J Vineyards and Winery

Pioneer

J Vineyards and Winery is a pioneer in the wine scene in the Russian River. They went against all rules of established tasting room “procedure” to venture out and do their own thing. Now, their tasting room style and service is being copied by many other wineries in the area and afar.

Background

Almost everything about J goes against the rules. Judy Jordan, the owner and proprietor of J Vineyards, will tell you that she likes to think of herself as a person who goes against the rules as well. No surprise that her winery is the same way! If you recognize her last name, it’s not a coincidence. Her father, Tom Jordan, started the famous Cabernet producing chateau Jordan Winery in Alexander Valley in Sonoma County that is world-famous. Judy worked for her father and in the mid 1980’s, she moved into a facility in Russian River…the problem was, it was too low. The Russian River floods, and this year was no exception. Judy said that “she was in tears watching her barrels float on top of the water inside the facility." So, 1987 branched out (with some help from her father) on her own and purchased the sparkling wine facility from Piper Sonoma right next to Rodney Strong on Old Redwood Hwy, just south of her father’s winery.

Bigger and Better

In this newer and bigger facility, Judy envisioned a big tasting room with a very modern look. The bar is solid glass and the copper/glass sculpture behind the bar goes from floor to ceiling, which she actually had commissioned to be done for the tasting room itself. Modern art adorn the concrete walls and the room has a very nouveau look. To be poured in this new facility was only supposed to be sparkling wine. Judy wanted to focus on making sparkling wines only, but realized that just making sparkling wine would not pay the bills, so again branched out to include Pinot Noir in the portfolio.

Tasting Room Vision

Judy’s vision of the tasting room was simple—food was to be paired with every wine. What makes it really different though is the fact that every single person doing a flight would also get the plate of morsels to go with the wines. Everyone. Not by appointment or for certain guests—it was just the way that the wines would be tasted. People in the industry told her it wouldn’t work. They were wrong. Not only is the food and wine program working, it’s expanded into the reserve tasting room and outside on the patio during warm months. Other wineries have come to J to figure out how they did it, and implement a similar program themselves.

The infamous "J"

Not only was the tasting procedure at J against the norm, the bottles themselves are too. If you’ve ever seen a bottle of wine from J, you will see the big slanted yellow “J” on it, with nothing else. It's actually silk-screened onto the bottle, at a higher cost than a label for sure. Interestingly enough, that is actually officially the BACK label. Federal rules of the wine industry state that certain information has to appear on the front label, so they made what we would consider the back label to be the front label. Judy smiles and says “if the people stocking the wine choose to put it back label forward, not much we can do about it.”

Tasting Room Visit

If you plan to visit, there are a few things to consider: First of all, the winery doesn’t except groups larger than 10…so busses are out. Second, even though you don’t need a reservation, frequently the bar fills up in no time and if you and a group are waiting to taste together, you may be waiting for a very long time. Showing up when they first open is highly recommended, and a trick I tell people who like to visit wineries who are normally busy. On the weekends J sets up stations so you can taste in different spots with plattered food so they can fit more people inside. If you can, try going during the week in the off-season. The wine flight including the food is $20 per person unless you share.

Bubble Room Visit

Another way of tasting J wines is in the Bubble Room, the reserve tasting room off the main tasting room. You have to call in advance for this and to be honest, it’s not cheap ($45-55), but it’s well worth the experience. You are seated in a private room either on the couch or at a nicely laid table. The food that is brought out is a step above the already tasty treats that the executive chef, Mark Caldwell, puts together for the normal flights. The wines you taste are also a step above, too…I tasted some older vintages of sparkling along with some out of magnums. I chose the all sparkling wine flight and received 4 glasses of different sparkling wines. Paired with each wine was a different caviar presented nicely with a mother-of-pearl spoon to enjoy it with. It was spectacular. If you’re in a hurry, this is not for you—it took me and my guests 3 hours to get out of there, we were so enjoying ourselves. When you go to J whichever venue you choose, you’re sure to enjoy yourself.