Thomas Fogerty Winery and Vineyards

Today started out with yoga, a bowl of high-fiber cereal and a banana. I'd also been itching to go down to Half Moon Bay to Raman's Chai & Coffee as suggested by some friends at the yoga studio. $3 bought me an ample-sized Real Chai, and while it was not as spicy as I had expected, it was super sweet and delicious!

I drove back up to Rt. 280 to head down south to Woodside and Fogarty Winery. This is an extremely winding ride up Woodside Rd, so try not to be alarmed. After a leisurely 4.5 mi trip down Skyline Blvd, I arrived at Fogarty on my left, where some vineyards just starting to get their grapes greeted me.

The winery and tasting room is perched on top of Skyline, with gorgeous views of some of their vineyards and the lower Peninsula.


I entered the tasting room and was met with glances from a quartet of 50-something-year-old women. A tasting room is an excellent place to people-watch, but you really need a high threshold for bullshit (pardon my French). But wineries are places that people love to go and talk about wine, whether they know anything about wine in the first place or not. I've gained a new respect for the men and women who work at these tasting rooms, for both their knowledge and expertise as well as their ability to deal with the winos so pervasive in this part of the country. Not to toot my own horn, but I think I'm a good tasting room guest because one, I'm a quiet taster. I usually keep my opinions to myself unless a wine is really really good or has a very distinct characteristics. Some wine tasters just like the sound of their own voice. And two, I ask good questions of the staff/sommelier because I am familiar with the industry and the processes. This also makes for refreshing conversation on both ends.

But back to the wine, Thomas Fogerty has a tasting fee which is $6 for a select list of 3 wines (Riesling, Chardonnay, and I believe a red wine blend) and $12 for the flight of 5 in which there were over 12 to choose from. In this case, I would go for the $12 tasting because the wines in the limited flight were honestly nothing special. I had been spending a lot of money recently on wine, so I opted for the $6 flight, but once the Tasting Room Manager Rick Davis and I started talking, I was able to get my complimentary industry tasting.

I can't remember all the wines I ended up tasting, but in addition to the three wines listed above, there was a heavy-oaked Chardonnay (way better than the 07 Skyline Chardonnay), Gewürztraminer, a Rose of Barbera, Lexington Meritage, a side-by-side tasting of two Cabernets from both the Santa Cruz Mts. and Napa Valley, Grenache, and a Barbiolo (Barbara/Nebbiolo blend). I almost bought the Grenache (because honestly, not enough wineries produce this delicious varietal), but eventually settled on the Barbiolo. The Grenache is part of a personal label of the winemaker (Michael Martella) with a very funky label. But ultimately, I wanted a Thomas Fogerty wine, the Barbiolo was so different, and if I bought one bottle, I got the second one for $1. I walked out with 2 bottles of the 2003 Barbiolo (75% Barbera, 25% Nebbiolo) for $36.

Thomas Fogerty is worth the hair pin turns if you're looking for a nice tasting experience on the peninsula. Great view. Friendly staff (thanks Rick!). Just watch out for those pesky Peninsula winos.