Reviews & Awards
Reviews & Awards
Featured Press:
Wine Road Podcast, featuring Woodenhead Winery
September 2022
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California Old Vine Pinot Noir Vineyards: Sonoma
PinotFile, August 2020
2010 Woodenhead Ritchie Vineyard Cinder Cone Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Score: 93
2012 Woodenhead Ritchie Vineyard Cinder Cone Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Score: 93
2013 Woodenhead Ritchie Vineyard Cinder Cone Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Score: 94
2014 Woodenhead Ritchie Vineyard Cinder Cone Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Score: 95
2015 Woodenhead Ritchie Vineyard Cinder Cone Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Score: 95
View full article on PinotFile
Wineries Worth a Visit
Sonoma Magazine, December 2019
Woodenhead Winery, 5700 River Road, Santa Rosa, 707-887-2703
“Take the winding uphill driveway off River Road for a tasting experience with serene views, Woodenhead prides itself on crafting Burgundian-style wines “California-Style”: no mechanical pumping is used, and the grapes are punched by hand. The result is small lots of Zinfandel made from fruit from the Rockpile AVA, along with Pinot Noir, a French Colombard sparkling wine, Chardonnay, Syrah and Carignane. Its Wet Kiss Pinot has been a double-gold medal winner at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. Expect to enjoy five tastes for $20, Thursday through Sunday.”
Tasting of Morning Dew Ranch Pinot Noirs
Rusty Gaffney, Prince of Pinot
PinotFile, December 2019
“Atypical for Burt’s [Burt Williams, Williams Selyem] Pinot Noir, yet the powerfully-built 2009 Morning Dew Ranch Pinot Noir is one of his greatest wines.”
Rusty Gaffney
A November 2019 tasting of nearly all of the Pinot Noirs from Morning Dew Ranch, 2004-2016, was organized by me and held at Benovia Winery in Santa Rosa. In attendance besides myself were Benovia winemaker Michael Sullivan, Brogan Cellars owner and winemaker Margie Williams- Wierenga, Woodenhead Cellars owner and winemaker Nikolai Stez, and Benovia assistant Winemaker Adolfo Hernandez. The wines were provided by Margi, Nikolai, Jason Drew of Drew Family Cellars and myself.
The wines were tasted in flights according to producer so the different styles of winemaking were evident. Nearly all the wines were truly enjoyable, but the 2008 vintage wines suffered from smoke taint and their enjoyment was dependent on the taster’s tolerance for this flaw (or terroir expression if you prefer since the vintage was marked by fires in Mendocino County prior to harvest). The Woodenhead wines were the closest stylistically to Burt’s Williams Selyem Pinot Noirs.
2004 Woodenhead Morning Dew Ranch Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
14.5% alc.. Unfined and unfiltered. 21.4% clone 777, 64.2% Rochioli selection (22% added as whole cluster) and 14.2% clone 23. · Moderately dark garnet color in the glass. Aromas of forest floor and bruised cherry lead to a mid weight plus styled wine offering blackberry and cassis flavors with a hint of oak in the background. Still very much alive, with a juicy finish.
2005 Woodenhead Morning Dew Ranch Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
13.9% alc.. Unfined and unfiltered. 66.6% Rochioli selection and 33.3% clone “828.’ · Moderately dark garnet color in the glass. Enticing aromas of spice, dried leaves and floral bouquet. A full-bodied wine, with a gorgeous core of Bing cherry fruit, gracious tannins, a trace of oak and a long finish with a good cut of acidity. Exceptional.
2006 Woodenhead Morning Dew Ranch Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
13.5% alc.. Unfined and unfiltered. 100% Rochioli selection. · Moderately light garnet color in the glass. Aromas of earthy flora and red cherry. A lighter-weighted wine featuring redder fruits and more spirited acidity.
2007 Woodenhead Morning Dew Ranch Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
14.2% alc.. Unfined and unfiltered. · Moderate garnet color in the glass. Terrific aromatic purity with scents of black cherry, white pepper, tobacco and seasoned oak. Beautifully balanced in a mid weight style featuring a charge of fresh, darker red fruits infused with joyous acidity. A 12-year-old wine that is still remarkably fresh.
No 2008 Woodenhead Morning Dew Ranch Pinot Noir was produced due to the vintage smoke taint.
View full article on PinotFile
Superlative lineup for an impromptu tasting at Woodenhead Wine in Forestville.
