Family-Run Winery Specializes In Pinot Noir Wines
There are dozens of wine tasting rooms in Carmel Village – about a 20-minute drive from even more tasting rooms in the town of Carmel-By-The-Sea – so how do you choose which ones to visit?
Well here’s one that PubClub.com recommends. It’s the tasting room for a small, local and family-run winery called Holman Ranch. In fact, it’s vineyards are just over your shoulder, about a mile up a hill as part of the Holman Ranch Estate, a hugely popular place for weddings and private corporate events.
The tasting room is at the east end of the Village and features the winery’s outstanding Pinot Noirs, it’s signature wines.
There is also a very good Rose of Pinot Noir (which is not too sweet and perfectly suited for enjoying on an on the outside table on a warm and sunny Carmel afternoon), a refreshing Chardonnay and a fruity Pino Gris.
There are three flights:
• White ($5): 2013 5 Degree Bix; 2013 Sauvignon Blanc and a 2011 Chardonnay
• Mountain ($7): 2012 Pino Gris, 2013 Rose of Pino Noir, 2012 Kelly’s Press Pinot Noir
• Pinot Noir ($10): 2011 Heather’s Hill (PubClub’s favorite, by the way), 2010 Hunter’s Cuvee (this was named the World’s Best Pinot Noir by National Geographic) and a 2010 Estate Grown Pinot Noir.
Enjoy all this in a tasting room that is like a study room in a nice house, or a lounge in a nice bar. It has big and comfortable seats, great artwork and even a piano!
This, by the way, is about the only way you can try and buy the limited-production Holman Ranch wines. They vineyards only produce a small amount of wines, so they not readily available in restaurants or stores (its wine club is another way to get the wines).
The tasting room can also be reserved for private events.
Holman Ranch Tasting Room
Address: 19 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Village, CA
Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Summer hours (Memorial Day thru Labor Day): M-F, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat. & Sun.: Noon -7 p.m.
Phone: (831) 659-2640
Website: www.holmanranch.com
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