Donelan Family Wines - Santa Rosa, California

Nancy

When planning our trip to Sonoma, my husband and I decided that we were in search of some good Syrahs. I found an article about the best Sonoma Syrahs that any Syrah lover should taste and looked into a few. How lucky were we to schedule a tasting at Donelan and find Syrahs and Chardonnays and Pinots that we loved! Chris called the day before our tasting and asked what types of wine we wanted to try. Talk about personal service! He absolutely hit the nail on the head. We tasted six wines along with a great cheese plate and spent two hours with him talking wine, food, travel and family. Chris made this an absolutely wonderful experience. Can’t wait to receive our 2 cases. Thanks for a very relaxed and personalized experience and thanks to the Donelan Family for making great wines!🍷

Cheng-Hsiang Y.

Donelan is a hidden gem. The tasting room, tucked away in a warehouse where they make their wines, offers an intimate and authentic atmosphere. My wife and I loved the experience, especially their incredible Syrah. Our host, Chris, was highly knowledgeable, making the tasting both educational and enjoyable. Highly recommended!

Daniel S.

We were up in Santa Rosa to celebrate a special day, and decided to do a tasting at Donelan. While the website said they were closed on Tuesdays, they responded to an email and accommodated us!

When we got there, we couldn’t believe the beautiful spread of cheeses, bread, olives, etc! Chris was really welcoming (yes, he was so nice I even remember his name!) and asked what kinds of wines we liked, and then customized the tasting for us. Unlike every other place, where you get tiny pours from already opened bottles (of unknown age), Chris was very generous with fresh bottles. He even had some well aged wines he shared with us. His expertise on winemaking and the whole process (grape sorting was literally going on in the room behind us!!) was really informative and helpful.

All in all, this was the finest and most relaxing tasting experience of my life, and the Donelan Chardonnays and Syrahs are among the very best out there. And no, I have no financial interest in it, beyond the case we ended up buying.

Russ B.

If you can get past the fact that they are located in a functional industrial park, Donelan has some of the best syrah in California. The tastings are done in a room off of the functioning Winery, and feature about 6-8 wines, and ours was led by a gregarious employee who really knew his stuff. Overall a great experience!

David W.

A really friendly and helpful family run winery. What makes them even better is the quality of their wines. It is not unusual that each year some of their releases are rated in the high 90s by Wine Advocate and others. A sure bet winner if you are interested in a Rhone Ranger type wine. Try it and you will love it.

Chris H.

Located in an unassuming area of Santa Rosa, Donelan is a hidden gem. Prepare to be taken care of! We stopped by Donelan to try some of their amazing wine and immediately fell in love with the private and intimate wine tasting experience. Greg greeted us as we walked in and ushered us to a private table in their barrel aging room. We tried several of their wines (you have to try the Moriah) and loved all of them. We couldn't have been happier with the experience. You're in for a treat.

Benjy L.

Intimate tasting experience! Incredible selection of wines...Tripp took our small group through a delightful tasting and tour. They have an impressive offering for such a small family owned operation. Their pinots and syrahs are unparalleled in my opinion. And they just released an impeccably fresh rose that my wife can't get enough of. My wine locker is quickly filling up with Donelan bottles!

Michael R.

We were lucky enough to meet Greg and hear about the Donelan family vineyards at our hotel's wine tasting the first night of our visit. We very quickly realized the wine was amazing and that Greg took a very personal approach to educating novices on the intricacies of wine making . The next day we had the most amazing personal wine tasting with Greg at their Santa Rosa facility and came away beyond impressed with everything we experienced. We had so many wonderful experiences in Sonoma but this was at the very top.