Nalle (pronounced with a silent 'e') is one of the oldest wineries in Dry Creek Valley and has been family owned and operated since 1984 when it was established by Doug and Lee Nalle. Today their son Andrew is head winemaker and proprietor with his wife April and two young children by his side. The estate is located two miles from Healdsburg in Sonoma County on land the family has sustainably farmed for five generations.
Andrew continues Doug's dedication to creating focused, fruit-forward wines in the old-school California style: moderate in alcohol, balanced, food friendly, and built to age. Small lots of old vine, dry-farmed, and estate grown wines including Zinfandel, Cabernet, and Pinot Noir are produced in the above-ground cave winery, kept cool year-round by a living roof of rosemary.
Andrew continues Doug's dedication to creating focused, fruit-forward wines in the old-school California style: moderate in alcohol, balanced, food friendly, and built to age. Small lots of old vine, dry-farmed, and estate grown wines including Zinfandel, Cabernet, and Pinot Noir are produced in the above-ground cave winery, kept cool year-round by a living roof of rosemary.
Services
Andrew's parents, Doug and Lee, provide wisdom and support from their 40+ years of winery experience. Andrew's younger brother, Sam, is a scientist in San Francisco and he provides encouragement and support. The winery and home rest on land that has been in Lee's family, the Henderlongs, since 1920's.
Construct a half cylinder, some retaining walls and cover it with three to six feet of dirt. Add rosemary for ground cover and serve. Our non conventional above-ground cave is a peaceful place to age wine with zero heating or cooling requirements. We encourage you to visit our one-of-a-kind wine cave, and enjoy our wines as well as the picnic spot, horseshoe pit and petanque court.
Nalle is estate grown and bottled, meaning we grow our own grapes and bottle at the winery. It might be hard to tell the difference when you see wines. In a nutshell harvest looks something like the following although it is my highly simplified version: Starting in August sometime, we begin brix sampling, which means we go through specific blocks of grapes to assess their sugar level.
Nalle is estate grown and bottled, meaning we grow our own grapes and bottle at the winery. It might be hard to tell the difference when you see wines on the store shelf, but a lot of wines are outsourced fruit or pre-made juice that is bottled at some unknown facility before a label is just slapped on it.
Reviews (23)
Sheila P.
Dec 11, 2021
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Randomly found this place upon driving towards where the juicy grapes in the vineyards led us. This was a lovely vineyard with amazing service. My friend and I chose to do wine tasting and they served us 4 different reds that they had to offer. The weather and vibes were so nice that we didn't want to leave. Highly recommend if you're looking for a nice and peaceful vibe.
Katie K.
Nov 28, 2021
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Beautiful fairy tale vines which is what caught my attention to begin with and a very homey, country setting with a beautiful view of vineyards. I just felt like the experience could have been a little better from our server. However, the owner came around and was very nice and welcoming. Had she been our server, the experience would have been way better.
Stanley Marvel
Jun 03, 2021
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Jennifer P.
Apr 18, 2020
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Lisa S.
Feb 25, 2020
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Nalle is quite the hidden gem in dry creek valley. If you are not familiar with Sonoma county wine country it can be over whelming, even for us locals. There are so many famous names out there & gigantic fortress to draw the crowds. All are beautiful, but if you want excellent wine and a true wine country experience you need to hit the smaller wineries.
Nalle will give you a personal experience you really can't get anywhere else. In their intimate tasting room you will most likely find Ned or April, they are both salt of the earth kind of people. They have always been kind, welcoming
Nalle will give you a personal experience you really can't get anywhere else. In their intimate tasting room you will most likely find Ned or April, they are both salt of the earth kind of people. They have always been kind, welcoming
Isabelle Adams
Nov 29, 2019
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Jeremy S.
Oct 17, 2019
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This winery is the epitome of a Family-owned winery in California. They take immense care and put so much love into the work that they do. Unbelievable six-generation history of being in Dry Creek Valley. Second-generation winemaking and making wine, especially Zinfandel, that doesn't follow the popular opinion but focuses on quality. Their benchland winery is an above ground cave covered in rosemary with beautiful views looking out into their vineyards. April and Andrew, along with Lee and Doug, are phenomenal hosts and you feel like one of the family when you visit.
Becky Creighton
Jul 23, 2019
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Jeremy Stimpson
Jan 16, 2019
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These are some of the most down-to-earth and passionate people about their wines in all of Sonoma County. Their tasting room is in an above ground cave that they built and covered with rosemary. This multi-generational operation makes complex and restrained wines, with a specific emphasis on Zinfandel. The wines are built for aging but can be enjoyed now. They are super friendly to visit and make you feel at home. Cheers!
Michael Brooks
Nov 24, 2018
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Karen S.
Sep 21, 2018
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One of the first things you notice about this winery is the living roof of rosemary. The entrance is around the back and you get to walk along the vines until you come to a small picnic area.
