Hop Kiln Winery

Just down the road from Roshambo but a world away from steel and glass modernity is one of Sonoma’s best-preserved old hop kilns, a towering wooden building where hops were once dried before being used to make beer. The hops of Sonoma have long since been replaced by vines, but the Hop Kiln Winery has kept much of the cavernous interior of the 1905-era building intact, including the old stone ovens.

Belying its giant home, the winery itself is a fairly small operation, producing about 10,000 cases a year of reasonably priced zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, and some interesting blends.

Marty Griffin’s Big Red (named after the winery owner) is just that—a rambunctious blend of zinfandel, cabernet, and syrah. A Thousand Flowers is a more delicate white blend of chardonnay, gewürztraminer, and riesling. The once-common Napa gamay red grape is also represented under its more accurate name of valdiguié. Very few wineries still make it—it’s an acquired taste.

There are plenty of picnic tables around the building, including some next to a rather murky pond, but dogs are not welcome (6050 Westside Rd., Healdsburg, 707/433-6491, www.hopkilnwinery.com, open 10 a.m.–5 p.m. daily, free tasting).