The Place
With National award winning architecture, this Mediterranean compound was once a modest rural homestead and TV repair shop. The Madrones was established over the past 20 years by designer Jim Roberts, who is much more comfortable now being referred to as "The Groundskeeper” for the property.
Originally a design center and creative think tank, the cloistered buildings with courtyards and arcades are now home to four separate wine tasting rooms representing some of the finest handcrafted and small lot wineries in the Anderson Valley region. At the end of the east-side arcade is the rural lifestyle store Sun & Cricket, Jim's original reason for purchasing the property years ago. In addition to the shop and tasting rooms, there are four estate guest quarters for overnight travelers who wish to explore the bucolic Anderson Valley.
The courtyards and arcades offer a perfect Al fresco environment to picnic and relax. The cottage is still a private residence, but on some weekends the gardens can be viewed through iron gates at the west-side arcade by Bink Wines. There is a culinary kitchen garden that produces a good portion of the produced needed on the property. Produce for canning comes from the orchard and production garden at the family property "Sugar Hill Farm" in Philo. Open garden tours and our "Elder Series” workshops are posted under the Workshop section of the website.