View Review
Danny Manguin, August 2022
Selection of Recent Awards:
Woodenhead 2021 French Colombard “Halfshell White”
Gold Medal Winner, Sunset International Wine Competition, June 2022
Woodenhead 2020 Zinfandel, Mariah Vineyard, Mendocino Ridge
Gold Medal Winner, 2022 Mendocino County Fair Wine Competition
Woodenhead 2020 Pinot Noir, Starbridge Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
Double Gold Medal Winner, 2022 Sonoma County Harvest Fair
Woodenhead 2019 Zinfandel, “1925/1939 Old Vine”, Alexander Valley
Review by Wine Road, July 2023
The Woodenhead 2019 Zinfandel, from Alexander Valley is another fine example of a dazzling field-blend with great depth and nuance. The wine is one-of-a-kind, the product of a confluence of circumstances that led the winemaker to acquire the old vine grapes before the vineyard was sold to a new owner. On the nose, ripe boysenberry and black plum with a touch of sweet briar, sage and rooibos tea. The palate is full with flavors of just picked strawberry, blueberry, rhubarb and grounding notes of mocha and nutmeg. The long taut finish recalls the herbal qualities first detected on the nose and rounds out with a gingery note of cardamom. Unfined and unfiltered it’s an honest expression of the varietal with no pretense. The “just right” tannins leave you thirsting for the next sip.
Woodenhead 2019 Sparkling Naturale Methode Champenoise
Wine of the Month, Wineroad, December 2021
A profusion of fine bubbles bring a fresh foamy lift of citron and crème brulee to the nose. An abundance of flavors prevail upon on the palate with apple cobbler, orange zest, apricot, candied ginger and toasted almonds. The dry and crisp finish has a touch of quince and honeydew melon that is both lively and refreshing. Austere yet elegant, the Woodenhead Natural is the essence of celebration
Gold Medal Winner, Sonoma County Harvest Fair, October 2021
Silver Medal Winner, 2022 Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge
Woodenhead 2019 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
Gold Medal Winner, 91 PTS, 2023 North Coast Wine Challenge
Double Gold Medal Winner, 2023 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Woodenhead 2019 Pinot Noir, Mendocino Ridge
Gold Medal Winner, Mendocino County Harvest Fair, 2021
Silver Medal Winner, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Woodenhead 2018 Zinfandel, Mariah Vineyard, Mendocino Ridge
Gold Medal Winner, 91 PTS, 2021 American Fine Wine Competition, June 2021
Woodenhead 2018 Zinfandel, Guido Venturi Vineyard, Mendocino County
Gold Medal Winner, 91 PTS, 2022 Orange County Fair, June 2022
Woodenhead 2018 Pinot Noir, Wiley Vineyard, Anderson Valley
Double Gold medal, 2022 Mendocino County Fair
Gold medal, 2022 Great American International Wine Competition.
View Review by The Nittany Epicurean
Woodenhead 2018 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
Wine of the Week on KRSH Wine, October 13, 2021
“everything you want in a great Pinot Noir”
-Ziggy the Wine Gal
Gold Medal Winner, Sonoma County Harvest Fair, October 2021
Silver Medal Winner, Sunset International Wine Competition, 2021
Silver Medal Winner, Orange County Fair Commercial Wine Competition, 2021
Woodenhead 2018 Pinot Noir, Conzelman Vineyard, Anderson Valley
Silver medal, 2022 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Woodenhead 2018 Petite Sirah, Guido Venturi Vineyard, Mendocino County
Gold Medal Winner, 2023 Orange County Fair
Woodenhead 2017 Zinfandel, Leras Ranches, Bertoli Vineyard, RRV
Silver Medal Winner, 2021 Zin Challenge.
Woodenhead 2017 Pinot Noir, Wiley Vineyard, Anderson Valley
Silver medal, 2021 Mendocino County Fair.
