Very relaxed and you could have asked for more tastings. When they found out that my husband loved cab franc, they did a side by side distinction between the years. Overall nothing too austere and refreshing to be in a presence who just love wine.
Jannelle H.
Tu valoración: 5 Citrus Heights, CA
I stopped in here recently while on a girls trip with some old friends and we really enjoyed it. Lori was pouring and helping us, she was so fun! She was also informative and helpful, letting us know about the winery, family and history of the winery. The wines were incredibly reasonably priced, especially for the area and I really enjoyed them. The Station 10 and Tillerman were great blends and I also really enjoyed the Cab Franc. If In the area it is worth of visit.
Tbone M.
Tu valoración: 2 San Francisco, CA
I agree with Buck S about the snobby service. We stopped by and they were doing some sort of event with 11 other ‘Olivet’ wineries so it was crowded with a lot of folks who had clearly been doing many tastings — no biggie. We asked if it was cool if our party of 8 did a tasting or if we should come back another day since they were having the event — they said no problem you can do a tasting. So we did the standard tasting and the woman pouring was downright rude. She was a bit older and had zero patience to talk with us, and gave the smallest pours I’ve ever seen. I don’t care about the volume usually, but I could barely taste the wines, I’m talking a tiny sip. When we asked questions about the wine(the % in a blend for instance) she grabbed the bottle and shoved it in our face and said, oh why don’t you just read about it if you’re so curious. W.T.F. And to top it off the wines weren’t that great — I say skip this one, there’s much better and friendlier places in Sonoma.
Alma P.
Tu valoración: 3 Tustin, CA
I was excited to try out Hook and Ladders as it sounded like a fun place with a fire theme! It didn’t let us down in that regard… very cute and decorated with Tshirts & badges from Fire Departments all over the world. It was fun to go around and look at them all. I wasn’t quite as impressed with the wines unfortunately — they were good but not on par with some of the others we tried that weekend. It didn’t help our tasting experience that a large portion of the people in the winery were part of what looked like a bachelor/ette party and were so loud(as in yelling from one end of tasting room to the other constantly) and obviously inebriated that it made us want to finish our tasting and leave quickly. It also didn’t help that the bathroom was unusable after a one of them got sick in it. I know this isn’t necessarily the winery’s fault but they didn’t seem too bothered by any of it and made no attempt to quiet or remove them — which surprised me cuz most of the customers also seemed as annoyed as we were. On a good note, the pouring staff was very well educated on the wines/winery which was nice. If you want to visit I suggest you go during the week in case this is a normal weekend occurrence here.
Neice K.
Tu valoración: 5 Salinas, CA
Family run winery, had Robin pouring and helping me today. The wines were quality without breaking the bank. I tasted three other places today that did not hold a candle to their wines, while charging a bigger price. I will return when I am back visiting friends. The Zinfandel 2012 and the 2013 Reserve Pinot Noir found a home in my cellar today. Cheers!
Buck S.
Tu valoración: 2 Tucson, AZ
Wines were light and very drinkable but the woman doing the tastings made the experience almost unbearable. Don’t bother stopping here unless you want rude, snobby service and tiny pours.
Carlos V.
Tu valoración: 5 Tustin, CA
Very good winery. This place really represents the good in the wine country. Too many people look at the very expensive and yet impressive Napa area. But you really need to explore the areas by Santa Rosa, Fulton, etc. You will find great places to wine taste like Hook and Ladder. As a bonus that day the beans where amazing but the barrel taste was the promise to more wine taste for me. Excellent quality with old world craftmanship for the italian based wines and the only winery that I had barrel taste that had a barrel of chardonay. Impressive to put one out and take a chance that people will enjoy it this way. When this product comes out I will be there for sure.
Amin S.
Tu valoración: 5 San Francisco, CA
Great outdoor bocce ball court and everything tasted great.
William T.
Tu valoración: 5 Tempe, AZ
Not only are the wines amongst the best I had in a trip through Sonoma and Napa, but Hook and Ladder was the highlight of the trip! We got to see a good bit of the production process and were able to taste a number of their wines. Mike and Lori DeLoach, the owners, were able to be there when we were visiting. The were amazing! Devin, our guide was accomodating and excellent. He answered numerous questions and explained a great deal about the wine business. I highly recommend this winery if you are coming any where near Santa Rosa!
Frank H.
Tu valoración: 5 San Francisco, CA
Had a great experience at this winery. Felt welcomed from the moment we walked in the door. They had a wide variety of wines for every palette. Interacted a lot with Candace and Devin, who were both extremely friendly and made us feel like we were a part of their family. Overall, the staff was welcoming and the atmosphere in the tasting room was extremely friendly.
Meg G.
Tu valoración: 5 San Mateo, CA
We heard about this winery from some family friends — and they did not disappoint! Great atmosphere. Tasting room staff is really friendly and informative. Wines are great — I highly recommend the Tillerman or the Cab Franc. I joined the wine club a few months ago and it’s been an amazing experience! I highly recommend this location and company to all.
