Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery

8761 Dry Creek Rd, Healdsburg, CA 95448, USA

Address:	8761 Dry Creek Rd, Healdsburg, CA 95448, USA
Phone:	+1 800-831-0381
Site:	ferrari-carano.com
Rating:	4.4
Working:	10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 5

Jason Karuza

Summary: Amazing wines, fantastic service, beautiful grounds, and an excellent reserve tasting experience. Its really sad to see such negative reviews about some of the staff, and I hope that the management will investigate such disconcerting claims, but the experience I had with my wife in the special private tasting (the food pairing option) was one of the most amazing wine experiences we have ever had. A huge variety of wines and all were fantastic. My wife and I were brought here by her parents after they had had an amazing tasting experience a number of months ago themselves. They had gotten a tour of the winery and done a tasting in the reserve room. As a birthday present, they reserved my wife and I a private tasting in a room for just the two of us and one staff member, Kate. We had elected for the food and wine pairing, but there were around 10 options total. When we first arrived, we walked through the grounds toward the tasting building. The grounds are beautiful. Lots of green, flowers, statues, and an amazing view of the vine-covered hills in the back. We took some pictures and made our way inside to the air conditioned, but bustling, tasting room and shop on the first floor. After checking in, we were escorted downstairs to the reserve tasting area. This is where the bathrooms are, a wine barrel storage area is located, and where the reserve and private tastings are held. We were escorted through and then my wife and I were guided to our private room where we met Kate and she explained that we would be watching an informational video to get familiar with the winery, and would be enjoying their new pinot grigio while doing so. She then left us to get educated while we sipped on the best pinot grigio we had ever had (we dont like this varietal much typically, but it was so well balanced and not overly citrusy or tart that we couldnt help but really enjoy it) in two soft, cushy chairs. Soon she returned and we were asked to have a seat at the table where 4 empty Riedel glasses of different shapes and sizes sat behind a plate of beautifully constructed tiny food dishes for each of us. From there, we were lead on a culinary journey. We tried a sausage and mushroom ravioli in a lemon cream sauce, chilled sweet corn soup with shrimp, a duck meatball with confit, braised chunks of lamb over creamy polenta, and a chocolate shortbread cookie with chocolate compote. Each dish was paired with an amazing wine that either complemented or contrasted with the dish to highlight various flavors. They were all so well crafted...I mean, amazing for every sense. We tried the pinot grigio again, reserve chardonnay, a zinfandel, a pre-vail cab, and a black muscat with each of the dishes. Kate was one of the main contributors to the amazing experience. She was very knowledgeable, friendly, generous, etc. We asked lots of questions and got back some great information, but we also just had some nice casual conversation about wines throughout California. It was very fun and laid back. After that, we went back into the reserve tasting room and joined my wifes parents where they were still doing their tasting. Their server was bringing lots of wines to try and even brought us the other dessert wine to sample. We ended up purchasing a half case of wines that we thoroughly enjoyed, and we really cant wait to come back again and try another selection from the private tasting options.

Constant Reyerse

Unfortunately we could not even enter your facility. We were in an "executive van" from Pure Luxury Transportation. This is not a bus, just a van, we were 7 people so not exactly a large group, but one that would have really enjoyed your winery and looked forward to tasting your selections. However, your lot guard intercepted us before we could even step out of the van. Not being aware that buses and groups need an appointment we would understand that rule. However, again, we were in a van, not a bus, and there were only 7 of us. At the time we arrived there were maybe all of 5 cars in the lot, as it was about 3:30PM, we were not taking up much space, just one parking slot. Your guard was rude, and even argued with us that "no buses" were allowed, it says so out front, get out now was all he would say. This was not the best impression to convey of your fine winery, which our out of town friends were really looking forward to seeing. We are members of your winery, and have attended many events there as well as purchasing many of your wines. However, this recent affair has has left us with a bad taste, and makes us reconsider ever bringing anyone into your winery, or even recommending them in the future. The impression of the winery does not start in the tasting room, but it starts with the first person to make contact with your clients. Be that a parking lot guard, or a member of your tasting staff (usually we find them excellent people), but a poor reception goes a long way towards making a lasting impression. This incident soured us for the remainder of our day, I cannot say we have a good feeling about your winery at this point. Sincerely, Barbara Link & Constant Reyerse

Marc Parris

After deciding to choose a different wine club, I wrote to Ferrari-Carano using the e-mail address provided on their account to cancel my membership. I did not receive a response. When I tried to remove my credit card from the website, it would not let me since I was required to have a card on file, and the only way to cancel it is via contacting the club. I wrote once again to the club, as the date for shipment was arriving, and again received no response. In fact, the only message I received regarding Ferrari-Carano, other than their advertisements, was a message from FedEx saying my shipment was on the way and my bank account is lighter. I guess once you join this club, you cant get out until you are wrongfully charged for a shipment and have to jump through hoops to talk to an actual person at Ferrari Carano to get a refund. I will not be recommending this club to any of my friends or colleagues if this is what their customer service looks like.

Manli Chen

We went to Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery during our Valentines Day getaway. It was recommended by another vineyard that we visited earlier when my husband mentioned that I would like to see a more grand-looking vineyard. It definitely impressed everyone of us when we got there. There were beautiful gardens right next to the parking lot. The fountains were very much the classic European charm. The tasting rooms were definitely the most up-scale ones that we had ever visited. Everywhere we turned reflected the elegant and sophisticated taste of the owners of the vineyard. The wine tasting came with delicate-looking and delicious desserts. The staff there were quite friendly and professional, too. Even though the tasting sessions seemed more expensive than the others, it was totally worth it. We had a blast there and will definitely return in the future.

Richard Gray

Beautiful grounds, excellent wine, and very approachable and friendly staff. Many times these big name wineries with grand facilities can be touristy and impersonal, but Ferrari Carano has managed to make things feel welcoming. There are two tasting bars, one upstairs offering a flight of the widely distributed wines for $10 and another downstairs, offering higher end, single vineyard, etc wines for $25. The fee is waived for a $50 purchase. We chose the standard $10 option since we wanted a tat set of whats offered in stores and you could actually choose 5 of about a dozen different wines, whatever you wanted! We were treated to a couple more dessert wines on top of that and left with a few bottles. Use your Visa Signature card and get another 10% off. We will be back!