661. California's Wine Country

Where: Napa & Sonoma, California
When: June 14 & 16, 2014
With: Dave, Rachel & Aryeh

So many trips to California, but never a trip to its famous wine country despite my love of all things vino. With Rachel still living out in San Francisco, and for an indeterminate amount of time, this trip needed to happen fast!

So Dave and I flew out on a Friday night to SF, and very early the next morning, we all piled into Rachel's car to head to Sonoma. We stayed in the town of Santa Rosa at one of the few hotels that allowed us to stay just one night (most inns in wine country request a two-night minimum, especially over a weekend), the Hotel La Rose. It was beautiful, old and charming. 

As there were no wineries in Santa Rosa, we didn't spend much time there. However, this town had two interesting traits associated with it. First, it is apparently a mecca for craft breweries. Second, it is the home of the Charles M. Schulz Museum, dedicated to all things Peanuts comics. I knew it was the right start to a trip when I saw all the statues of Snoopy and friends all around the town.

Anyway, back to wine. Rachel arranged for this great service to tour wine country: a guy who came to drive us around in her car. It's way less expensive than a formal tour, but just as fun and hits just as many wineries. We had to book our own tastings, but being with regular visitors, they knew which ones to go to, so it was perfect!

The first winery we headed to was Iron Horse. This was a great choice for a first stop since it is renowned for its great views. Its tasting "room" is situated outside, so we were able to enjoy the scenery while we had our first taste of wines. 

A little sample of the menus. Dave and I tried the red tasting menu, while Rachel and Aryeh tasted the sparkling wine that they'd end up using for their wedding toast!

 As the hour went on, we found ourselves gravitating more and more towards the view and further away from the bar (which is saying something about this view). 

Finally, we entered into a photo agreement with a couple of other tasters. This inevitably resulted in many funny photos taken by people that were probably too intoxicated for such a task. At least we got a couple nice ones. 

Our second tasting was at VML Winery. While the view wasn't quite the same as Iron Horse, the outdoor patio was filled with flowers and live music. 

 

Our third tasting was at the Hook & Ladder Winery. Founded by a former firefighter, the tasting room was filled with paraphenalia from fire departments all over the country. This place also had some great outdoor seating. 

Our final tasting of the day was our only scheduled appointment. My dad's cousin is a HUGE wine conneuisour who often brings unknown wineries into the NJ market by hosting his own private tastings. One family of winemakers has become close friends with him, and when he heard we'd be in Sonoma, he booked us in. 

The Donelan winery was certainly not the prettiest: it's pretty much a warehouse in the middle of an office complex. However, one of the family members (Tripp) gave us a behind the scenes tour of their storage facilities. He even let us try the wine straight from the barrel! The long tube he'd dip in was called, appropriately, a "wine thief".

Despite being the least scenic, it was the place we purchased the most wine from (a perk to having your own car with you). Was it the best wine or just that it was the last tasting of the day? I like to believe best wine. 

Rachel and Aryeh had to head back to SF the next day, but that didn't end Dave and my wine tasting experience. A couple days later, we booked ourselves on a day trip into California's other famous wine region: Napa. Separated from the Sonoma Valley by a mountain range, Napa is bit more famous and as such, more touristy. 

Our trip began with a boat ride out of the San Francisco ferry building. It was pretty hard to beat this trip as we watched the skyline of SF pass us by while we headed north to our pick-up point. 

We cruised to the northern part of the bay towards the port town of Vallejo. From there, we were picked up by a driver on a group tour that had not filled out: Dave and I were the only guests! So we had our own private ride through the valley. 

The first stop was a well known one: a little bubbly to kick off the morning at Domaine Chandon. The grounds here were massive and beautiful. There were fountains and ponds and restaurants. Clearly an estate and much more fancy than the places we'd gone to in Sonoma. 

As it was still very early in the morning, we decided a sparkling wine tasting was the best way to go. 

The day went by in a blur. After that, I remember being slightly giggly when we went to my favorite of the tastings, Flora Springs. It was just a simple store front, with no outer grounds, but every single glass of wine I tried on their reds menu was incredible. For the first time ever, I bought myself a case of wine. I had to have them ALL. 

At one point, our driver went past The French Laundry, one of the nicest restaurants in the world. However, he then insisted we take a photo in front of it, which I'm really not a fan of when we didn't actually eat there. I'm sad to say this is the only photo of Dave and I from the day. I hate being these people. 

For lunch, we went to Devon & Blakely and got ourselves huge sub sandwiches. From there, the driver knew a winery that allowed us to bring our sandwiches in while we tasted wine. We sat in a shady courtyard, devouring the much needed food and enjoying the peaceful area. 

After that, we only had time for one more tasting. This one turned out to be the "go big or go home" one: Silverado Vineyards. This vineyard was actually owned by Walt Disney's daughter Diane, which has given it a bit of fame. The views here were incredible. 

After that, it was time to head back to Vallejo for our boat back to SF. I wish I could remember more about the details of this trip, like the types of wine I liked, or the way they hit my pallette, blah blah blah. But for one thing, I have a terrible palatte and can't remember those things normally. Second, doesn't everyone like something different? So no point in me trying to sway opinions. And third, if I could remember those things, doesn't that mean I didn't really enjoy wine country?

So instead I bring you video of our drive through the valley. 

So glad we finally got to experience the American answer to European vineyards. It was just as beautiful and delicious.