Month: May 2024

Almost a decade ago, when we unveiled our stunning MacRostie Estate House in the idyllic Russian River Valley, we had big dreams. More than just opening another wine country tasting room, we wanted to create a beautiful and welcoming venue that would set a new standard for hospitality in Sonoma County—both as the home to MacRostie and as a home away from home for our customers and club members. Offering a perfect intersection between gracious hospitality, coveted wines, bright, airy architecture, and breathtaking vineyard views, the Estate House quickly earned acclaim as one of wine country’s premier destinations.

In keeping with the welcoming spirit that defines the Estate House, our charming and knowledgeable tasting room hosts are called ambassadors, and they live up to the name. Warm, friendly, and down to earth, they exude an easy-going charm that carries through from the first welcoming sip of wine to the end of each experience. In the simplest terms, our ambassadors are dedicated to creating memorable moments for our guests, while providing a deeper connection to our wines and the vineyards where they are grown.

As a testament to this elevated and unpretentious approach, which we call “attainable luxury,” we are proud to have earned a 4.7-star rating on Yelp and a perfect five-star rating on TripAdvisor, along with countless rave reviews. Just as important, we measure our success by the guests who return again and again, often in the company of friends or family with whom they are eager to share their passion for MacRostie. Because we receive so many repeat visits, we are always striving to keep things fresh, with new tasting experiences, new food pairings, and great seasonal events like our Spring Soirée and our Golden Sunset Series, which features delicious dishes prepared by a different Sonoma County chef each month paired with some of our most sought-after wines. Trust us, watching the sun set behind the mountains from our terrace while eating a freshly made lobster roll and savoring The Key Chardonnay is an experience you don’t want to miss. We have also been thrilled by the response to our Library Vintage Experience, which offers guests the chance to explore pristinely aged wines from our library, each with three to ten years of cellaring, and paired with a delicious sampling of charcuterie from local favorite Journeyman Meat Co.

Located just 10 minutes from the charming town of Healdsburg and surrounded by our idyllic 14-acre Thale’s Estate Vineyard, the Estate House is a perfect four-season destination where guests can relax and unwind in an array of venues. From the elegant openness of our Estate House’s stylish interior to our welcoming terraces and patios, we invite you to discover why San Francisco Magazine named us the “Best Winery in Sonoma.”

Heidi Bridenhagen, Winemaker

In 2011, when I joined MacRostie, we had less than 10 employees and no Estate House. Back then, Steve and Thale MacRostie would host our team at their home for an annual pre-harvest celebration, where meals always started with a glass of sparkling wine on their patio followed by an intimate seated tasting, and you definitely couldn’t leave without a tour of Thale’s beautiful garden! When we visited, Steve and Thale made us feel like members of their family or dear friends visiting from far away.

A few years later, with renowned wine country architect Douglas Thornley set to design our MacRostie Estate House near the charming town of Healdsburg in the Russian River Valley, we wanted to emulate what Steve and Thale did so flawlessly. This included greeting guests with a glass of wine and providing beautiful spaces for people to relax and enjoy each others company.

This month marks ten years since we unveiled our stunning Estate House. I remember the excitement when we broke ground, the pride that we all felt when we welcomed our first guests, and countless wonderful memories from events over the years. The response to our Estate House has been amazing, both from customers who have made it their wine country home away from home, and from the press, with the Estate House being hailed as one of “The Ten Most Beautiful Wineries in California” by Condé Nast Traveler, the “Best Tasting Room in Napa and Sonoma” by San Francisco Magazine, one of the “Best Winery Patios in Sonoma & Napa” by Sonoma Magazine, and one of The Press Democrat’s “Go-To Sonoma County Spots to Take Out-of-Town Guests.”

The Estate House changed everything for MacRostie. It gave us our Thale’s Estate Vineyard and a new small-lot winery exclusively for Pinot Noir. Most importantly, it gave us a home that we could share with our growing community of customers, club members and other friends. Guided by the gracious approach to hospitality we learned from Steve and Thale, and by the vision of architect Douglas Thornley, the Estate House made MacRostie more than a name on a label; it made us a place where wine lovers can explore our wines and share their passion with like-minded wine enthusiasts.

Douglas Thornley, Estate House Architect and Wine Club Member

When we set out to build the MacRostie Estate House over a decade ago, we sought out the talents of award-winning architect Douglas Thornley. Not only is Douglas one of wine country’s most sought-after architects and the creative force behind such spectacular wineries as Cuvaison, Hamel, Baldacci, and Paraduxx, he is a longtime MacRostie club member, so we knew we were in great hands!

When Douglas, who is currently a principal at Goring & Straja Architects, was designing the Estate House, one of his goals was to give Steve MacRostie the winery home he’d always wanted. “I took the idea of creating a ‘home’ for Steve and MacRostie literally and found inspiration in the region’s agrarian residences with gable forms and wood finishes. I also worked to create a destination with multiple indoor and outdoor spaces for visitors to enjoy.”

For the interior, this includes exposed Douglas fir rafters and a beautifully rendered wall of cathedral-like cabinetry, 10-foot-high glass windows overlooking the arrival plaza, and collapsing Schweiss doors that fold up and in, providing a canopy framing the Estate House’s showplace Barrel Hall. Outside, the Estate House offers three patios: a covered terrace overlooking the Russian River with sweeping views of Mount St. Helena, a balcony terrace looking towards Thale’s Vineyard, and a private terrace off the sophisticated VIP room. The property also includes custom water features, a paved terrace with curved seating walls, and a hidden gravel terrace with custom multi-sided wood-bench seating under a beautiful old oak within the vineyard.

For Douglas, three factors make a successful winery. “A successful winery is a three-legged stool. It offers great wines, great staff, and a memorable space that people want to return to again and again. MacRostie does all three.” Looking back on his design a decade later, Douglas is particularly happy with the way the Estate House blurs the lines between the indoors and outdoors, especially the courtyard with its view into the barrel room. “The goal was to create a fluid relationship between the inside and outside. In places, this includes using tumbled American stone flooring materials both indoors and out, and interior walls clad with exterior materials to blur the lines between the two, with the goal of creating a bright and modern sense of space.”

Douglas fondly remembers the opening of the Estate House. “It takes a team to create something special like the Estate House, and I will always remember the big unveiling party they had for the staff and design team. It was a magical moment.” As a club member for over a decade, Douglas loves to come to the Estate House to watch guests interact with the space. He also has his own favorite spots. “When I visit, I particularly love the north porch. It’s my favorite place and has my favorite couch. It’s also the hotspot of the Estate House, where I can watch everything that I helped create come to life.”

A decade after its opening, we continue to find new ways to showcase the beauty of Douglas’s design. From unique wine events like our upcoming Spring Soirée to our wildly popular Sunset Series, where guests savor the stunning vineyard views as they enjoy different pop-up chefs and live musicians, the Estate House is an idyllic spot to savor, celebrate, and unwind. With tasting options like our new Nightwing Experience, which features a flight of 90+ point, limited-production Nightwing wines paired with caviar and local artisan cheeses and charcuterie, it is also the perfect place to foster a deeper connection with MacRostie and our wines.

For those who love wine and food events, or are planning a wine tasting trip to explore the best of Healdsburg or Sonoma County, our tasting room offers an unforgettable all-season destination. We hope to see you soon!