Kistler Vineyards-Trenton Roadhouse Tastings by Appointment

A first class experience that is detailed, personal and authentic. We are huge fans of the wines so this felt like meeting a celebrity, but it truly is a unique experience around this area. Rosemary was our host and was an amazing guide with her knowledge of the estate and wines, as well as, a great conversationalist to some winos. From working with Katie to set up our reservation to the time we left the hospitality was amazing! Very generous and fun! Can't thank you enough! Well worth the money! Do yourself a favor and fill out the tock questionnaire associated with your reservation and enjoy! UPDATE: We went again…still amazing! UPDATE 5/21: We went again, even more amazing! Matt took us through an afternoon of great wine and entertainment! Such a special place!!!

The finest wine tasting experience in all of Sonoma County. We were greeted by Camille, a charming and knowledgeable woman with family roots from both Russian River Valley and Dijon, France. We saw soil samples from the different properties and learned how that variable influenced the various single-clone Chardonnays produced at this world-class estate.

Day 1 was travel and getting off the plane to head right to @kistlervineyards The grounds are amazing and gated making you feel even more special. Their wines are Chardonnays and Pinot Noir. The chardonnays range from clean, crisp to buttery. My favorite was the 2014 Trenton Roadhouse. The 2016 Laguna Ridge Pinot Noir is full bodied and in your face which was different and welcomed.

Kistler Chardonnay is one of my favorite white wine for years! Love to have a vineyard visit to understand the manufacturing progress. Friendly staff to explain well to let us try different white coming from the grapes in different fields! What an enjoyable wine tasting & fantastic environment! Gorgeous!

I did not get the opportunity to try the wines here but I did get to talk to all 11 of my clients for their opinions... Nothing but glowing comments especially for the Pinot's and the Chardonnay's. I'll visit on day off when I'm not the driver...

Kistler is a beautiful vineyard. We came here for the Singlethread pop up dinner series and could not have wished for a more beautiful evening seeing. We got to watch the sunset from their Big Oak tree, and stroll around the property before dinner. There's a beautiful pond just down the hill that you must check out. There's a flowering cactus plant right next to it that produces these brilliantly red fruit. And of course, their wines are fantastic. I'm usually a full body red wine drinker, but I found myself loving every bottle of white that was put in front of me.

Beautiful property and lots of seating areas while we waited for dinner. They transformed the space into a beautiful dinner spot for single thread. I'm not usually a chardonnay fan, but their chards are not the traditional buttery chardonnay. The Laguna Ridge chardonnay I had was crisp and slightly tart. It went great with the fish we started with.

Kistler is the best burgundy style wine in the states. And the staffs in winery are warm and kind and well knowledge. I love this place

Day 1 was travel and getting off the plane to head right to @kistlervineyards The grounds are amazing and gated making you feel even more special. Their wines are Chardonnays and Pinot Noir. The chardonnays range from clean, crisp to buttery. My favorite was the 2014 Trenton Roadhouse. The 2016 Laguna Ridge Pinot Noir is full bodied and in your face which was different and welcomed.

Incredible location! Beautiful wines and stunning veiws! Single Thread Farm held the summer dinner series here on the newly designed patio. ( I will post more about that on Single Threads page) Views of the vineyards and pond just heavenly! Amazing wines!

A superior experience for those, fortunate few, who make it to the property. The scenery is gorgeous, the staff is accommodating, the wine surpassed all expectations. I lived in SF for over a decade where my friends and I made frequent pilgrimages north to drink wine all over the region, including my favorite spot, Healdsburg. In my opinion, Kistler is the pinnacle experience in Healdsburg. The Chardonnay at Kistler is peerless; the most exquisite I've ever tasted. The pinot noir was nothing to sneeze at either. If you're interested in merely having a wonderful day, this might not be the place for you and your wine trip; Kistler should be your stop if you're only seeking the absolute best and nothing shy of that will suffice.

