I want to talk about a cool little winery called D’Argenzio that I visited this past fourth of July weekend. My friend and I found a sweet deal on Groupon for this little winery and we decided to drive up to Russian River Valley to do some wine tasting. For my readers not in California, Russian River Valley is near Sonoma County and Napa Valley. To me, it’s all Wine Country.
D’Argenzio winery is located in a shopping center with two other tasting rooms, a wine bar, and a brewery. Unfortunately, the parking lot is pretty small, but there is a lot of parking on the side streets. Parking did not hinder the experience at all, but if you’re like me and can’t parallel park, you should know beforehand.
The Winery
When you first walk up to the winery, you’ll see the D’Argenzio sign surrounded by grape vines. For me, that set the entire mood of the tasting. While D’Argenzio may not be located on a vineyard, it was still really nice to see grapes growing even if they don’t use those for wine. It gave a cute, rustic feel before walking inside.
The interior was also very rustic, but had a very homey feel to it. There were twinkle lights and mixed wooden seating. When I say mixed, I mean that all the chairs were different from each other. Though it seems kind of wild, it brings the entire rustic look together. I loved it.
Along the wall you could see a bunch of bottles of wine and wine related knick knacks. On the wall itself, there was a chalkboard with upcoming events at the winery and names of different kinds of wine. Over by the window, there were four barrels on display. I don’t know if they were actually holding wine or just there for decoration, but I am assuming the latter.
There were two rooms. The front room is the first room you walk into and then there is a bigger second room with lots of chairs and tables. There are more twinkle lights in that room as well as more rustic looking decorations. This room gives you more of an “Italian” feel without being too over-the-top. My favorite part about this room was the awards on display. These are the awards they won for some of the wines they make. I’ve seen wineries brag about their awards, but I’ve never actually gotten to see them up close. I thought it was a cool, personal touch.
My friend and I decided to sit outside because of the beautiful weather. It was nice and shady outside with lots of flowers and vines. There was even a cute chalkboard menu sitting on a barrel listing the dishes the winery serves.
Our server was extremely friendly and knowledgeable about the wines and what they paired with. Even though she was the only one working, we still got excellent service and she brought out our antipasti board and first wine quickly! Without her, our experience at D’Argenzio wouldn’t have been as great as it was.
The Wine
I know what you’re thinking… What about the wine?! Usually I go to wineries and I expect good wine. I don’t expect bad wine, but I expect to drink wine that I won’t hate. This is because not all wineries do everything well. Some wineries will have an amazing Pinot Noir, but their Sauvignon Blanc might not be the best and vice versa.
I went to this tasting not knowing a thing about D’Argenzio winery except for the fact that I bought a Groupon and that they were going to have Italian inspired wines or something of the like. This was one of those times where I forgot to read the reviews! However, this ended up working in my favor since I didn’t build up any expectations from reading reviews.
The first wine we had was the 2016 Chardonnay. I’m not even going to lie, but I was a bit wary at first. I don’t like Chardonnay. I’ve tried many Chardonnays and I didn’t like even one of them. Now, I didn’t totally hate them, but I don’t go around asking for a glass of Chardonnay. To my surprise, the Chardonnay was good. It wasn’t my favorite wine of them all, but if I needed Chardonnay to pair with a meal or if I wanted to drink with my grandma who only drinks Chardonnay, this would be an enjoyable option. This one was 7/10 for me.
The second wine that was poured was the 2018 Rosé of Pinot Noir. I was also wary of this one because I don’t typically enjoy Rosé and it smelled like bubblegum. I actually really liked the flavors of this wine. This wine is definitely drinkable on it’s own. I almost bought a bottle, but there were two others that I liked more than this wine. I think it’s because the Rosé is made from Pinot Noir grapes. This one is a 7/10 as well.
Next, my friend and I were poured the 2018 Tocai Friulano. Our server mentioned that this one would pair well with Asian foods because it was crisp, light, and had flavors of rice and citrus. Immediately, I was intrigued. Not only do I eat a lot of Asian food, but my parents and I don’t usually buy a lot of wine that would pair well with Asian food. After tasting the Tocai Friulano, I understood why it would pair well with Asian food. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the others. I think it would’ve tasted excellent with the yellow curry I had the other day, but it wasn’t drinkable on its own in my opinion.
Our fourth wine was the 2017 Sauvignon Blanc. Our server poured this to pair with the asparagus on our antipasti plate. I cannot even begin to describe how good this Sauvignon Blanc was. I drink a lot of Sauvignon Blanc, but out of all of the Sauvignon Blancs I have ever tasted, this one is the best by far. One-hundred percent this is drinkable on its own, but wait… IT WAS AMAZING WITH THE ASPARAGUS. Honestly, this was the best wine of all of them and I had to bring home a bottle. It was $32 for the best Sauvignon Blanc I’ve had in my entire life and that’s a steal. Plus, I supported a local winery too! Obviously, I rated this wine a 10/10.
After that, we had an orange Chardonnay. I don’t know what the vintage is or if I even remembered the correct grape, but it was interesting to say the least. I think it was good, but not the best. Again, I’m not a Chardonnay person, so Chardonnays always seem like an afterthought in my mouth. I love the concept of orange wine and I would like to try more in the future, just maybe not of the Chardonnay varietal. This one was just a 5/10 for me.
The sixth wine was a “mystery” red. Our server had opened it, but since there was no label on it, none of us could figure out what it was. She said it might be a Cabernet, but wasn’t sure if it was a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Cabernet Franc. I am not a fan of either, but I think it was a Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Franc is a little to bold for me and our mystery wine was more on the milder side. It easily could’ve been anything else though. I think it was fun to do a little blind tasting. The wine paired really well with the salami on our plate, but it wasn’t anything I’d drink by itself. I rated this one a 5/10 as well.
Our last wine was the 2017 Negroamaro. I’ve never heard of Negroamaro before (not even in my wine class) and I was excited that this was on the tasting list. It sounds Italian and you all know how much I love Italian wines and I really loved this wine. It’s the perfect amount of earthy and it’s more of a mild red, but that’s what made it so delicious. I was not expecting to love this wine as much as I did, so I bought a bottle for $36. It’s drinkable on it’s own which is something I look for when I purchase wine over $25. After some careful research, I found out that Negroamaro is a grape grown in southern Italy. I gave this wine a 9/10.
Overall, the wines were really good and part of such an awesome and relaxing experience at D’Argenzio winery. Out of all of the wineries we visited during the holiday weekend, this one was my favorite and definitely deserving of a review. I highly recommend visiting D’Argenzio winery if you are in the area because it’s such a treasure.
