The first time we stopped at Uptick we were on the hunt for sparkling wines for Kelly. Uptick came up on my Google search but when we got there they said they were out of sparkling wine. Since we were on a mission we decided just to leave and come back another time. We came by again on a Monday but they were closed – only open Fri, Sat and Sun.

We were on our way to a dinner at Healdsburg’s new sensation, Singlethread. Kelly didn’t want me to drag her around everywhere like I usually do so we just had the one planned stop at Uptick.

The name comes from the Stock Market and there is somewhat of a Wall Street theme – The Bull statue, There is a live ticker feed scrolling across behind the tasting bar and an antique ticker tape machine or two. Uptick is family owned and operated and the majority of their grapes come from the Russian River appellation.

The tasting begins with Hilda’s Rose, made with Syrah and Pinot grapes. The Syrah adds some layers that make this Rose a bit unique with depth and a touch of sourness. This wine is quite clean in the front and fruity.

The Sauvignon Blanc, which was a bonus tasting, is an Estate Wine, one of the few from the Dry Creek appellation and grown close to the tasting room. This is a very clean wine with n notes of grapefruit and vanilla.

The 2014 Russian River Valley Estate Chardonnay is not of the oaky style. It has notes of wool and peach in the nose, a light mouth feel with melon and honey.

Having been a professional pianist for most of my life I start salivating when I see something like this. They were starting to get busy so I didn’t ask to play it.

2012 Russian River Valley Estate Pinot was the star of the show on the day. Caramel, leather gloves, sour cherry in the nose. Tingly, sweet, beautiful round fruit. This wine leaves the mouth fresh and oh, so happy.

2013 Sonoma County Merlot. berries, leather, a little furry and tart with cranberry.

2010 Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a very nice Cab with big fruit and very little tannin. The nose gave me dark cherry, coffee, a hint of faint jasmine and wool socks.

To bring this full circle, the tasting ends with a Sparkling Brut. This enjoyable wine is soft and fruity with a moderate bubble. Very drinkable.

We then tasted the 2014 Pinot Noir. It has much of the same sweet quality as the 2012, but a bit more tart.

One of our local Humboldt County restaurants carries the Uptick Zinfandel. We almost always order it when w eat there.

This was a very nice tasting experience and we were glad we finally stopped in for it.

https://www.uptickvineyards.com/

Tel: (707) 395-0864

Hours:

Open at 11AM –  Close at 4:00PM; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday