Wine Tasting on a Former Naval Air Base

When you think of wine tasting in Northern California images of a tasting room, set in a lovely winery, surrounded by rolling hills and vineyards usually comes to mind. But, on a recent visit to the San Francisco Bay Area we found a winery, in an unexpected place, that shattered this image and exceeded all expectations.

Rock Wall Wine Company is located on Alameda Point in an area known as Spirits Alley. Situated on a former Naval Air Station, Spirits Alley is a collection of artisan distilleries and wineries all housed in historic hangars. These oversized buildings sit at the end of Alameda with stunning views of the San Francisco skyline, across the bay.

We visited on a clear, sunny Saturday, perfect for enjoying the outdoor space. The tasting room bar overlooked their patio, once a runway for naval jets it now is filled with picnic tables, outdoor couches and a family friendly game area with bocce ball and cornhole games.

First item on the agenda was lunch and wine to pair with it. Rock Wall has a restaurant partner, Scolari's At the Point, as well as offering food truck options. We choose the food truck @jackrabbitkitchen since we couldn’t resist the descriptions of their “burnt ends” brisket slides, Famous Mac N Cheese and their Cheddar & Scallion mashed potato tots. Once the lunch decision was made it was time to pick the wine. We opted for a glass of Rock Wall sparkling Brut Noir and their Sauvignon Blanc. Both wines were exceptional and paired perfectly with the amazing lunch!

After lunch we headed inside to do a tasting. Although the bar was crowded the service was exceptional. We were helped but a super friendly and knowledgeable associate, Judith. Not only did she provide great information about each wine, where the grapes came from and the production, she gave us the history of the property and the background of Shauna Rosenblum, Winemaker, and her dad Kent Rosenblum, CEO (founder of Rosenblum Cellars).

We knew we would love the wines when we saw that the line-up included primarily zinfandel (our favorite varietal). We were not disappointed, each wine was better than the last and left us wanting to try the other 30+ on their menu. Next time you are in the San Franciso Bay area we highly recommend a visit to Rock Wall Wine Company.