Wine Tasting in Downtown Healdsburg

Planning a trip to Northern California? Make sure to set a day aside for Wine Tasting in Downtown Healdsburg! Here's our walking tour itinerary including five wineries, lunch, and dinner!

Huge thanks to Wine Road and the participating wineries for hosting our recent visit. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own!

Last month, my family took our annual summer trip out to Northern California! We spent just shy of two weeks hanging out around Sonoma County, wine tasting, exploring new areas, and even enjoying the beach.

On one of the days, my husband, Zack and I decided to venture out for a solo day of wine tasting. Healdsburg has a really cute downtown square with multiple tasting rooms and so much more! Wine Road coordinated everything for us and set us up with the best itinerary we could have asked for. Best part – everything was in walking distance!

Wine Road

For those of you who do not know, Wine Road is an association of wineries and lodgings the Alexander, Dry Creek, and Russian River Valleys of Northern Sonoma County. It's made up of 200 wineries at over 50 lodgings! They coordinate three annual wine tasting events, offer concierge services, and are the best resource for discovering wine country.

On their website, you can purchase tickets to their events, tasting passes, and request a free wine road map! Wine Road also has a podcast, where they share tips and news on events, wineries, wines, dining options, activities, places to stay, and more.

Be sure to mark these upcoming events on your calendar if you'll be in the area:

21st Annual Wine & Food Affair: November 2-3, 2019
Celebrate the harvest with world-class wines paired with locally grown produce.

28th Annual Winer Wineland: January 18-19, 2020
Meet winemakers and taste limited production wines, new releases, and library wines. I'm hoping to make it out for my first Winter Wineland with my mom – she's been several times!

43rd Annual Barrel Tasting: March 6-8, 2020
Sample wines from the barrel and talk to winemakers.

Healdsburg Walking Wine Tour

If you're looking for a day of wine tasting without a car or driver, head to Healdsburg! The downtown plaza has several tasting rooms, plenty of dining options, charming boutiques, hotels, and much more.

Longboard Vineyards

5 Fitch Street, Healdsburg, CA 95448

Longboard Vineyards was established in 1998 by Oded Shakked. He has lived, worked, and surfed on four continents! Oded fell in love with northern Sonoma County in the late 1980’s and now has a tasting room just a short walk from the Downtown Healdsburg Plaza.

The SURFLOUNGE (tasting room) is a down-to-earth relaxed space to explore and discover something new. My favorite wine of the tasting was the 2018 Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc!

Longboard was the perfect start to our day. We could have stayed and chatted all day long with our host! She was super knowledgeable, in a friendly casual way.

Selby Winery

215 Center Street Healdsburg, CA 95448

Selby Winery was founded in 1994 by Susie Selby, Winemaker, and her father, David K. Selby, M.D. The winery is 100% owned and operated by Susie Selby. The Selby Tasting Room is a half block from the square and is the oldest tasting room in Downtown Healdsburg.

Be sure to stop by to taste the nationally acclaimed wines in a relaxed atmosphere. Our favorites were the 2017 Sonoma County Bobcat Zinfandel and 2017 Sonoma County Rosé of Syrah.

Fun fact: Selby Wines have been served in the White House since 1995!

Portalupi Wines

107 North Street, Healdsburg, CA 95448

Portalupi Wines is family owned and operated by Jane Portalupi and Tim Borges. The husband and wife team started Portalupi in 2002 and opened the tasting room in 2011. They are influenced by their rich Italian heritage and years of experience in the wine industry. 

The Cal-Ital inspired food and wine pairing is not to be missed! We both loved the 2014 Pauli Ranch Barbera, which won “Best of Class” at the San Francisco International Wine Competition.

Roald Wine Company

118 North Street, Healdsburg, CA 95448

This tasting room just opened in May! Roald Wine Company is named for winemaker Greg Nelson's father. It’s a casual and welcoming space with jazz and blues music.

Our host was so friendly and explained the tasting notes as we sipped on each wine. We both enjoyed the 2016 GSM Blend and look forward to visiting again. Hopefully when we're out for Thanksgiving this year!

Spicy Vines

441 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg, CA 95448

Crystalyn Hoffman started the award winning boutique winery, Spicy Vines in 2012 with a spiced wine inspired by the mulled wines from Germany.

The Healdsburg tasting lounge is chill and chic, with original artwork by internationally acclaimed artist, Reds Regan. They offer wine flights, wine cocktails, and small bites. A super fun spot for a fun happy hour!

During our visit, I tried the Mango Sunrise wine cocktail – A mix of Spicy Vines Original Blend, bubbles, and mango orange juice. Yum!

A Day in Downtown Healdsburg

If you’re looking for a unique day of wine tasting, head over to Healdsburg for an unforgettable experience! You’ll fall in love with the shops on the square, unique wineries, and friendly people. In addition to tasting rooms, you can spend your day shopping around the square, playing in the park, or dining at one of the many local restaurants.

Be sure to check out more from the Wine Road right here!

If you liked this post, you’ll probably enjoy these too:

• Wine and Food Pairing at Kendall-Jackson
• Black Glass Tasting at Matanzas Creek
• Sparkling Wine Tasting Through Napa Valley

Have you visited Downtown Healdsburg? Share your favorite spots with us in the comments! Cheers!!