They Get It. Williamson Wine Company

You think you have competition? Think about being in an entire region, and an entire town that is known for one thing- wine. Now imagine you are a small winery going up against the biggest and some may argue the best in the business. Oh, and add into the mix that nearly all of your competition is known nationally through distribution at your local liquor store. Did I mention that the only way to get your message out was through word of mouth and walking in the front door?

By the end of day three, we where about wined out. Things began to taste the same, the experiences were almost clinical and we were loosing our ambition to take on another tasting room. Until we got to Healdsburg.

It was there that we began hearing about the Williamson Wine Company and often asked, "have you been there yet?" We never heard of them before, and as I said- we were about wined out. At the next tasting room we visited, others were talking about the WWC and saying to us openly.. "you have to go there." By now it is after 6 PM, and most rooms close at or before 7 PM.

At twenty after 6, we walk into a packed house at the Williamson Wine Company, one of a dozen tasting rooms within walking distance of each other. We were met by Dawn Williamson who quickly found a place for us, not in chaos out front, but at our own table in the back. Within minutes Dawn was back and helping us through their tasting menu. She talked briefly about their winery and that they serve a bit of food with each wine to help us understand "the job" the was wine is supposed to do. This was new. Food? The wine had a job? Different.

Bill Williamson delivered the first course of wine along with a bit of food and described for us what we were about to "experience." The wine hit the nose as described, subtle flavors were identified and the finish was delightful. Then, as with each additional course, we were invited to take the food in our mouths and enjoy the wine again. Light bulbs went off in our heads! We finally understood- this on our last day, in our last tasting room. At the WWC, we were having an experience where the winemaker, wine and food were delivering a total package of authenticity and passion for what savoring wine was all about... emotional connections to the food, the wine and each other. Gone were the memories of countless tasting rooms of the last three days. We were being enveloped in the passion of this family, their legacy and the joy they want the rest of us to feel.

The crowds began to dwindle and soon gone. In the end, at twenty after 8, long after the day was over, it was the four of us. Two folks seeking an experience and the winemaker and his wife sitting, talking and building what I hope is a life long friendship.

Please, treat yourself the next time you are in wine country. Go to the Williamson Wine Company in Healdsburg. Say "hello" to Bill and Dawn and prepare yourself for a new understanding of what winemaking and enjoying, is all about. Thank you very much Bill and Dawn, we will be back... shortly we hope!