Day 3: SONOMAAfter a continental breakfast at the hotel and an unhurried preparation for the day, we set off to see Sonoma and sample it's offerings. We picked up brochures and maps the night before, but had not made much of an effort to effect a plan for the day. I took to the computer and the various publications we had acquired and picked approximately eight wineries to visit, based on our wine preferences: Cabernets, Zinfandels and Chardonnays. Chards were for me, my husband loves the reds. In most cases we stayed away from those that charged for tastings or offered tastings by appointment only.
First stop was Sausal Winery in the Alexander Valley. Sausal opened it's doors in 1973. We enjoyed the reds and purchased a couple of bottles of their 2006 Private Reserve Zinfandel. Our wine steward(?) was quite helpful and gave us some tips for other vineyards to visit. She referred us to the next winery we visited.
Next stop was Field Stone Winery. Their tasting room and winey is underground and we enjoyed the couple pouring the wines. They were entertaining and gave us great tips for lunch and dinner. We got a tip for a great Italian restaurant to have dinner that night and the local stop to hit for lunch. We also ran into a couple we recognized from our gym back in Oregon. Small world! We purchased a 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2006 PetiteSirah.
Lunch! Note: Do not forget to eat while sampling the fruits of the vine! We got a tip to eat at Jim Town. On the outside it appears to be a grocery, which they are, but inside is a great little deli too. I had the local's favorite, a ham and brie on an Italian roll. My husband picked a tuna on wheat. We ate out back at a table under a grapevine covered arbor. The only drawback was the table of pretensious So Californians who were one-upping each other with their name-dropping.
The following pictures are from the grounds of Trentadue.
We drove through Francis Ford Coppola's winery grounds, but there was an expansion and lots of construction going on. We stopped at the make-shift tasting room, but were put off by the tasting fees, so we moved on without sampling.
Raymond Burr Vineyards was next on the the list. It is located in the Dry Creek Valley. It made the list because of the name only. We did not buy wine here but it was harvest time so I sneaked into the vineyard and got this picture of harvest-ready red grapes.
Zichichi was recommended to us by Sausal for their Cabernets. We did a flight of wines in their tasting room then were taken out to their cellar to taste the 2008's. This winery sells exclusively to customers, none is distributed. They typically sell out their Cabs before they are actually released. We purchased "futures" here. We ordered a half case of the 2008 Zichichi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, release date is spring 2010. We should get our wine in March 2010. To clarify, Zichchi is located in Dry Creek Valley but this wine was from grapes in Napa.
Our last winery we visited was Sbragia. Sbragia was recommended for its Chardonnay. It like Raymond Burr and Zichchi is located in the Dry Creek Valley. The locals call it Miami Vice as it is a very modern building with a teal roof sitting high atop of hill in Geyersville. I finally got a couple of whites, a 2008 Sauvignon Blanc and their 2007 Home Ranch Chardonnay. The following pictures are of the deck outside the tasting room and the view.
Back to the hotel for a cat nap and then on to dinner. We followed an earlier recommendation and went to Nonni's Ristorante in Santa Rosa for dinner. It is located in the historic downtown area and you are greeted by the owner. The food was fabulous Italian, service was wonderful and the pasta - unbelievable.
Tomorrow - Napa
stay tuned....
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