C Donatiello Winery

If I could give a 0 stars I would. My girlfriend is industry in Sonoma, and I work in San Francisco and am an experienced taster and I must say I have never experienced ruder, hostile treatment anywhere in my life. The «ambassador» Victoria juareg was the rudest person I have ever encountered in my life of tasting. And I will never be returning.
The tasting room itself feels like a closet, and the whole business model is centred around picking and choosing other companies vineyards’ products. I’m sure the owner is trying his best and I don’t want to diminish his passion. But for him to employ such a garbage employee is an insult to his talent.
DO NOT attend here if you wish for good service and quality wine. Someone needs to oversee this terribly managed «wine room» and make necessary changes.

a group of us visited the tasting room for this winery as part of the 2015 Wine and Food Affair this weekend. never really got around to trying the food or the wine because the hosts here made it a point to let us know that others had come in before us and needed to be served first. fair enough, i’m not here to cut other people. however even as others started to filter in after us each subsequent host still felt the need to tell us to wait our turn. simple oversight? perhaps. but because they were making SUCH an effort to ensure that people were properly served in order it seemed odd that they couldn’t remember when our group of 6 came in relative to everyone else.
truthfully i couldn’t help but feel that our appearance (we were on the younger side compared to the rest of their clientele) had something to do with their general demeanor. it was definitely cold and off-​putting and with so many other options around i would definitely rather visit another wineries tasting room.

Excellent wine. Almost exclusively chard and pinot, though we went home with a sauv blanc. We tasted a medium and a full bodied chard, both with the honeysuckle and vanilla flavors that I dig. Also had two very good pinots, one nice and smokey with surprising structure, and the other light and well balanced. The gentleman pouring was knowledgable and very friendly. Good times.

We had the nicest wine tasting on a Friday morning. We had made reservations because there were 14 of us. We all loved every one of the wines. The sparkling was amazing. Chris gave us the history of the winery and let us enjoy all of his wines. This is a must see in Healdsburg.

Chris and Dennis were exceptional hosts and the Pinot and Chardonnay were exceptional. A must stop while in Healdsburg.

We really enjoyed our recent wine tasting experience here. Our server was extremely knowledgeable about the wines and the vineyards where the grapes come from. We opted for two side by side Tastings. All pinots. One for 15 dollars and one for 20. Honey and I both had our favorites, and would have bought a few bottles, however tasting fee is not waived unless you purchase six bottles per tasting fee. So to pay 35 for the tasting and that much or more to purchase a few favorites was a deal breaker for us. To be fair the wines are small lot produced, so the unwaived tasting fees might be necessary for them business wise.
I do reccomend wine tasting here, just be aware of that they have more of a napa style policy rather than a sonoma style policy concerning tasting fees and purchases.

Favorite tasting room in HB so far. Wines were great even after a whole day in the field. Great staff too. Check it out.

This place has amazing service. The guy that helped us was super knowledgeable and very nice. Most of the wine was delicious, but there were a few we didn’t like. I would go back for the delcious wines we did have though. A fun place to visit.

I really enjoyed their range of Pinots from light and earthy to big and fruity. They were all very well made and enjoyable. I cannot remember the names of the folks that were working but one was the owner. He and the gal were both very nice and accommodating.

We stopped here on our wine tour. The red wines… I believe a few different pinot noirs were good but definitely not my favorites of the day. The duck served with the tasting was moist and delicious. I liked it better than the wine.
The staff… especially Dennis… was very nice and helpful. I would stop in again.

This place was the most amazing tasting– we were set up with Nicole and were actually seated at a high-​table (the sitting part was especially nice after walking around all day). She set the four of us up with a split pairing of pinots and chardonnays, and we all went crazy for them. I don’t even consider myself a wine enthusiast and I ended up walking out with a bottle of wine (the Maddie– buy it, buy it now!)! We also fell in love with the merchandise– the logo is beautiful (a «D» created using small, intertwining «c“s) and the products are gorgeous.
We met the manager, who was very nice and brought out a specialty bottle that we were allowed to try. Everyone was very kind, personable, and knowledgeable and we had a really great time (I think we ended up staying for forty minutes).
Also worth noting: the music selection in this place really stood out– it was so good!

great place for pinot and chardonnay lovers.
my favorite pinot: Hervey Vineyard and Tina Marie Vineyard
my favorite char.: Rowan’s Vineyard

Love their new tasting room. The wines are great. I love the chardonnay options. My husband, who is a big Pinot Noir fan, says these are his favorites in the RRV. The staff was very knowledgeable and I love the seating options to relax during the tasting. AND they are open later than most places on the Square! I plan to take some friends here on my next trip to the RRV. We liked their wines so much that we joined the wine club! On one visit, we even met the owner, Chris, who was so nice and giving with his time. It was a great experience.

Cute winery along the Healdsburg wine trail. Pretty grounds, cozy tasting room. It started pouring down rain as we walked in so we were inspired to stay a bit while we enjoyed our vino and stayed dry inside.
They offer 3 different tasting flights — the ‘Overview’ which includes 1 Chardonnay, 1 Sauvingnon Blanc, and 1 Pinot Noir, or 3 Chardonnays, or 3 Pinot Noirs… priced from $ 5-​$ 12 for each flight, waived with purchase of a bottle.
If you’re not a fan of super buttery California-​style Chardonnays, skip the Chard in the Overview and stick with the Sauvingnon Blanc, which is crisp, dry and fruity. I purchased a bottle for $ 20 since it was the best SB we had all afternoon.
If you are a fan of the buttery Chard, you’ll love theirs, which is basically a substitute for buttered movie popcorn. Or even that nasty buttered popcorn flavored jelly belly. (Perhaps exciting for some, but not for me.)

