Honeymoon Part 1
Jason and I just got back late last night from our honeymoon in Sonoma County, California (otherwise known as CA wine country). We had an amazing time drinking good wine and eating good food. I am already trying to plan a trip back! I have never learned so much on a vacation as I did here. Now I can consider myself a true wine snob!
For my own reference I am going to list every winery we visited. I was half drunk towards the end of everyday, so I might have a hard time remembering everything! :)
Dry Creek Valley:
Dry Creek is known for their zinfandels. Jason and I weren't zin drinkers before this trip, but we are converts! It's a very middle-of-nowhere feel out there. We were the only people in the majority of the tasting rooms that day.
Preston of Dry Creek- First taste of decent CA zinfandel, beautiful scenery, very private, lots of cats!
Bella- Tasting room was inside a cave! Very cool barrel room in the cave. Picked up a bottle of their Dry Creek zin.
Dutcher Crossing- Only open since November 05, super friendly staff, brought home a bottle of their sauvignon blanc.
Ferari-Canaro- Too touristy! Just wandered around the building, didn't feel like fighting for a taste.
Russian River Valley:
Russian River is known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It is so beautiful out by the river! Such a cute little hippy community. Everything is in little log cabins and people are selling handmade wind chimes by the side of the road. They even had a "free alternative high school" out there. Little busier than Dry Creek, but not by much.
Korbel- Pretty touristy, had a Jamaican fest going on with yummy snacks, decent champagne (pardon me, CA sparkling wine), beautiful old building and gardens.
Hop Kiln- Used to roast hops for beer in the 1800s, tasting room is full of snacks to sample! Had a few decent white wines, including a nice blend
Armida- Decent red wines, but gimicky as hell! "Poizin" is their signature wine. Had a nice late harvest zin, but nothing special.
Kendall-Jackson- Beautiful grounds, before harvest you can taste 25 different varietals straight from the vine! Wines sucked, tasting room staff sucked as well. You can buy this crap at the grocery store for under $10.
Healdsburg:
Healdsburg is a cute little town in northern Sonoma County. We didn't get to spend a whole lot of time there.
Seghesio- Got to meet the owner/winemaker (Ed Seghesio)! Sweet old third generation Italian family winemaker. Great Italian style wines, including a yummy Sangiovese. Picked up a bottle of Arneis, which apparently not many wineries in the world produce.
Alexander Valley:
Cabernet Sauvignon is king out here. It was totally deserted in Alexander Valley when we visited. It's so wonderful to have tasting rooms all to yourself. You realy get a chance to talk to the staff about the wines, and can actually leave saying you learned something.
Stonestreet- Pretty new place, does flights instead of the traditional taste. Did a side-by-side of their cab from 1999 and 2000, and its amazing to taste the difference. Got a free 1/2 bottle of cab for being on our honeymoon. Took home some sauvignon blanc that they age in oak. Isn't that weird?
Sausal- Didn't actually taste at sausal, but had a glass of their private reserve zin at dinner. A member of their staff was also tasting at stonestreet so we got to chat. Nice fella from virginia. :)
Hanna- 100% estate winery (meaning they own the vineyards where they get their grapes). Brought home a bottle of a dry rose made from syrah grapes.
Field Stone- Very intimate tasting room, got to chat at length with the manager. They had a interesting dry rose made from sangiovese and a merlot that I didn't hate. Picked up a half bottle of 2001 cab.
That is only 13 of 26 wineries we visited over the week! I can't type anymore right now, and I'm sure if you actually made it this far, you're begging me to stop. I will continue with part 2 of the trip sometime this weekend while its still fresh in my mind.
For my own reference I am going to list every winery we visited. I was half drunk towards the end of everyday, so I might have a hard time remembering everything! :)
Dry Creek Valley:
Dry Creek is known for their zinfandels. Jason and I weren't zin drinkers before this trip, but we are converts! It's a very middle-of-nowhere feel out there. We were the only people in the majority of the tasting rooms that day.
Preston of Dry Creek- First taste of decent CA zinfandel, beautiful scenery, very private, lots of cats!
Bella- Tasting room was inside a cave! Very cool barrel room in the cave. Picked up a bottle of their Dry Creek zin.
Dutcher Crossing- Only open since November 05, super friendly staff, brought home a bottle of their sauvignon blanc.
Ferari-Canaro- Too touristy! Just wandered around the building, didn't feel like fighting for a taste.
Russian River Valley:
Russian River is known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It is so beautiful out by the river! Such a cute little hippy community. Everything is in little log cabins and people are selling handmade wind chimes by the side of the road. They even had a "free alternative high school" out there. Little busier than Dry Creek, but not by much.
Korbel- Pretty touristy, had a Jamaican fest going on with yummy snacks, decent champagne (pardon me, CA sparkling wine), beautiful old building and gardens.
Hop Kiln- Used to roast hops for beer in the 1800s, tasting room is full of snacks to sample! Had a few decent white wines, including a nice blend
Armida- Decent red wines, but gimicky as hell! "Poizin" is their signature wine. Had a nice late harvest zin, but nothing special.
Kendall-Jackson- Beautiful grounds, before harvest you can taste 25 different varietals straight from the vine! Wines sucked, tasting room staff sucked as well. You can buy this crap at the grocery store for under $10.
Healdsburg:
Healdsburg is a cute little town in northern Sonoma County. We didn't get to spend a whole lot of time there.
Seghesio- Got to meet the owner/winemaker (Ed Seghesio)! Sweet old third generation Italian family winemaker. Great Italian style wines, including a yummy Sangiovese. Picked up a bottle of Arneis, which apparently not many wineries in the world produce.
Alexander Valley:
Cabernet Sauvignon is king out here. It was totally deserted in Alexander Valley when we visited. It's so wonderful to have tasting rooms all to yourself. You realy get a chance to talk to the staff about the wines, and can actually leave saying you learned something.
Stonestreet- Pretty new place, does flights instead of the traditional taste. Did a side-by-side of their cab from 1999 and 2000, and its amazing to taste the difference. Got a free 1/2 bottle of cab for being on our honeymoon. Took home some sauvignon blanc that they age in oak. Isn't that weird?
Sausal- Didn't actually taste at sausal, but had a glass of their private reserve zin at dinner. A member of their staff was also tasting at stonestreet so we got to chat. Nice fella from virginia. :)
Hanna- 100% estate winery (meaning they own the vineyards where they get their grapes). Brought home a bottle of a dry rose made from syrah grapes.
Field Stone- Very intimate tasting room, got to chat at length with the manager. They had a interesting dry rose made from sangiovese and a merlot that I didn't hate. Picked up a half bottle of 2001 cab.
That is only 13 of 26 wineries we visited over the week! I can't type anymore right now, and I'm sure if you actually made it this far, you're begging me to stop. I will continue with part 2 of the trip sometime this weekend while its still fresh in my mind.