The Chef Made Wine. Now What?
Matheson Street / Downtown · Healdsburg · Wine bar with small bites · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 26, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Valette Wines at The Matheson’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Valette Wines at The Matheson feels like stepping into a brand showroom — except the brand actually makes interesting wine. The list is tight, intentional, and almost entirely house-label, which is either a feature or a bug depending on how much you trust Chef Dustin Valette's taste. We trust it enough to stay.
This is not a broad list — it's a focused portfolio of Valette Wines built around Sonoma County's best appellations. You've got a Kick Ranch Sauvignon Blanc, a Russian River Rosé of Pinot Noir, a Rochioli Estate Chardonnay, a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, and a Skellenger Vineyard Cabernet — plus a Blanc de Noirs Champagne to kick things off. The sourcing is serious: Rochioli Estate grapes in a house-label Chardonnay isn't something you stumble into. The gap here is obvious — if you came hoping to explore Mendocino or compare producers, you're at the wrong address.
Glass pours reportedly run $15–$30, which tracks with the $28–$70 bottle range on most of the portfolio. We don't have a confirmed glass-pour count, but the bottle list is compact enough that most of it is likely available by the glass. The Rosé of Pinot Noir at $28 a bottle suggests a pour somewhere in the $12–$15 range, which would be one of the better deals in downtown Healdsburg.
2025 Valette Rosé of Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley — $28
Russian River Valley Pinot Noir rosé at $28 a bottle is practically giving it away by Healdsburg standards. This is the entry point that earns the whole list goodwill.
2023 Valette Sauvignon Blanc, Kick Ranch Vineyard
Kick Ranch is a seriously regarded Alexander Valley site and most people will walk right past this to grab the Pinot. Their loss. Single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc at $37 from a named site is the kind of thing wine nerds pay much more for elsewhere.
Valette 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Skellenger Vineyard
At $150 a bottle, this is the one place the list gets steep. Skellenger is a Napa Valley vineyard, which explains the price jump, but you're at a wine bar in Healdsburg — save the big Cab spend for somewhere you can nurse it over a proper meal.
2024 Valette Chardonnay, Rochioli Estate + Seasonal small bites (chef Dustin Valette-designed snacks)
Rochioli Chardonnay has the richness and structure to hold up to anything fatty or umami-forward, and Dustin Valette's kitchen sensibility leans exactly that direction. It's a house wine in the most flattering sense of the phrase.
The Bottom Line
Valette Wines at The Matheson is a single-producer wine bar that actually justifies the concept — the sourcing is legit, the prices are fair, and the Healdsburg plaza setting makes it an easy yes for a pre-dinner glass or two. Don't come expecting range; come expecting quality.
· Healdsburg · California Seafood
Handline earns its Wild Card badge not because the wine list is extraordinary on paper, but because the combination — California seafood, counter service, string lights, Sonoma-focused wine — shouldn't work this well and somehow does. If you're road-tripping through wine country and want a low-pressure lunch with local pours and grilled oysters, this is exactly the kind of detour worth making. Just go in knowing the wine list is supporting cast, not the headline act.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Healdsburg · Steakhouse
Stark's is the rare steakhouse that treats wine as something other than an afterthought or a cash grab. The list is compact but genuinely considered, markups are fair across the board, and the full bottle-to-glass availability is a policy every restaurant should copy. If you're eating in Healdsburg and want to drink well without overpaying, this is a legitimate stop.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Healdsburg · Italian
Ciao Bruto is running one of the smallest and most coherent wine lists in wine country, which is either audacious or brilliant — probably both. If you want a 200-label deep-dive, go somewhere else. If you want eight smart picks at prices that won't make you wince, this is the move in Healdsburg.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Healdsburg · Wine Bar
Maison is what happens when someone builds a wine bar list with genuine curiosity instead of a regional checklist — you're in the heart of Sonoma Wine Country and the list keeps pointing you toward Mosel Riesling, Douro whites, and 1934 Madeira. The by-the-glass program alone justifies a visit, and the pricing is fair enough that you can explore without flinching. If you're in Healdsburg and you actually care about wine, this is the stop.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Healdsburg · New American
The Spinster Sisters are doing something genuinely unusual in Healdsburg: running an adventurous, globally-minded wine list at prices that don't make you do math before ordering a second glass. If you care even a little about wine, this list is worth your time — and if you're a local Sonoma drinker who wants to try something that isn't another Valley Chardonnay, this is exactly the detour you've been looking for.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Healdsburg · Seafood
The Marshall Store earns its reputation as a low-key, scenic spot for fresh West Coast oysters and smoked salmon — and if that's your mission, it delivers. But the wine program is effectively an afterthought: undocumented, uncurated, and not a reason to visit. Bring a bottle from one of the Healdsburg producers down the road, check the corkage policy at the door, and spend your energy on the food.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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