There is simply no better alternative to find out the best sources of wines in the USA than by personally visiting a winery. For a connoisseur of this outstanding drink and newbies alike, personal visits to wineries are the best option to enjoy wine truly and what it is all about. The personnel present on the premises will guide you across, giving you all the information. All you have to do is to sniff and sip and delight your senses of smell and taste. It would be wrong for you to assume that all fine wines are sourced from French vineyards. On the contrary, the US has plenty to offer when it comes to vineyards. Right from California to Virginia to the Midwest, the US grows grapes of all kinds and types. The best wineries that are the best sources of wines in the US are as follows.
Becker Vineyards
Fredericksburg, TX
The Becker Vineyards was originally a country cabin getaway bought by Bunny and Richard Decker in 1990. Today it has become a sprawling and award-winning winery that annually produces more than a hundred thousand cases of wine. The locale is characteristic of the countryside and lies twelve miles away from Fredericksburg, on its east side along Highway 290. The open vista at the place is full of vineyards and sets the perfect mood for wine, and the lovely scent of lavenders fills the air, which incidentally is grown at the Hill Country estate of the vineyard. The tasting room features some really exotic wines like the 2012 Raven, which is a Malbec blend to have won several awards. There is also the 2013 Viognier which is a white wine with a distinctive fat-bodied taste.
Duckhorn Vineyards
Napa Valley, CA
The four hundred wineries in the Napa Valley region account for four percent of California’s wine production. It is one of the smaller areas from which wine is sourced. The Duckhorn Vineyards winery is a must-visit for the true connoisseur of fine wines. The renowned wine resource Wine Spectator chose the Merlot Napa Valley Three Palms Vineyard 2014 produced by the vineyard as the best wine of 2017 from more than 16.000 competitors. The Silverado Trail, located in St. Helena, is the home of the vineyard. The vineyard estate is airy and offers you the feeling of plenty of space, as well as a lush and beautiful view from the estate’s verandah. The placement of the winery is excellent and you will find ten other wineries in the vicinity. You can get a wine tasting session by spending $40. However, you would need reservations to avail of that facility. You must taste The Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon derivatives created by this winery.
Scribe Winery
Sonoma County, CA
Sonoma County is situated about half an hour’s drive from Napa Valley, home to an additional 250 wineries. Most of these wineries are particularly renowned for producing the Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay varieties of wine. The place is just a bit less tourist-friendly, and the laid back atmosphere makes up for a great wine tasting session. Unlike the Napa Valley winery, we mentioned above, this one doesn’t take you to a dedicated room; instead, you get a Mexican blanket to pick a spot on the grass. Testing sessions once again require reservations. Besides the wines, you also get fruits and nuts produced in the estate itself as snacks.
Augusta Winery
Augusta, MO
The Midwest isn’t a place you would naturally associate with wines, but Augusta is an exception you must consider. Augusta is a one-hour drive away from St. Louis. It happens to be the earliest approved American Viticultural Area, or AVA approved by the federal government. It earned that recognition eight hours before the approval and recognition of Napa. In the recent 2018 Missouri Wine Competition, Augusta winery received a special honor in the 2016 Norton Estate Bottled award. Note that Norton grapes are the oldest variety of American grape and also the official state grape of Missouri. You can taste five regular wines for $5 while tasting premium, or limited production wines will set you back by $8.
Sawtooth Winery
Snake River Valley, ID
Snake River Valley got officially recognized as an ACA in 2007. It spans over eight thousand miles across Oregon and Idaho. Eighteen hundred acres of the valley are already being used to grow grapes and act as vineyards of 52 different wineries. Among them, Sawtooth winery is among the better ones. If you are there, you just must taste the award fetching Riesling wine variety produced by this winery from the wooden rustic tasting room. Though you won’t get a view of the Sawtooth Range from the windows of the testing room, there are the Sunnyslope Wine Trail lush slopes that would be a great view too.
Cass Vineyard & Winery
Paso Robles, CA
It would be unfair to credit Napa and Sonoma for all of the achievements in producing fine wines in the state of California. Paso Robles itself constitutes 200-plus wineries spread across the 11 unique wine regions in the area. Among the 60 distinct varieties of grapes grown here, the region is best known for its Zinfandels. While you can indeed choose to visit large-scale wineries on a visit to the area, a better option is to visit the boutique Cass Vineyard & Winery. This winery recently received the coveted Winery of the Year award in the hugely competitive Central Coast Wine Competition. Suppose you pay $20 for tasting fees. In that case, you can enjoy sipping some Rhone wine varieties while sitting in the shaded verandah of the estate. Try to take home a 2016 Mourvèdre with you if you want something for your home wine sessions.
If you want to know where the best wines sourced from US-based wineries come from, you have two options open to you. You can go through online resources and read about them. A better idea would be to go for a wine holiday and visit one of the wineries mentioned in this article. Cheers to the celebration of the perfect wine taste!
