Annnd the winery roulette wheel keeps spinning. About 10 minutes south of Arista, a new tasting room in rural Healdsburg for Sonoma wine brand Auteur is opening next month at 10520 Wohler Rd, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. (That’s the hilltop property located directly next to the historic Raford Inn, at the junction of Wohler and Eastside roads.) The headline for the Chronicle story reads: “This California winery has flown under the radar for 20 years. Will its gorgeous new tasting room change that?” And here’s what’s inside…
Perched on a hilltop in Healdsburg’s forested Russian River, a gorgeous new winery with a 50-foot-long wall of windows overlooks the region’s famed Westside Road, home to California Pinot Noir pioneers like Williams Selyem, Gary Farrell and Rochioli.
The winery looks like it’d belong to a major conglomerate or a tech executive seeking a retirement career. But this ambitious structure has surprisingly humble owners: the founders of Auteur Wines, a small Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producer that’s hovered under the radar for more than 20 years.
The opening of Auteur’s new winery (10520 Wohler Road, Healdsburg) on April 11 will be the pinnacle of the outfit’s slow-burn journey. It started in 2003 as a side project for Kenneth Juhasz, winemaker at Sonoma’s Donum Estate for a decade, along with his wife, Laura Juhasz. Focused on coastal Pinot Noir and Chardonnay sourced from Santa Barbara to Mendocino, Auteur grew “slowly, but surely,” he said, mostly via wholesale placements and word of mouth.
Auteur currently runs another quaint little bungalow of a tasting room down on the Sonoma plaza, which will reportedly remain open as well. A job listing posted to the Wine Jobs website says Auteur’s owners are currently looking to hire “hospitality leads” for both tasting rooms. “If you are a passionate wine professional ready to join a committed and growing team, we encourage you to apply and share in our journey of excellence!” they write. It looks like tastings at the Healdsburg property will cost $60 a pop; reserve your spot here.
Note from Simone: This piece originally appeared in the weekly email newsletter I write for the Healdsburg Tribune, called Healdsburg Today. Subscribe here!