Wendy K.
Tu valoración: 5 Canton, GA
Our favorite winery, by far! Robin is fantastic, friendly, fun, and knowledgeable. The Station was our favorite wine and we left with a bottle in tow. Red wines were fabulous. And the price per bottle is very reasonable. I highly suggest this winery whether on a tour or out on your own! And make sure to tell Robin hi!
Aurora M.
Tu valoración: 5 Antioch, CA
Dangerous. I left with 4 bottles but had it been payday, there would have been more ;) The folks in the tasting room are knowledgeable and SUPER friendly! Don’t let one bad review turn you off, I am so glad we didn’t. The pinot is great, very light but flavorful. The early harvest gewurztraminer(geez, that spelling is work man!) Is a gem! Easy drinking wines, don’t punch you in the face but pack plenty of flavor!
Heather L.
Tu valoración: 5 Santa Rosa, CA
This is my favorite tasting room and I don’t just say that because I am a wine club member. I am always warmly welcomed by the employees and they seem to enjoy their jobs. I have never had a bad experience and have always been treated like gold when visiting be it before or after joining the wine club. Hook and Ladder is wonderful at subtle white wines that will challenge what you think when it comes to something like a Gewürztraminer being too sweet or a Chardonnay that is all butter. We particularly love their red blends and my husband is a sucker for their perfectly balanced Sangiovese. The Tillerman blend is my favorite for a great steak or just to sip. Hook and Ladder upholds its prime real estate on Olivet road and I will continue to bring out of town as well as friends here regularly.
Tracy P.
Tu valoración: 5 Santa Rosa, CA
Great winery– 2nd visit– today I became a wine club member here and am very happy about it. Their red wines are the best! Today I got the petit sirah — the best I’ve ever had! Awesome place
Mick J.
Tu valoración: 1 Austin, TX
Winter Wineland 2015. This place is the ex-owners of De Loach, which already is pretty bad wine. And Hook and Ladder makes no better wine. + horrible service. The guy pouring wine for us *constantly* made disparaging comments about other wineries including De Loach. He finally stopped when his two squealing Asian lady friends showed up and pushed us aside and started talking to him. Ugh. We walked away, obviously without wanting to purchase anything. That and the industrialized venue made the whole experience entirely avoidable. We won’t be back at all. Skip this place and go to Lauterbach which is truly family owned and offers a delightful experience. And Lauterbach wines are excellent!
Chris R.
Tu valoración: 5 Greensboro, NC
I was a pleasantly surprised that I really liked all the red wines I had to offer. The tasting room was a pleasant experience, and the people there were great.
Norman G.
Tu valoración: 4 Burlingame, CA
Hook and Ladder has a super unpretentious tasting room with solid wines in a surprising range of styles. We had the inside-track on this winery thanks to the experience of our friends who are Green Valley natives, so we came with a home court advantage. First, since the Green Valley of the Russian River is where you go for pinot, you’ll want to sample their pinot noir. We tasted two and took home the 2012 Pinot Noir«Third Alarm» Reserve. Next of note is the chardonnay, which was a surprise hit for us and the«goto» chardonnay for our friends. So bottles of the 2013 Chardonnay«Third Alarm» Reserve went in our basket as well. I also enjoyed the Tillerman Blend, and both the early and late harvest gewürztraminers. In fact, I didn’t find a single Hook and Ladder wine that I didn’t like, so this winery is definitely wine club material. Buy some wine, stay for bocce, and if you’re there near closing you may even get to ride in the antique fire truck.
Noel M.
Tu valoración: 3 Milpitas, CA
Another winery steered me toward the hot sauce here. Being heavy on chipotle I had to pass but took home a bottle of the Late Harvest Gewürztraminer. With all of their wines under $ 30(except one) it’s difficult to go terribly wrong.
Al L.
Tu valoración: 4 San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Stop #2 of our Sonoma/Russian River area wine tasting trip was at Hook and Ladder. Their tasting room and is in a warehouse-like building and the grounds are not beautiful like some wineries. The server was super friendly. He gave us a history behind the winery, that it was started by a retired San Francisco Fireman. They have t-shirts and patches from many fire departments hanging in the tasting room. He asked what we wanted to taste and could taste any or all of the 4 whites, 5 reds and a port. The wines were good, but we loved the port and the Gewürztraminer Late Harvest and after sampling both several times, we ended up getting the Gewürztraminer. Oh, pay with a Visa Signature card and you get 10% off your purchase. The server said that they were enhancing their grounds for events and for to check it out before leaving. We walked to the back and the area was quaint and several picnic tables and a bocce ball court. Pretty cool!( )( ) Overall, very good experience. Friendly service and the best of all, the wine tasting is gratis. How many wineries still offer complementary tastings?