North of Healdsburg, in Hopland, Healdsburg Social spent the morning and afternoon touring and tasting the beautiful estate winery of Fetzer Vineyards. Since 1968, the founders of Fetzer have been pioneers of sustainability, and today they can proudly show how they have accomplished this. Fetzer is the world’s first Zero Waste certified winery and 1st US winery certified CarbonNeutral to the Carbon Neutral Protocol. If that doesn't speak to your taste buds you must try their wine!
Surprisingly every wine in our tasting was priced under $10, but even at this value the wines are rated as top sellers world wide. My favorites were the Chardonnay, which had a rich slight banana flavor, and the Gewurztraminer, which Bob, 28-year veteran, winemaker, and founding winemaker of Bonterra Organic Vineyards, says, "brings you back to the Rose perfumed woman who gives you a hug at church".
Our lunch was deliciously paired with the wines, including Low-emissions local ingredients, perfectly prepared by Assaggiare Mendocino. The final session of the day featuredAdrian Arias, a previous De Young Museum artist-in-residence with his exhibition, “Beautiful Trash”. He created a custom work of art with multiple mediums including Fetzer's red wine. He was quite the character! So passionate about his work, which really encapsulated the entire day and the importance of working with and being aware of the earth.
