Shayla B.
Yelp
Such a fun little tasting room nestled right in the heart of downtown Healdsburg! My friend and I came here for a tasting last year and we had such a fun time. Unlike many of the other tasting rooms in Downtown Healdsburg, Portalupi specializes in "Cal-Ital" wines which are essentially Italian varietals that are grown in California. I had actually never heard of the term Cal-Ital before I tasted here, but I'm a fan of Californian produced Italian wines.
Their indoor tasting room is the cutest! It has some really chic decor, comfy sofas, and a beautiful chandelier that will definitely catch your eye as soon as you walk in. Since it was a beautiful day outside, we opted to sit on their super cute patio parklet! They really took their time putting together their parklet! Not only is it covered but it's spacious and also lighted. The owner Jane actually hosted us which was a real treat. It's rare to find the actual owner on site in tasting rooms these days, so we felt particularly special in this case.
They have two different tasting options; 3 tastes for $15 or 6 tastes for $30. We decided to each do the 3 tastes (we were graciously given additional tastes by Jane though). You can also purchase wine by the glass here and they have cheese plates. When we saw that there was brie on the cheese plate, we had to get it. It was rather small for the price but still very tasty. They initially forgot to bring us crackers, but once Jane came over and realized that they were missing, she brought them to us right away.
For my 3 wines, I chose to try their Vermentino, Barbera, and Zinfandel. The Vermentino was actually very good. It was citrusy, crisp, and easy to drink on that warm day. Jane actually poured two Barberas for me as I was interested in how the Mendocino Barbera would taste as I'm not used to seeing this variety in that wine region. The Barbera was from Amador county and they usually produce stellar Barberas. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the Barbera from Mendocino county more. It was softer, smoother, and fruitier than the one from Amador County.
The winner hands down was their Zinfandel though. LOVED that Zin! It was a total Zin by definition. It was fruity, jammy, peppery on the finish and had some subtly acidity to it. I purchased it right away. When I find a good Zin, it's always finders keepers for this gal. Although it seemed to be pretty busy in the tasting room, Jane did a wonderful job of hosting us. You can tell that she's super passionate about what she does. All in all, this was such a fun experience. Will definitely be coming back soon on another tasting room excursion in Downtown Healdsburg!