Spring into Zin - a wine (and food) adventure.
Yesterday was a great day, but, boy, am I poop. We headed to Jeff’s to pick him up at 9:30 and headed up to the Foothills for Spring into Zin - a celebration of the wineries on Steiner Road. The admission included five winery tastings and food pairing. I drove up because I knew that TBG was going to handle the driving after I started wine tasting. That meant having the seat pulled up really close to the wheel as he tried to get comfortable in the back seat. Thankfully, there was no traffic and the drive was fast and easy.
Got to the first winery right on time and were, in fact, first through the door. TBG had been worried having lunch, but he didn’t have anything to fear. Driven, our first stop, offered a cup with a skewer of berries, another of mozzarella ball and cherry tomato, then a skewer of pepper salami, a cube of parmesan cheese and a slice or regular salami and a crostini, along with their wine tasting. Both Jeff and TBG were my designated drivers, so they got water and food, too. We were urged to stay at each winery for an hour, most of the time which was spent sitting in the shade and talking.
The next winery, Dobra Zemlja, offered a small dish of tortellini in a basil sauce, a dish of mozzarella cubes seasoned with olive oil and spices, a few grapes and a chocolate square, and bread sticks. Their wines are highly seasoned. The second zin was so spicy hot that it was almost undrinkable. I stopped after that. It was quiet there, so we sat and just enjoyed the company of a very fluffy black cat and the birds.
The next stop was at Iron Hub, definitely the most crowded of the wineries we stopped at. They were offering a large dish of ravioli and breadsticks with their wine samples. By now I was so full I wanted to pop and stopped eating. This winery was probably the oldest of the batch and very well established. Folks were showing with food hampers just to spend the afternoon there.
After that was Deaven, they were offering up almond pastries, pasta, meatball sandwiches, and bourbon chocolate brownies. This was the smallest of the wineries and were attached to a B&B. We got some information for it for a future weekend away and caught our breath. By now it was about 85 degrees and the air was very hot. Thankfully, a breeze started up and cooled us off.
Finally, we crawled into Shenandoah/Sobon, thankfully, our last stop. They were doing stuffed mushrooms among other things. I had stopped sampling wines except for a couple of tastes at all the wineries after Driven, so I wasn’t even mildly buzzed, which was what I wanted. I didn’t need to taste the wines at Sobon. It’s my favorite winery, so it was more a case of just buying some wines to restock my wine safe. Now it was about three in the afternoon.
Done with the wine tasting, I turned in our tickets, we headed into Sutter Creek to do some shopping. The one store, Made in Amador, I wanted to go to was closed, but we hit a few more… and then it was time for dinner. Yeah, and of course it was Italian. We drove over to Teresa’s and got a nice seat in the garden. Dinner was great, but after their delicious minestrone soup and an incredible cold and crisp salad, I was done. A couple token tastes of my Fettuccini Alfredo and the rest got packed up. We headed home and got back about seven. All in all, a very full day.
Had some good wines, had a fun time with Jeff and got to meet some great dogs and cats along the way. There was a little Frenchie that was too sweet for words, and some border collies… sigh. I miss having a dog at times. The weather could not have been nicer. It was warm, but not overly hot. There was a nice breeze that started around three and the hills were very green and filled with flowers. It was a really great time.
Got to the first winery right on time and were, in fact, first through the door. TBG had been worried having lunch, but he didn’t have anything to fear. Driven, our first stop, offered a cup with a skewer of berries, another of mozzarella ball and cherry tomato, then a skewer of pepper salami, a cube of parmesan cheese and a slice or regular salami and a crostini, along with their wine tasting. Both Jeff and TBG were my designated drivers, so they got water and food, too. We were urged to stay at each winery for an hour, most of the time which was spent sitting in the shade and talking.
The next winery, Dobra Zemlja, offered a small dish of tortellini in a basil sauce, a dish of mozzarella cubes seasoned with olive oil and spices, a few grapes and a chocolate square, and bread sticks. Their wines are highly seasoned. The second zin was so spicy hot that it was almost undrinkable. I stopped after that. It was quiet there, so we sat and just enjoyed the company of a very fluffy black cat and the birds.
The next stop was at Iron Hub, definitely the most crowded of the wineries we stopped at. They were offering a large dish of ravioli and breadsticks with their wine samples. By now I was so full I wanted to pop and stopped eating. This winery was probably the oldest of the batch and very well established. Folks were showing with food hampers just to spend the afternoon there.
After that was Deaven, they were offering up almond pastries, pasta, meatball sandwiches, and bourbon chocolate brownies. This was the smallest of the wineries and were attached to a B&B. We got some information for it for a future weekend away and caught our breath. By now it was about 85 degrees and the air was very hot. Thankfully, a breeze started up and cooled us off.
Finally, we crawled into Shenandoah/Sobon, thankfully, our last stop. They were doing stuffed mushrooms among other things. I had stopped sampling wines except for a couple of tastes at all the wineries after Driven, so I wasn’t even mildly buzzed, which was what I wanted. I didn’t need to taste the wines at Sobon. It’s my favorite winery, so it was more a case of just buying some wines to restock my wine safe. Now it was about three in the afternoon.
Done with the wine tasting, I turned in our tickets, we headed into Sutter Creek to do some shopping. The one store, Made in Amador, I wanted to go to was closed, but we hit a few more… and then it was time for dinner. Yeah, and of course it was Italian. We drove over to Teresa’s and got a nice seat in the garden. Dinner was great, but after their delicious minestrone soup and an incredible cold and crisp salad, I was done. A couple token tastes of my Fettuccini Alfredo and the rest got packed up. We headed home and got back about seven. All in all, a very full day.
Had some good wines, had a fun time with Jeff and got to meet some great dogs and cats along the way. There was a little Frenchie that was too sweet for words, and some border collies… sigh. I miss having a dog at times. The weather could not have been nicer. It was warm, but not overly hot. There was a nice breeze that started around three and the hills were very green and filled with flowers. It was a really great time.