Flowers Vineyards & Winery

This weekend, we visited the relatively new Flowers tasting room on Westside Road on the north end of the Russian River Valley. Both the wine and the design of the tasting room feature a minimalist approach that allows the nature of both the terroir and the tasting room to shine. Natural light, vaulted ceilings, wood tones, and welcoming textures are paired with native yeast-fermented Sonoma Coast rosés, chardonnays and pinot noir. The visit marked our first indoor tasting experience in over a year due to Covid-19 restrictions (our crew is thankfully and proudly vaccinated), which made our experience extra special.

Some of our favorite wine buddies, AR and SB, arranged for and accompanied us on this tasting treat, which was comprised of five wines and three food pairings. Everything we tried was fabulous, but we are going to highlight the 2018 Camp Meeting Ridge Chardonnay, which I am enjoying as I type this post! It had a luxurious mouth feel and great balance between oak and minerality, with a hint of lemon zest and a slight saline effect, which is likely due to the vineyard’s proximity to the coast. We also parted with a bottle of the 2018 Camp Meeting Ridge Pinot Noir, which had an earthy depth that made it stand out from the other pinots we tried.