C. Donatiello defiantly impresses visually. The grounds are beautiful and very well manicured. The tasting room also has the same feel. All the pourers are in matching polo’s. Not necessary… but I guess a nice touch.
They are known for their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Erin was our pourer and see was very helpful. I really like when tasting rooms give you all the glasses so you can go back and forth among the wines. Its a more relaxing feel than speed tasting.
My favorite wine was their 2007 Hervey Vineyard Pinot Noir. Too bad it only comes in a magnum. The prices are high, but the wines are good.

This winery is where Belvedere used to be…
Ah the Cherry Coke of Pinot Noir! Yes, they really do have Pinot that tastes like Cherry Coke.
This place was recommended to us by Pat at Matanzas Creek and Chris at Lambert Bridge Winery.
It was a beautiful day. C. Donatiello is in a wonderful setting, with lovely views. It’s peaceful and quiet. We sat outside and enjoyed our wine and took in our surroundings.
The wines are very good, and the staff is quite friendly. Definitely a great find!

My husband and I stayed in Forestville for our honeymoon back in October 2008. Because we weren’t familiar with any Sonoma wines, we decided to ‘wing it’ and asked our concierge to direct us to some good wineries. Our first stop happened to be at C. Donatiello Winery. We got there early so we decided to sit around on their patio and take in the view. It’s so relaxing and beautiful there. The lady who helped us with our tasting was amazingly helpful and welcoming. She pointed out a few things about each wine that I could positively taste right away. She also never pushed us to buy any specific bottle but told us to go with what WE liked best. Well, wouldn’t you know it — I fell in love with the Floodgate right away.
Because we’re not from CA and could only ship back a limited amount of bottles to NJ, we decided to pass on buying anything at our first stop and went on our way to some other tastings. At the end of our tastings, we made the trip back to C. Donatiello to purchase a few bottles because their Floodgate was the best Pinot I have ever tried (but then again, I’m no wine expert). The lady was nice enough to apply our tasting fee to the purchase, even though our tasting was earlier in the day.
Now that we’re back home in NJ I’ve decided to join their Cellar List because I have yet to find anyone here who distributes their wine. I recently ordered some Russian River Valley and Floodgate (surprise, surprise!) Pinot and also got 1 bottle of Maddie’s Pinot. I have yet to open the Maddie’s but I’m thinking of doing it soon.
I hope we can visit again soon. I hate that I can’t attend the live concerts that they host because I think that would make for an amazing evening. I’ll be sure to tell my in-​laws about them though since they’re visiting Sonoma this October.

We first learned about C. Donatiello Winery while visiting a good friend in Sonoma who absolutely loves his wine. Knowing that hubby and I are wine novices, he treated us to his own special bottle from this winery. We both loved the chardonnay that we shared over dinner, so we decided that a trip to the winery itself was in order, specifically to get our own bottles for the trip back home!
Upon our arrival, we were very impressed with the location … the grounds at the winery are absolutely gorgeous, and I imagine that it would be a beautiful place to have a wedding. We were there on a Saturday and it was a little bit busy, but we both felt that the staff was very welcoming, knowledgeable, and patient with our lack of true wine experience. I’d probably prefer to have the whole place to ourselves during the middle of the week … that will be on our next trip up!
Anyway, the person who helped us with our wine tasting poured the wines right next to each other in separate glasses so that we could compare the wines. I had the «chardonnay flight» and hubby had the «pinot noir flight». We were both so impressed with our tastings that we purchased both the Maddie’s Vineyard Pinot Noir and the Orsi Vineyard Chardonnay. Our wine guy didn’t even charge us for the tastings because we bought bottles from both tastings which was an unexpected surprise!
We’re saving a bottle of each until we know we can get up to the winery again … we hope it won’t be long!

I went to update my review only to find it gone. grrrrrr.
(so it looks like if you want reviews to stay, you need to not 5 star it…)
I discovered C. Donatiello at the Pinot Days event earlier this year, not realizing it was the former Belvedere. I have (briefly) met the owner, a few times, and he is a nice chap.
It was then I discovered their summer music wine series and have attended regularly. You can buy a glass or bottle of wine, sit in a chair, or on a blankie, and enjoy a chill afternoon in beautiful Sonoma.
Their property is beautiful, well maintained. The concert series is often lightly attended, which boggles me, but is great. They also allow dogs at it, if leashed and well behaved. Not sure if dogs are allowed inside, best to call.
The wine room is a tad shi shi, but very well appointed, as it would need to be as the wines are a bit pricey, but worth it. They make an amazing series of Pinots, in the pricey $ 40 – 60 range. (Thus the $ 10 fee really is reasonable.)
The wait staff is always friendly and knowledgeable, and I enjoy my visits here.
All in all, this is a great winery. I don’t know how they make money off their concert series but am appreciative, and have bought each weekend as a way to thank. If you are a pinot phile like me, or a local who wants to enjoy some music on a summer Sunday afternoon, do stop here, you won’t regret it.
PINOT!!!
oops, sorry, its an involuntary response.

This place specializing in chards and pinots (though their sauv is my fave) is really really gorgeous, and chill, and a great place for a picnic, esp. b/​c they have an awesome concert series. You can choose from tasting 3 flights ($ 5, $ 10, or $ 12). The pourers are really nice and knowledgable. You should go! And bring some spreads and produce.