over the hills, and it’s truly breathtaking. When you drive (plenty of parking up the hill, by the way) – or walk, if you please – down the hill, there’s a variety of sculptures to enjoy and photograph – sort of like a mini sculpture garden.
On a different note, most, if not all, the grapes are grown in the 21-​year-​old vineyard, and these wines are not distributed to retail stores… Except for one in Texas. But you can join the wine club for free and receive the regular wine club perks and all that. Or you can just buy the bottle (s) then and there.

We read a web review that highlighted the Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa as a highlight of Sonoma wine country. And, upon checking out the website, we saw that they are open daily 11am-​5pm. Our GPS took us to a neighborhood, but we kept going until we found the winery on down the road. Via the article we were intrigued by the reported expanse of art on the grounds and great wines. Sadly, the winery was CLOSED at 2:30 pm today. It looks like they’ve been closed for some time.

Based on the almost 5 star Unilocal rating our expectations were high for this winery. Driving to the winery we felt we would be tasting at someone’s tract home. Although the winery is perched high on a hill you navigate through a neighborhood to get there. The tasting room is gorgeous and view of the valley outstanding. This is where they get their 3 stars. The wine they pour in the tasting room lacks structure and finesse. We love reds and all their reds fell short of our expectations based on the wines price point. I was not impressed with their Sauvignon Blanc but did like their Chardonnay so 1 out of 2 whites were acceptable. Staff seemed somewhat rude at the bar. I witnessed a guy wanting to buy 2 bottles to drink there get hassled because he asked to taste prior to purchase. Furthermore, he asked about an open table on the deck and was told they are saved for a staff party after closure but for $ 25 she would see what she could do. Later she was badmouthing the guy within earshot of us complaining he was pushy. We heard enough, paid our tasting fee and departed. If not for the venue Paradise Ridge would have received 1 perhaps 2 stars.

I give this winery a 3 star for the scenery and atmosphere only. The wines were so so. We don’t consider ourselves wine snobs, but the 5 wines that were poured were meh. It is a large property on top of a mountain. They are set up to do weddings and receptions which I can imagine being beautiful. You can reserve tables outside to have your lunch, bring your own charcuterie or purchase on the premises.
If you check in on Unilocal,there is a $ 15 off a wine tasting (2 for 1)

We were looking for something to do near Safari West with the kids.
We wanted to go winetasting but need to find a family friendly tasting room. Great wine is a must!
Husband got on Unilocal and Unilocalers came through again.
It’s family friendly and pet friendly. Love that there were well behaved dogs here.
Great tasting and of course we bought a few bottles — Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir were both fabulous! Their Chardonnay was pretty good too. They have 2 sparkling wines but didn’t float my boats so we didn’t buy any of those.
We needed sustence and saw the fire roasted pizza oven in the lower level. Had the best margherita pizza from Rosso. We ate the whole thing, including the crust. The caprese salad was pretty good too!
The property is gorgeous and would love to come back to Paradise to check out the sculptures and leisurely hang out. With the dog and kids in tow, of course!

For us, a visit to wine country is never complete without stopping by Paradise Ridge winery. We found out about it during a barrel tasting, and by the time we showed up we were pretty drunk. We loved the wine and convinced us to join the wine club. The next day we were worried that we made a drunken decision, but it turns out it was the right one. They have some of the best California wine we’ve had.
The views at the Vineyard are worth going to even if you don’t like wine. But we do. And every time we go to the tasting room, we are welcomed warmly and everyone is really friendly (including the wine maker whom we’ve met on several occasions). If it’s our only stop, we’ll pick up a case of wine to bring back overseas (minus a couple of bottles to drink while we are there). If it’s not, we bring back as much as we can.
The wine they do isn’t your traditional California Chardonnay or Cabernet. They do make them, and they make them well, but they branch out into a variety of things including delicious sparkling wine (and sometimes you can find an amazing sparkling red), other red varieties and even a late harvest sweet wine.
If we ever move back to the states, re-​joining the wine club will be the first thing on our to-​do list!

Paradise Ridge in Santa Rosa was our favorite winery experience during our week-​long honeymoon in Sonoma County.
We arrived right as they opened on a Tuesday morning. The sommelier Emerald was incredibly friendly, attentive and helpful — significantly more so than anyone else we encountered at other wineries/​tasting rooms.
The wines were excellent. My favorite was the 2012 Delight. Sommelier referred to it as their «breakfast wine,» which I loved. Very fruity and light. After our tasting, we both got glasses of the Delight and sat outside. The view from the patio overlooking the vineyards is spectacular.
The atmosphere is very laid back. Loved the décor. No one was pushy or stuck up — something we experienced in other tasting rooms.
Unfortunately, it was a pretty cold, damp day, so we weren’t able to check out the sculpture garden. I can’t wait to come back here next time we visit California!

Really friend service and such a beautiful view of the property!
Definitely recommended to come have a glass of wine (or flight) and relax while taking in the view =) and take pictures of the art installations!