Neither Eric nor I slept well the first night of our trip. Our air conditioner was not working so it was very warm in our room. On our way out in the morning I requested that maintenance get the problem fixed while we were out for the day. Leaving Fairfield we headed west on Highway 12 until we reached Sonoma. We parked near the city square and walked around Sonoma to get a feel for the to
wn. We went inside Sonoma Cheese Factory. They had free samples of assortments of cheeses. Everything I tasted was delightful. Eric and I considered purchasing items for a picnic lunch (meat, cheese, olives, and wine). After some more thought we decided against it since we would need plates, knives, glasses, and a corkscrew. That all was going to add up. Instead we walked down the block a little further and had lunch at The Girl and the Fig. We each had a glass of Hahn Syrah and a salami and brie baguette. The baguette was served with red onion confit, sherry mustard and a side of delicious bean salad. The wine was outstanding.
Following lunch we hit the road heading north out of Sonoma toward Glen Ellen. We toured Benziger Family Winery. The tour consists of a tractor-drawn tram ride through some of the vineyards, a walk through the cave, and a wine-tasting. We stopped several
times on the ride for information about the winery, to pick grapes from the vines to taste, and to check out the area where the grapes are fermented. The cave is where the barrels of wine are stored. Wine needs to be stored at a constant fairly cool temperature, so caves are a cheaper alternative for storage for the vineyards. We tasted six different wines, and I found a chardonnay that I really liked (2006 Reserve Chardonnay). With our purchase of the tour we were given a coupon for free tastings for two at Imagery Estate Winery just down the road. It was not on my list of stops, but I am not one to pass up a good deal so we decided to check it out. I was happy that we did because we were able to taste eight different wines and they were all wonderful. Some of our favorites were Wow Oui, Viognier, Sangiovese, Malbec, and Dragon’s Leaf Red.
There were so many places I wanted to stop, but was unable because of the vineyards all closing between 4:30 – 6:00. We made quick stops without going in at Chateau St. Jean and Ledson Winery and Vineyards. They were both beautiful. We then left Sonoma Valley and drove east into Napa Valley. The drive over the mountains was stunning.
Our next stop was in the town of St. Helena (pronounced Saint Hel-een-uh). Our stops in this charming little town included: Beringer Vineyards, The Culinary Institute of America, and St. Helena Olive Oil Company. After checking out CIA, Eric thought it might be a good idea for us to head out west for him to attend school there. At St. Helena Olive Oil Company we tried an assortment of olive oils as well as marinara and barbeque sauces. Just south of St. Helena was V. Sattui Winery. We sampled some fantastic wines while Eric solicited advice from the pourer. It worked well for us, because we were able to try several of the reserve wines that we had not paid for. Unfortunately, V. Sattui does not sell their wines in restaurants or shops – the only places to get them is at the winery so we purchased a bottle of 2006 Syrah. Before leaving we stopped at their gourm
et deli for a late-afternoon snack of salami, smoked Gouda, smoked cheddar, and a fresh baguette. We ate our snack at the picnic tables located in front of the winery beside the vineyard.
On the road again we drove on in to Napa and walked around parts of the town we had missed the night before while looking for dinner options for the evening. As we contemplated our decision we went back to Downtown Joe’s for some beers. We sat on the patio again and after a while we ended up having dinner there. Following Joe’s we drove to our hotel to try to finish the movie we started the night before. When we got there we were disappointed to find out that our air conditioner had not be fixed so I had to call the front desk and request a new room. We packed everything up and moved to a nice cool room. After getting settled we started the movie. Eric made it through this time around, but I did not.
wn. We went inside Sonoma Cheese Factory. They had free samples of assortments of cheeses. Everything I tasted was delightful. Eric and I considered purchasing items for a picnic lunch (meat, cheese, olives, and wine). After some more thought we decided against it since we would need plates, knives, glasses, and a corkscrew. That all was going to add up. Instead we walked down the block a little further and had lunch at The Girl and the Fig. We each had a glass of Hahn Syrah and a salami and brie baguette. The baguette was served with red onion confit, sherry mustard and a side of delicious bean salad. The wine was outstanding.Following lunch we hit the road heading north out of Sonoma toward Glen Ellen. We toured Benziger Family Winery. The tour consists of a tractor-drawn tram ride through some of the vineyards, a walk through the cave, and a wine-tasting. We stopped several
times on the ride for information about the winery, to pick grapes from the vines to taste, and to check out the area where the grapes are fermented. The cave is where the barrels of wine are stored. Wine needs to be stored at a constant fairly cool temperature, so caves are a cheaper alternative for storage for the vineyards. We tasted six different wines, and I found a chardonnay that I really liked (2006 Reserve Chardonnay). With our purchase of the tour we were given a coupon for free tastings for two at Imagery Estate Winery just down the road. It was not on my list of stops, but I am not one to pass up a good deal so we decided to check it out. I was happy that we did because we were able to taste eight different wines and they were all wonderful. Some of our favorites were Wow Oui, Viognier, Sangiovese, Malbec, and Dragon’s Leaf Red.There were so many places I wanted to stop, but was unable because of the vineyards all closing between 4:30 – 6:00. We made quick stops without going in at Chateau St. Jean and Ledson Winery and Vineyards. They were both beautiful. We then left Sonoma Valley and drove east into Napa Valley. The drive over the mountains was stunning.
Our next stop was in the town of St. Helena (pronounced Saint Hel-een-uh). Our stops in this charming little town included: Beringer Vineyards, The Culinary Institute of America, and St. Helena Olive Oil Company. After checking out CIA, Eric thought it might be a good idea for us to head out west for him to attend school there. At St. Helena Olive Oil Company we tried an assortment of olive oils as well as marinara and barbeque sauces. Just south of St. Helena was V. Sattui Winery. We sampled some fantastic wines while Eric solicited advice from the pourer. It worked well for us, because we were able to try several of the reserve wines that we had not paid for. Unfortunately, V. Sattui does not sell their wines in restaurants or shops – the only places to get them is at the winery so we purchased a bottle of 2006 Syrah. Before leaving we stopped at their gourm
et deli for a late-afternoon snack of salami, smoked Gouda, smoked cheddar, and a fresh baguette. We ate our snack at the picnic tables located in front of the winery beside the vineyard.On the road again we drove on in to Napa and walked around parts of the town we had missed the night before while looking for dinner options for the evening. As we contemplated our decision we went back to Downtown Joe’s for some beers. We sat on the patio again and after a while we ended up having dinner there. Following Joe’s we drove to our hotel to try to finish the movie we started the night before. When we got there we were disappointed to find out that our air conditioner had not be fixed so I had to call the front desk and request a new room. We packed everything up and moved to a nice cool room. After getting settled we started the movie. Eric made it through this time around, but I did not.
No comments:
Post a Comment