Winery Visit: Moshin Winery, Healdsburg, Ca
Casey Weaver / Dec 10, 2008

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Because not everyone’s idea of a weekend trip in wine country is floundering around in freezing ocean water, I decided to take a couple hours one afternoon to see what one of California’s most beautiful appellations has to offer. Had I not made a wrong turn on my ride that morning, gone up one of the steepest sections of road I have ever had to ride, and taken the “scenic way” home (note: in my family the “scenic way” is a euphemism for “I have a vague idea of where I am, but can not tell you how I got here”), I would have never found myself on the beautiful Westside road in Healdsburg, Ca, flanked by amber vineyards, one of which is owned by Rick Moshin.

We did not have an excess of time, and did not know exactly where we were headed (a great combination) as we drove back up Westside road that afternoon. Out of convenience we pulled into the first winery we came to and immediately were filled with an uneasy feeling. As we rolled through the large, stylized, iron fencing, Krista decided that this place seemed like a snobby winery, a phrasing that all too often seems quite redundant.

We climbed up the winding drive to a beautiful hilltop view, and walked into the tasting room, which from the exterior looked like an auto dealer’s showroom. After we stood there for a couple minutes without any sort of acknowledgment whatsoever, we turned back around and got in the car. That place was not for us.

We continued up the road and came to a place that from the exterior looked a bit like a barn. This was promising; I have no reservations about walking into a building that resembles a barn while wearing a beanie and T-shirt. Upon entering we were immediately and graciously greeted by non other than owner and operator Rick Moshin (though we did not know it at the time), who happened to be pouring while one of his tasters took lunch. We pulled up a spot at the bar and started perusing his wine list and asking questions.

Moshin Vineyards was started by Rick Moshin, a former math professor at California State University San Jose. He also happened to design their gravity-flow production process, which uses a four-tiered system to take the wine from crush pad to bottle. Moshin Winery practices sustainable growing and is completely solar powered. Like many other producers in the area, they specialize in growing Pinot Noir.

They do not have a set tasting menu, and do not charge (at least when we were there), either. We were able to taste the five wines we wanted from the eight or so bottles they had open that day. We decided to try their chardonnay, two different pinots, their zinfandel, petit syrah, and because we were not quick to reach a compromise between us, Rick let us try both his Promoshin red blend and “Message in Bottle” port.

There was no question that my favorite wine I tasted at Moshin was their zin. It had all the boldness of a great zinfandel without the over the top, in your face, alcoholic jamminess of so many zins on the market today. It was big yet just soft enough, and had the perfect amount of peppery spice. I write this as I look at the bottle I brought home, still sealed and waiting for its day. Krista really enjoyed their chardonnay and lobbied for the purchasing of a second bottle.

The wine that surprised me the most was Moshin’s “Message in a Bottle” port, named for the sea drift bottle found by Rick’s wife containing a letter encouraging its reader, from that point on, to follow their heart and live life to the fullest…

I typically do not have much of a taste for dessert wines. In fact, their syrupy sweetness usually make me gag a bit, but this was not the case at Moshin. Their port does not have an offensive jelly-like mouth feel, it is actually quite drinkable. It starts out sweet but gradually and steadily moves the opposite direction.

Unfortunately our time at Moshin was relatively short. We had to get back as the afternoon was drawing to a close and we needed to get our Steelhead rigs in the water, otherwise we would have nothing to eat for dinner that night. But we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Moshin and hope to return for a tour of the facility and an explanation of how their flow system works.