Honeymoon Wineries
Our honeymoon has been so wonderful - wish it would never end!
Chris referred us to an awesome tour guide: Vino Van Tours w/ Tom Delaney. He took us to 8 wineries on Tuesday adn got us started and comfortable in our own shoes to do some exploring on our own. Here's my take on them and others we made it to on our own:
FRANCIS FORD COPPOLLA PRESENTS
the winery itself was beautiful, but it was not all together "lived in". FFC was still moving in as indicated by the "moving in" signs everywhere. It made the atmosphere a little tacky. Apparently, plans are to make the Napa Valley FFC the home of the more upscale wines and the Sonoma FFC will be for their more common table wines. The tasting room opened at 11, but they opened the doors for us at 10 which was nice. All wines we tried were mediocre at best.
WINES TASTED: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah / Shiraz, Rosso Shiraz, Director's Reserve Merlot
BELLA
in the heart of the Dry Creek Valley. The tasting room was in a cave - the atmosphere was very dark and mysterious. Loved it. Small tasting menu but staff was very nice and made recommendations in the area.
WINES TASTED: Rose', Big River Ranch Zinfandel (purchased), Syrah
FERRARI CARANO
The grounds were breathtaking - reminded me of something out of a beautiful Italian or Tuscan painting. Staff was helpful and facility was as beautiful inside as outside.
WINES TASTED: Sangiovese, Syrah, Tresor (purchased), Eldarodo Noir (purchased)
MAURITSON
Facility was small, but the staff seemed familiar with history of vineyard. They offered chocolates that were amazing to bring out the taste of each individual wine. We did one reserve and one complimentary tasting.
WINES TASTED: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel Reserve, Syrah Reserve, Petite Sirah (purchased)
SIMI
This winery has an old history and came highly recommended from local restaurants and from the tour guide. Not sure if it was the long monring of wine tastings, but all these wines seemed to lack something of originality. The staff however was very nice and provided us with a free reserve tasting on account of our honeymoon.
WINES TASTED: 02 Cabernet Savignon Reserve, 01 Cabernet Savignon Reserve, 05 Pinot Gris, 05 Syrah Rose', 02 Shiraz, 03 Merlot
RIDGE
How bad is this... but I have absolutely no memory of being here, I just have a note that we went there. Guess it was not that impressive!
WINES TASTED: Chardonnay, Cabernet / Merlot, Zinfandel, Lytton Springs
PASSALACQUA
Winery had a beautiful picturesque view that after a few of the firs tglasses of wine i decided was preferrble to enjoy than drinking the wine. The staff was unusual but informed about the wine. Passalacqua is apparently a politician in the area so not sure what came first, the political career or the winery but in either case the wine was not impressive in the least.
WINES TASTED: Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River Zinfandel, Sonoma Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, Sonoma County Merlot, Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
SEGHESIO
Winery was small and at this point in the tour day I was wined out. Only the OMaggio was worth really giving any attention to.
WINES TASTED: Costiera Pinot Noir, Barbera, Sangiovese, Home Ranch Zinfandel, Old Vine Zinfandel, OMaggio
ROSHAMBO
This was a sudden stop on the way to see the Redwoods. This place was unbelievable! We were referred there by the local chamber of commerce as being a great winery for "younger folk." It did in fact have a real young flair - the hostess was punk rock goth and the walls were adorned with modern art from a local artist. Apparently the name is not from South Park, but from the Californian slang term for paper, rock, scissors. With such a young vibe, I had expected the wine to not be so great. To the contrary, the wine was fabulous!
WINES TASTED: Syrah (purchased), Rose' (purchased), Zinfandel (purchased), Chardonnay (purchased)
HANNA
This was a spur of the moment stop 2 days after the tour so we were ready for more wine. This was the best place to kick the tastings back off. The scenery from atop the hill the tasting room was on was stunning. The staff was extremely informative and even recommended we try the last glass (the expensive blend) out on the veranda. It really was the best way to enjoy that glass. We were told the Chardonnay wa snot available for tasting because 4 Seasons had purchased the full rights to all production of it from vintages 04-07! Must be impressive.
WINES TASTED: 02 Sauvignon Blanc, 02 Jasmine Syrah, 01 Merlot "Wine of the month" (purchased), 03 Zinfandel (purchased)
STRYKER
This was a winery recommended by our tour guide but we never got over to during our tour. It was an excellent recommendation. The staff had a lot of wines open and were more than happy to pour them all for us to try. In fact, we tried 15 different wines and they even offered a few of the wines twice! Each and everyone had a distinct taste and it was clear why they had won so many gold medal awards. After the tasting, the staff mapped out a few wineries that they would recommend we visit which I thought was above and beyond!
WINES TASTED: Semillon (purchased), Reserve Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel Russian River Reserve, Zinfandel Alexander Valley, Zinfandel Dry Creek (purchased), Jen's Red blend, Syrah Estate, Merlot Reserve, Sonoma Merlot, Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon, Speedy Creek Cabernet, Monte Rosso Cabernet, Two Moon Cabernet (purchased), E1K
J
We headed here intentionally because we had dinner at Dry Creek Kitchen and Pat ordered a delicious glass of J Pinot Noir. The staff was fun and friendly and not pretentious at all. The tasting was served as a pairing, and though it was a good sampling of their 4 specialties and 2 additonals, it was not worth the $20.00 charge. The food they offered with each tasting was appropriate but not really that appetizing.
WINES TASTED: 00 Vintage Brut, 05 Pinot Gris (purchased), Ratafia, 02 Nicole's Vineyard Pinot Noir, 04 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, 03 Robert Thomas Vineyard Pinot Noir, 03 Zinfandel
Hoping to fit in a few more tomorrow with our last day in wine country. All in all, it has been wonderful and I can't wait to stock our wine rack at home with all our newly acquired treasures!
Chris referred us to an awesome tour guide: Vino Van Tours w/ Tom Delaney. He took us to 8 wineries on Tuesday adn got us started and comfortable in our own shoes to do some exploring on our own. Here's my take on them and others we made it to on our own:
FRANCIS FORD COPPOLLA PRESENTS
the winery itself was beautiful, but it was not all together "lived in". FFC was still moving in as indicated by the "moving in" signs everywhere. It made the atmosphere a little tacky. Apparently, plans are to make the Napa Valley FFC the home of the more upscale wines and the Sonoma FFC will be for their more common table wines. The tasting room opened at 11, but they opened the doors for us at 10 which was nice. All wines we tried were mediocre at best.
WINES TASTED: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah / Shiraz, Rosso Shiraz, Director's Reserve Merlot
BELLA
in the heart of the Dry Creek Valley. The tasting room was in a cave - the atmosphere was very dark and mysterious. Loved it. Small tasting menu but staff was very nice and made recommendations in the area.
WINES TASTED: Rose', Big River Ranch Zinfandel (purchased), Syrah
FERRARI CARANO
The grounds were breathtaking - reminded me of something out of a beautiful Italian or Tuscan painting. Staff was helpful and facility was as beautiful inside as outside.
WINES TASTED: Sangiovese, Syrah, Tresor (purchased), Eldarodo Noir (purchased)
MAURITSON
Facility was small, but the staff seemed familiar with history of vineyard. They offered chocolates that were amazing to bring out the taste of each individual wine. We did one reserve and one complimentary tasting.
WINES TASTED: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel Reserve, Syrah Reserve, Petite Sirah (purchased)
SIMI
This winery has an old history and came highly recommended from local restaurants and from the tour guide. Not sure if it was the long monring of wine tastings, but all these wines seemed to lack something of originality. The staff however was very nice and provided us with a free reserve tasting on account of our honeymoon.
WINES TASTED: 02 Cabernet Savignon Reserve, 01 Cabernet Savignon Reserve, 05 Pinot Gris, 05 Syrah Rose', 02 Shiraz, 03 Merlot
RIDGE
How bad is this... but I have absolutely no memory of being here, I just have a note that we went there. Guess it was not that impressive!
WINES TASTED: Chardonnay, Cabernet / Merlot, Zinfandel, Lytton Springs
PASSALACQUA
Winery had a beautiful picturesque view that after a few of the firs tglasses of wine i decided was preferrble to enjoy than drinking the wine. The staff was unusual but informed about the wine. Passalacqua is apparently a politician in the area so not sure what came first, the political career or the winery but in either case the wine was not impressive in the least.
WINES TASTED: Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River Zinfandel, Sonoma Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, Sonoma County Merlot, Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
SEGHESIO
Winery was small and at this point in the tour day I was wined out. Only the OMaggio was worth really giving any attention to.
WINES TASTED: Costiera Pinot Noir, Barbera, Sangiovese, Home Ranch Zinfandel, Old Vine Zinfandel, OMaggio
ROSHAMBO
This was a sudden stop on the way to see the Redwoods. This place was unbelievable! We were referred there by the local chamber of commerce as being a great winery for "younger folk." It did in fact have a real young flair - the hostess was punk rock goth and the walls were adorned with modern art from a local artist. Apparently the name is not from South Park, but from the Californian slang term for paper, rock, scissors. With such a young vibe, I had expected the wine to not be so great. To the contrary, the wine was fabulous!
WINES TASTED: Syrah (purchased), Rose' (purchased), Zinfandel (purchased), Chardonnay (purchased)
HANNA
This was a spur of the moment stop 2 days after the tour so we were ready for more wine. This was the best place to kick the tastings back off. The scenery from atop the hill the tasting room was on was stunning. The staff was extremely informative and even recommended we try the last glass (the expensive blend) out on the veranda. It really was the best way to enjoy that glass. We were told the Chardonnay wa snot available for tasting because 4 Seasons had purchased the full rights to all production of it from vintages 04-07! Must be impressive.
WINES TASTED: 02 Sauvignon Blanc, 02 Jasmine Syrah, 01 Merlot "Wine of the month" (purchased), 03 Zinfandel (purchased)
STRYKER
This was a winery recommended by our tour guide but we never got over to during our tour. It was an excellent recommendation. The staff had a lot of wines open and were more than happy to pour them all for us to try. In fact, we tried 15 different wines and they even offered a few of the wines twice! Each and everyone had a distinct taste and it was clear why they had won so many gold medal awards. After the tasting, the staff mapped out a few wineries that they would recommend we visit which I thought was above and beyond!
WINES TASTED: Semillon (purchased), Reserve Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel Russian River Reserve, Zinfandel Alexander Valley, Zinfandel Dry Creek (purchased), Jen's Red blend, Syrah Estate, Merlot Reserve, Sonoma Merlot, Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon, Speedy Creek Cabernet, Monte Rosso Cabernet, Two Moon Cabernet (purchased), E1K
J
We headed here intentionally because we had dinner at Dry Creek Kitchen and Pat ordered a delicious glass of J Pinot Noir. The staff was fun and friendly and not pretentious at all. The tasting was served as a pairing, and though it was a good sampling of their 4 specialties and 2 additonals, it was not worth the $20.00 charge. The food they offered with each tasting was appropriate but not really that appetizing.
WINES TASTED: 00 Vintage Brut, 05 Pinot Gris (purchased), Ratafia, 02 Nicole's Vineyard Pinot Noir, 04 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, 03 Robert Thomas Vineyard Pinot Noir, 03 Zinfandel
Hoping to fit in a few more tomorrow with our last day in wine country. All in all, it has been wonderful and I can't wait to stock our wine rack at home with all our newly acquired treasures!