Woodenhead 2017 Pinot Noir, Ritchie Vineyard, “Cinder Cone”, RRV
Gold Medal Winner, 90 PTS, 2022 Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge
Woodenhead 2017 Pinot Noir, Buena Tierra Vineyard, E Block, Clone 115, RRV
Gold Medal Winner, 2022 Sonoma County Harvest Fail
Platinum Medal Winner, 2022 Great American International Wine Competition
Gold Medal Winner, 2022 California State Fair
Woodenhead 2016 Pinot Noir, Ritchie Vineyard, “Cinder Cone”, RRV
Double Gold Medal Winner, 94 PTS, 2021 American Fine Wine Competition, June 2021
Woodenhead 2016 Pinot Noir, Buena Tierra Vineyard, E Block, Clone 115, RRV
Gold Medal Winner, 90 PTS, 2021 American Fine Wine Competition, June 2021
Woodenhead 2016 French Colombard “Halfshell White”
Silver Medal Winner 2019 Orange County Wine Society
Woodenhead 2016 Charbono, Guido Venturi Vineyard
Double Gold Medal Winner, 96 PTS, 2020 American Fine Wine Competition
Woodenhead 2015 Zinfandel, Rocky Ridge Vineyard, Rockpile
Gold Medal Winner, 90 PTS, 2020 American Fine Wine Competition
Silver Medal Winner 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Woodenhead 2015 Zinfandel, Mariah Vineyard, Mendocino Ridge
Gold Medal Winner, 90 PTS, 2020 American Fine Wine Competition
Woodenhead 2015 Zinfandel, Leras Ranches, Bertoli Vineyard, RRV
Gold Medal Winner 2019 Orange County Wine Society
Woodenhead 2015 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
Double Gold Medal Winner at the 2018 Sonoma County Harvest Fair!
Silver Medal Winner 2019 Orange County Wine Society
Bronze Medal Winner at the 2018 SF International Wine Competition
“This brilliant ruby red Woodenhead 2015 Pinot Noir RRV has a pretty nose of dusty lavender and sagebrush. The palate presents a dichotomy of flavors—from ripe sweet blueberry and raspberry jam notes to tart bright cherry, strawberry and rose hips. Then, just when you think you’ve got it pegged, it opens up with surprising savory notes of leather, juniper and clove. It’s a complex kid that strikes a balance of soft tannin and zesty acidity as it continually evolves in the glass. A boost of French oak gives it a round and toasty warm finish.”
– Marcy Gordon, Wineroad, July 2020
Woodenhead 2015 Pinot Noir, Ritchie Vineyard, “Cinder Cone”, RRV
Double Gold Medal Winner, 91 PTS, 2020 America Fine Wine Competition
95 PTS PinotFile, August 2020
13.4% alc., $65. Dark garnet color in the glass. Leading off are enticing scents of dark cherry and berry and forest floor. Full-bodied in style, with a reaching, expansive core of spiced black cherry fruit that keeps opening and opening in the glass. Richly endowed with fruit sap yet endlessly gentle. Ready now for prime time with ripe, gracious tannins and a very long finish brimming with fruit goodness.
Woodenhead 2015 Pinot Noir, Buena Tierra Vineyard, E Block, Clone 115, RRV
Gold Medal Winner at the 2019 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Silver Medal Winner, 89 PTS 2020 American Fine Wine Competition
Silver Medal Winner at the 2018 SF International Wine Competition
Woodenhead 2014 Pinot Noir, Ritchie Vineyard, “Cinder Cone”, RRV
Best of Class of Appellation, Double Gold, 99 PTS!!!! 2019 California State Fair
95 PTS PinotFile, August 2020
13.0% alc., $65. Dark garnet color in the glass. A Pinot nose to die for, with the perfume of black cherry, spice and rose petal. Nothing is out of place in this mid-weight plus styled beauty offering layers of gregarious dark cherry and purple berry fruits that caress the palate with silkiness. Impeccable harmony and a lengthy finish that provides a juicy citric edge. This wine tastes damn good just like mothers milk.
Woodenhead 2014 Pinot Noir “Wet Kiss”, Russian River Valley
Double Gold Medal Winner at the 2018 Sonoma County Harvest Fair!
Woodenhead 2013 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Gold Medal Winner at the 2016 Sonoma County Harvest Fair
Silver Medal Winner at the 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Woodenhead 2013 Pinot Noir, Ritchie Vineyard, “Cinder Cone”, RRV
94 PTS PinotFile, August 2020
13.0% alc.. Dark garnet color in the glass. Intoxicating aromas of black cherry, spice cabinet, floral goodness and seasoned oak. Sleek and comforting in the mouth with reserved tannins and a juicy acid undertone. The mid-weight plus flavors of black cherry, strawberry and cola impress as does the lengthy, sweet cherry finish.
Woodenhead 2013 Blanc de Blanc, Methode Champenoise
Gold Medal Winner, 2020 Harvest Fair
Read review by the The Nittany Epicurean
Woodenhead 2011 Sparkling Naturale Methode Champenoise
Bronze Medal Winner 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition