Now is a bucolic time to be wandering around wine country. Harvest has completed for most wineries, and wines are bubbling and burbling their way through their secondary fermentations. It’s the time of year that wine country really becomes wine country. As the afternoon sun angles low, life gets pretty idyllic around Sonoma, and the timing is good to relax with friends and a nice glass of wine. Which is why, I suppose, around this time of year we are treated to the opportunity to attend The Pinot on The River Festival .

Now in its twelfth year of providing an intimate and casual way to enjoy some of the best Pinot Noirs from Sonoma county and around the state, this festival is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

This event is simply a walk-around tasting of wine in the beautiful plaza square in Healdsburg, at the heart of the Russian River Valleyand represents an opportunity to taste a lot of really great wine for not that much money, so I highly recommend it to anyone who loves Pinot Noir, or who is interested in learning whether or not they do.

If you’re interested in the wines that are poured at the event, here’s the list of wineries scheduled to attend. If you don’t have plans this coming Sunday, I highly recommend a trip.

Pinot on The River Festival 2016
Sunday, October 23rd
12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Healdsburg Plaza in Downtown
Healdsburg, CA 95448

Tickets will run you $75 for the tasting if you buy them online in the next 24 hours or so. Proceeds benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County. After midnight on the 21st, you’ll have to buy a ticket at the door for $100. The weather is looking idyllic for this coming weekend. So it’s a fantastic time to be out and about in the artsy beauty of downtown Healdsburg.