We went for the Golden Hour event this summer. Since the daylight is long, it's not quite "golden hour" as around sunset. But that didn't deter us from this fabulous event. Kistler is known for their Chardonnay, and they put together a beautiful set of edibles to pair with the wine. And of course, Hog Island oysters freshly shucked is the perfect pair. We can't wait until the next time!

A first class experience that is detailed, personal and authentic. We are huge fans of the wines so this felt like meeting a celebrity, but it truly is a unique experience around this area. Rosemary was our hostess and was an amazing guide with her knowledge of the estate and wines, as well as, a great conversationalist to some winos. From working with Katie to set up our reservation to the time we left the hospitality was amazing! Very generous and fun! Can't thank you enough! Well worth the money! Do yourself a favor and fill out the tock questionnaire associated with your reservation and enjoy!

I'm only sorry that six stars weren't available to rate our AMAZINGLY FANTASTIC experience at Kistler. Chardonnays? Awesome. Pinots? Even better! Host? THE GOAT. Jonah was happy, welcoming, engaging and customer-driven. We visited six other wineries and have visited multiple other wineries over the years. Jonah's hospitality and knowledge exceeded them all. Thank You Jonah for a great experience.

We dined here last Sunday as part of the SingleThread Farms Summer Dinner Series at Kistler Vineyards. Beautiful vineyards, especially at golden hour, we really liked the Lanterns used at night on the patio. So lovely. Had a great time at dinner and there was a fun swing & pumpkins out front for some photos too. Definitely glad we were there at 5:50pm and beyond for the sunset views & color.

Trenton Road house was an amazing experience. The Kistler team provided great service and at beautiful location. We enjoyed lunch under a pergola and drank amazing wine. I hope heaven is this much fun.

This is the best Chardonnay in all of Northern California (and pretty good Pinot too). They have a number of different types of chard, all providing different flavors and all of them are out of this world. You must have an appointment and be aware that the tasting fee is $75 but for that price, you're getting about a glass and a half of wine and a cheese pairing. The outdoor seating area by the lower barn is lovely but my favorite tasting experience here is inside the barn itself. Highly recommend for the white wine lovers!

Great spot, delicious wines, our host was very friendly, fun and boy, he knows his stuff. Will definitely come back.

The grounds, the people, and the wonderful wines!! Outstanding all the way around !!!!! Cheers

********************* 1266 ********************** BY APPOINTMENT ONLY, Yelpers please don't just stop by and write a bad review about it! Kistler Vineyards was never open their tasting room for decades until recently. Can you imagine that their wine club members and fans around the world can only drink the wines they purchase but couldn't taste it before until now. Once you RSVP, they will tell you the instruction how to get here with a gated property. Trenton Roadhouse 7095 Trenton-Healdsburg Road Forestville, CA 95436 Opens TUE-SAT, by appointment only at 10:30 AM and 2 PM only per day. A gorgeous cottage like next to their 2 vineyards on the property, a barn, a pond, and a gorgeous view from their second floor. A newly remodeled and beautiful tasting room where you can be amazed, along with their award winning wines for decades. Brooked was greeted us nicely as we pulled in. She has the brightest smile, model like figure, dressed stylishly, of course because she moved here from New York. I, on the other hand, totally over-dressed in my short and tank top gym clothes! I was embarrassed :-) Too much diking and eating the night before I just wanted to running around the vineyard to burn the calories, so my thought! Until Brooke poured us some of the best Burgundian style wines, I'd rather chilled and enjoyed it. She explained and walked us through the soils, "it's all about the terroir" and that's what Kistler Vineyards is all about. "If the Kistler Winery could be magically transported to the middle of Burgundy's Côte d'Or, itwould quickly gain a reputation as glorious as any producer of Burgundy grand crus." Robert Parker said. Brooke is also a sommelier from New York with a Southern accent. She's vibrant, fun, and passionate about the program that Kistler is doing now with this brand new tasting room at the Trenton Roadhouse. She involved us in the tour that makes it so much more fun, very informative and educational. She also allowed us to taste side-by-side of the 3 chardonnays, so we could compare notes. That's the best way to learn about the terroir and what you like. My friends and I had an awesome time here. Both their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are crafted utilizing classic Burgundian techniques. Kistler wines are produced solely by native yeasts. Their barrels are crafted from French oak that is aged to specifications and specifically tailored to their program. All of their wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined. All of the sites are planted to the same clone, a California heritage selection that they have been using for 3 decades, imagine that. Their wines are always sold out and source after, to get their wines, you got to be on the mailing list. They don't even have library wines, because they sold out after every vintage release. http://www.kistlervineyards.com/how-to-acquire-kistler-wines/ They offer 2 tasting options: 4 wines: 3 Chardonnay + 1 Pinot Noir for $75 per person 7 wines: 5 Chardonnay + 2 Pinot Noir for $150 per person I know it seems pricey for wines tasting in Sonoma, but remember this is not they typical Chardonnay and Pinot Noir you normally drink, this wine is source after, some of the best ever. Think of old world style wines. If you want a buttery style chardonnay, this is NOT for you. Burgundy style Chardonnay displays less fruit and more earth and mineral notes. They are powerful and rich, with complex fruit flavors and notes of earth and minerals. The wines expess more of the terroir, where it comes from. If you like me, you wold enjoy Kistler Chardonnay tremendously. Kistler Vineyards at Trenton Roadhouse should be on top of your list to visit if you are a white Burgundy lover/collector.

