Healdsburg Crush – 2025
October 12, 2025 – We had the pleasure of attending the 2025 Healdsburg Crush in Healdsburg Plaza. The event was really well attended and organized. There were more than 60 wineries pouring that day. And there were also local vendors with samples of very good food. We felt like we got enough samples to not feel hungry during the event.
The wineries were tucked fairly close together but took up the whole of the plaza so that the large number of people never created a bottleneck. We rarely had to wait in any lines at the winery tables. Many of the folks pouring wine were the actual winemakers. It is always fun to meet the folks who make the wine.
We have spent a lot of time in the area over the last couple of years and have visited many pinot houses in that area. Our goal on that day was to only taste at wineries we’d never experienced. We wanted to find new wineries that really blew us away so we could make a list of places that we’d like to visit on future forays to the Santa Rosa/Healdsburg area. And boy did we come up with list. Many of the wineries were outstanding.
As part of our tastings, we only tried Pinot Noir. Additionally, our tasting method is one we learned from some SOMMs up in Oregon: Sip and Spit. Process everything but ingest nothing. Therefore, you always have a clear head, and the wines don’t get better as you get tipsier.
Below is a list of 26 wineries we tasted in order with top ratings listed first. We did not find a pinot at any table below 90pts. So, you can’t go wrong with any of these wineries.
Wines are listed in rating descending order, not the order tasted.
Senses Wines
2022 MCM88 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 97pts
2022 Kanzler Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 95pts
Lando Wines
2023 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir – 96pts
2023 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 96pts
Joseph Jewel
2023 Alderpoint Vineyard Humboldt County Pinot Noir – 95pts
2022 Hallberg Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 96pts
2021 Jewel Reserve Humboldt County Emerald Pinot Noir – 96pts
2022 Russian River Valley Jewel Rubies Pinot Noir – 98pts
Landmark Vineyards
2017 Overlook Pinot Noir – 96pts
Arista Winery
2022 Lucky Well Pinot Noir – 96pts
2022 Mononi Vineyard Pinot Noir – 93pts
J Bucher
2023 Bucher Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 94pts
2023 Three Sixty Bucher Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 96pts
Blue Farm
2023 Gap’s Crown Pinot Noir – 96pts
Clarice/Moret-Brealynn
2024 Gary’s Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir – 95pts
2024 Moret-Brealynn Russian River Valley, Sonoma coast Pinot Noir – 95pts
Brooks Note
2023 Sweet Farm Vineyard Petaluma Gap Sonoma County Pinot Noir – 95pts
2022 Panther Ridge Vineyard Petaluma Gap Sonoma County Pinot Noir – 95pts
J Vineyards
2022 Bow Tie Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 95pts
Cirq/Chev
Chev – 2021 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 95pts
Cirq – 2019 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 93pts
Merriam Vineyards
2022 Russian River Valley Diana’s Estate Pinot Noir – 94pts
2022 East Side Estate Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 94pts
2021 Three Sons Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 96pts
2023 Sauves La vie Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 94pts
Kokomo Winery
2023 Gopher Hill Peters Vineyard Sonoma County Pinot Noir – 94pts
2023 Winemakers Reserve Peters Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir – 94pts
Davis Bynum
2021 River West Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 94pts
2022 Dutton Ranch Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 94pts
Twomey
2023 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 94pts
Panther Ridge
2022 Petaluma Gap Sonoma County Pinot Noir – 93pts
2023 Petaluma Gap Sonoma County Pinot Noir – 94pts
2023 The Cub Petaluma Gap Sonoma County Pinot Noir – 92pts
Portalupi Wines
2023 Dolinsec Ranch Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 93pts
Kobler Estate Winery
2023 Bacigalupi Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 93pts
Dutcher Crossing
2021 Cut Root Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 93pts
Tongue Dancer
2023 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir – 93pts
2022 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 94pts
Tremolo Wines
2023 Clone 667 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 93pts
Talisman
2021 Starscape Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 91pts
2021 Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir – 93pts
Trione Winery
2020 River Road Ranch Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 92pts
Ramey
2022 West Side Farms Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – 92pts
The Harris Gallery
2019 Meandering Meadows Pinot Noir – 90pts