This is a small family-owned winery and if you are looking for a slick, tasting room, this isn't the place for you.
This was a bit of an odd visit. We enjoyed some of the wines and bought a few, but despite that they are willing to ship, the man in the tasting room didn't want to ship them for us. He insisted it would be much cheaper for us to ship them ourselves. While he was probably
This is a small family-owned winery and if you are looking for a slick, tasting room, this isn't the place for you.
This was a bit of an odd visit. We enjoyed some of the wines and bought a few, but despite that they are willing to ship, the man in the tasting room didn't want to ship them for us. He insisted it would be much cheaper for us to ship them ourselves. While he was probably
Matt Pappagorgio
Jul 02, 2018
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Janet Foley
Dec 13, 2017
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Elenita Parker
Jun 23, 2017
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Chris O.
Jun 04, 2017
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My wife, Sister-In-Law, Brother, and I visited Nalle in our Passport to Dry Creek weekend. We were well in to the weekend when we came by Nalle and were pleased with the accommodations.
We purchased half a case of wine,now that we have had the chance to enjoy the wine following the event, are even more pleased with the product we purchased. My personal fav is the 2014 Pinot Noir, Bummed we are already on our last bottle but have high intentions of returning for more.
Cheers,
O
We purchased half a case of wine,now that we have had the chance to enjoy the wine following the event, are even more pleased with the product we purchased. My personal fav is the 2014 Pinot Noir, Bummed we are already on our last bottle but have high intentions of returning for more.
Cheers,
O
Didi R.
Jul 18, 2016
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This may be one of the best hidden gems in all of Dry Creek. Though it's hardly a kept secret- Nalle is long known for being one of the best Zinfandel makers in California even with a minuscule production. Andrew, the son of the original wine maker has taken the reigns and oh man is he continuing the sterling legacy of Nalle Zins.
Situated on their own 88 year old vineyard, with a green roof, the tasting room is their barrel room. If you are really lucky, you may see Andrew Nalle buzzing around while his wife and their newborn baby (a ringer for her dad) pour you their estate wines. Folks
Situated on their own 88 year old vineyard, with a green roof, the tasting room is their barrel room. If you are really lucky, you may see Andrew Nalle buzzing around while his wife and their newborn baby (a ringer for her dad) pour you their estate wines. Folks
Lauren A.
Apr 19, 2016
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You must visit this winery if you like family run businesses where the owner actually interacts with the group and may drink a little with you. My husband and I came here in January and did a birthday winery crawl with friends and this was by the far our favorite one. Great atmosphere and they have a shop dog that was super cute. I recommend this winery for the personal attention that you will get but even better wine than you could imagine. Can't wait to visit again. Thank you!!
Gregor Dodson
May 31, 2015
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Michael P.
Sep 08, 2013
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Vanessa D.
Jul 27, 2011
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It's not many times can you drive up to a winery for a scheduled tasting and find the owner out back standing there with a hose spraying down the dirt. But there was Doug Nalle. We had a great chat with him as we waited for his son Andrew, who is now the winemaker, who was going to do the tasting with us. You know your tasting is going tom fully lack pretention when the winemaker shows up in a tee shirt, gym shorts and a ball cap.
By far, the best tasting experience my fiancé and I ever had. Andrew grabbed a few wines and the three of us sat down at a picnic table under and arbor to have
By far, the best tasting experience my fiancé and I ever had. Andrew grabbed a few wines and the three of us sat down at a picnic table under and arbor to have
Jocelyn L.
Jun 16, 2010
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Very small family-run vineyard. The Nalles built the tasting room themselves (so cute!) and their doggy is featured in the Sonoma Vineyard Dogs Coffee table Book! Awwww.
Their tasting room isn't open everyday, so we were lucky to venture there on a super sunny Saturday when they were. Highly recommend for a visit. Both husband and wife are very friendly.
Their tasting room isn't open everyday, so we were lucky to venture there on a super sunny Saturday when they were. Highly recommend for a visit. Both husband and wife are very friendly.
Jason C.
Aug 28, 2009
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Nicest folks, best wine.. however if you like fruit or oak bombs or over ripe alcohol bombs this is not for you. These wines are for the lover of a more classical earlier picked style of wine like; the Cali wines from 25 years ago before certain wine critics.. If you love old school european wines, these are the wines for you.
Doug is wonderful as well as the whole crew.
Doug is wonderful as well as the whole crew.
Kim M.
Nov 29, 2007
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If you're looking for that ultra personal, small family-owned winery feel, Nalle is perfect. You won't be greeted by a slick tasting room with the cookie cutter paintings of wine country landscapes and the grape-themed knick knacks that you find at all the other wineries. Instead, Doug and Lee will be warmly greeting you from behind a folding table inside their hangar-like storage room stacked with barrels. It's not very often that you have a chance to find such authenticity - these folks have made making wine their life, they built their business (including their house, etc) from