Amazing Chardonnay! Make an appointment and it will be so worth it! They give you a little cheese plate to pair with your wines and it's so delicious.

We had the luxury to experience an incredible experience at Kistler with Martina. We arrived quite early for our 10:30 am appointment, but she welcomed us in and poured us some "breakfast wine" and allowed us to walk around the absolutely incredible property. It was a chilly day and the fire was going and there were many chairs and blankets available. It was truly a memorable experience with Martina. She spoke about the history and the pride of their winemaking. We had two other women tasting with our party of 6 but we got along great and had a wonderful morning. I highly recommend making an appointment for tasting here.

We met Martina at the newly renovated Barn. It was a spectacular setting along with an educational lesson on geological layers and the influence if terriore by Mr. Kistler. It was the best vineyard we visited all weekend. Thank you Martina!

One of the finest wine tastings in California. It helps when you start with arguably the best Chardonnays in the US and incredible Pinot Noir. The host's are amazing, the setting perfect.

chardonnay & pinot noir don't get any better than this. simply incredible.

Were this simply a review of Kistler's wine, it would warrant three stars, possibly four: I've enjoyed several different chardonnays from the winery, and they're certainly among of the best to come out of California. However, I can enjoy any number of whites for half the price without any appreciable loss in quality. This is doubly the case for their pinot noir, which is also toward the head of its class to the extent one prefers a Burgundian style yet commands an irrational premium based on the winemaker's reputation that simply does not hold under scrutiny. In a blind tasting of a dozen well-selected California pinots with most in the $30-50 price range, one would balk at paying $85-90 to buy Kistler direct from the winery (or even more from the few stores "lucky" enough to get ahold of the stuff). Kistler gets knocked down to a two-star rating for their obnoxious mailing list. I understand the need to ration a limited offering that is in such demand, and I can appreciate that doing so based on customers' ordering histories is both fair and smart. By all means, let those willing to pay up for the name do so with flourish. Take heed, though, as Kistler does not "reward" loyalty as one might expect. Last year, I placed my first order from the mailing list: maximum allocation of three Cuvee Natalie pinots, maximum allocation of six of the lesser pinots, and three chardonnays to round out the case (because Kistler will not allow you to order anything less than a full case). This year, I compared my "returning customer" allocation with that of a friend who has never ordered from the winery and was mildly incensed to see that they'd allocated to him more bottles of each of their precious pinots than they had to me. I'm quite happy to take my business elsewhere as my opinion of the wines suggests, but I do so gladly after glimpsing a way of doing business that is arbitrary at best and seemingly rather arrogant. Cheers!