Paul Hobbs Winery

Wonderful winery! The tour, wines and staff were incredible! I highly recommend this place. Pinot noir was my top pick

best food tasting/​pairing experience I’ve had at a winery. will recommend to all of my friends!

We knew before hand that Paul Hobbes wines were great, and the chard, pinot, cab and even their Malbec (from Argentina) we sampled at the winery were every bit as good as expected. However, what really sets this place apart is the quality of the tour. The grounds here are impressive, and the guide herself (Ms. Sonya Thurston) was outstanding.
Just a bit of information for those thinking of visiting…
There typically is only one person on staff at the winery, and they’re not always available to take phone calls. So it’s best to make your reservation on-​line (you can’t just show up at the winery), that way you can bring your confirmation letter with you to the tasting (it comes with directions — the winery is somewhat difficult to find, for all that it’s right off of Hiway 116). There’s a tasting fee to visit, and you need to provide your credit card information before they will book your reservation. Also, the winery is closed on weekends, and their signature tour (lasting around 90 minutes) only takes place twice a day, 4 days a week. Lastly, when they tell you a tour starts at 10 or 1:30, they really mean it here. If you show up more than 15 minutes late, they will cancel your reservation (this happened to a threesome that were scheduled to go on our tour).
All that aside, if you follow the instructions on the website, and show up on time for your scheduled appointment, you’ll have a great time at Paul Hobbes. Both the tour and the wines are THAT good!

I’ve tasted the Paul Hobbs 2006 Pinot Noir from Ulises Valdez Vineyard RRV and thought it was outstanding so I wanted to visit this winery. This is one of the wineries were you have to make an appointment and that isn’t a big deal and I understand. We called to make an appointment, nobody answered the phone but on the message my husband heard they prefer on line reservations. We were on the road and weren’t able to go on line at the time and explained that on the phone. We both thought someone would call us back at the end of the day or even the next day but nobody from this winery took the time to do so.
I’ve experienced better service at nearly any other winery.

we recently enjoyed two of the Paul Hobbs, the 2011 Russian River Pinot, and the Crossbarn Cabernet… both outstanding wines and both well worth enjoying as often as possible.
i think the best guage. is just how long someones eyes are closed while tasting, followed by an exhaled OH MY GOD THATS SOO GOOD…:)
these are both wines that you can enjoy with and without a meal… both can be put away as well and enjoyed in years to come.

Paul Hobbs came recommended to us by a friend in the wine distributing business. We made reservations for a tasting and had a wonderful time. There were only four people in our group, including us, making it close to a private tour of this gorgeous winery.
Emily was our gracious hostess for the afternoon and she was charming, knowledgeable, and accommodating. She told us the wonderful story of Paul’s life and history of the winery in the stunning living room of the main house. The house is modern, sleek, and very stylish. It was quite a juxtaposition to the rustic gardens surrounding it, but it worked. Clean lines throughout the house mirrored the perfectly planted grapes, as well as the extraordinarily clean and organized tank and barrel rooms. The entire property is an engineer’s dream!
We were comfortable and cozy on the couch, sampling the wines and talking about Paul, the land, and the development of his wonderful wines. I particularly enjoyed the 2007 Lindsay Estate Pinot Noir and the 2008 Bramare Malbec that I sampled that day. They are both rich in flavor and expertly crafted. We would not hesitate to come here again, it is beautiful!

Tours and tastings are by appointment to mailing lists members, industry, and press. Sign up and schedule an appointment and they will send you a map to their winery.
Right off Hwy 116 behind some protesters signs/trailers…very odd. Drive past all that and Paul Hobbs Winery appears. Absolutely gorgeous winery with rolling hills.
The tasting occurs in what feels like an upscale living room. They describe the history and how involved Paul Hobbs was with the creation of Russian River Valley and in the awareness of wine to the public in the 1970’s. We tasted their:
2007 Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay ($ 75): 100% ML, natural yeast, 11 – 12 months french oak. cloudy fruit, apples on the palate with good acidity, lush but clean, lots of spice, some butter, but not overwhelming, butterscotch, melons, caramel, and popcorn, really lovely as it opens up. Still one of my favorite Chardonnays ever.
2007 Hyde Vineyard Pinot Noir ($ 75): burgundy-​garnet color, blackberry fruit, tight cloves, seems a tad hot, some raspberries, some meatiness
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley ($ 75): bug black, cranberries, black currants, lush berries, really nice tannis, cigar, black licorice, easily drinkable
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Beckstofffer Dr. Crane Vineyard ($ 165): lot more herbaciousness, cherry, red raspberries, lots more acid in this wine, earthiness, silky big mouthfeel, nice finish as well
2008 Mendoza Felino Vina Cobos Malbec ($ 20) spicy, inky, but more like Petite Verdot, burnt cedar, tree branch, lots of earthiness, tastes like american oak, cherry cola, prunes.
2006 Bramare Lujan de Cuyo Malbec ($ 40): even darker color, pruney, very ashy, but too pruney.
Wonderful place to taste, but really not for your everyday wine. Their 2008 Malbec is defiantly a steal though at $ 20!

I finally got to go for a tasting at Paul Hobbs this past Friday. You aren’t able to go unless you are on their mailing list — which currently has a waiting list — but my dad was in town for business and he is a member.
In summary it was a top notch experience with top notch wine. Lauren was our host for the day and started by taking us into a big room with a fully set table. The wine snob that I am appreciated that we were each given multiple glasses that were appropriate for the wine were were tasting — Chardonnay, Pinot & Cab. It makes such a difference and that should have been the first clue to the experience we were about to have. With each wine that was poured Lauren told us where it was from, any important history information and what she liked about each. It was informative enough that we knew what to look for in the wine, but not too informative that we couldn’t form our own opinions. Seems simple enough, but so many wineries are not able to find this balance.
Below is the list of wines we were able to taste, in order:
* 2007 Richard Dinner Chardonnay
* 2007 Walker Station Chardonnay
* 2007 Hyde Vineyard Pinot
* 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet
* 2006 Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Cabernet (We were able to taste this because my dad is a good customer & I hope I can taste it again after some age because it is going to be awesome!)
* 2006 Bramare Malbec
Paul also grows wine in Argentina so we got a history lesson there. I didn’t know Malbec was originally from Bordeaux!
All in all, it was one of my favorite tasting experiences ever. I will definitely need to save some money to add a few bottles to my collection and get on the mailing list so I can go back again!

Down a country lane off Hwy116 and past some conspiracy theorist’s odd protest signs, lies a quiet oasis that is Paul Hobbs’ beautiful workshop/​winery.
The pinots and chardonnays are world class. And they’re priced that way too.,
They aren’t open to the public and they don’t host a tasting room. Join the list, and buy some wine. Then, you can visit and hang out a little. The architecture is simple and astounding. The setting is one of west Sonoma County ‘s best and the service is perfect.
Uhhh, yeah, we’re fans.