Town & Country Travels HomeWhen the Wine Spectator's Bay Area tasting coordinator set out to start his own winery, oenephiles paid attention. The resulting Copain Winery and Cellars is the dream and brainchild of wine publishing maverick Wells Guthrie, who joined forces with software designer pal Kevin McQuown (the term Copain, pronounced "co-pehn", is French for "buddies") to found the handsome new winery. Perched on a vine-gartered hill overlooking Sonoma's Russian River Valley, the winery is now open by appointment to visitors or bookable for special events.
The tasting room, designed by Guthrie's wife Stacy and McQuown's partner Doug, is stocked with furniture from Mitchell & Gold and one-of-a-kind pieces from local Windsor-based furniture distributor Cokas-Diko. The views from the grounds of the wine barn embody the romantic ideal of American wine connoisseurship, and are unparalleled by any other tasting room in Sonoma.
Visitors to the winery should sample flights of the winery's carefully chosen Syrahs and Pinot Noirs, which are created using the malolactic fermentation process (without the addition of cultured yeasts and bacteria). They should also sign up for food pairing tastings with catering done by Mirepoix and Thomas Keller Private Dining. And of course, no one should go home without a bottle: try the 2005 Syrah Eaglepoint Ranch, a medium- to full-bodied wine that was given high marks by The Wine Advocate's Robert Parker.
To schedule a winery tour and tasting, contact James Castaneda at 707-836-8822, ext. 104.
Copain Wine Cellars
7800 Eastside Road
Healdsburg, Calif.
SHARE
RSS
Heidi Mitchell is editor-in-chief of Town & Country Travel and Town & Country Weddings, and features and travel editor of Town & Country.
Adam H. Graham is a contributing writer for this blog; his work also frequently appears in Town & Country Travel, both in the magazine and online.
- Beyond Botswana: Two New Luxury Safari Camps and a Name Change to Boot
- Upcountry Maui's Sweet-Smelling Secret
- Beijing Is Better Late Than Never at the 11th Annual Music Festival
- Splurging in Scottsdale
- Luxury Train Travel: Ten Trips That Prove It's the Journey, Not the Destination
- Beyond Coffee & Chocolate in Bogotá's Dining Scene
- Upcountry Maui's Sweet-Smelling Secret
- Luxury Train Travel: Ten Trips That Prove It's the Journey, Not the Destination
- A Taste of Things to Come at Paris's Le Cinq
- Beijing Is Better Late Than Never at the 11th Annual Music Festival
- Fragrances You'll Find Only in Paris
- Beyond Botswana: Two New Luxury Safari Camps and a Name Change to Boot
