Sonomy County:
Wine Country, Northern California #2, 2010!
All photos taken by me.
(Just thought I 'd throw that in) : )
My friend Greg and I (this time, I forgot to bring Mookie, the Travel Cow) are spending
a week on a road trip to Sonoma County, CA. This is our 2nd trip here, the last being in 2006.
We came down I-5, stayed overnight at Seven Feather's Casino and Resort in Canyonville, OR
(where I won $106 playing blackjack and slots. Woohoo!) Next day, we continued down I-5,
stopped for lunch in Willows, CA, at Black Bear Diner (it was 104 degrees outside) and then
wound our way through the mountains toward Windsor along highways 20, 53, 29, 128 and
various other tight, twisty roads.
Once again, we stayed at the TrendWest/WorldMark in Windsor, CA -- about 70 miles north
of San Francisco. We'll head to several, but certainly not all of the area's
many, many wineries. One of my favorites from last time, Davis Bynum Winery, apparently
sold their label to Rodney Strong Vineyards. The vineyards and facilities are now
Thomas George Estates.
On Sunday, we started off at the southern end of West Side Road, revisting several
wineries we saw last time. Once again, I felt like I wasn't enjoying the wines but
remembering that with aging and decanting, they always taste really good. So, I bought
several bottles. We went to lunch in Forestville (a bit south of Windsor) at Sarah's
Forestville Kitchen. We sat in the courtyard underneath an oak tree (I think) that was
surrounded by a planter. I was having fun taking pictures of the flowers with my
cell phone's camera.
On Monday, we started where we left off on Sunday, again going northward on West Side Road.
We visited 5 wineries this time. The wines seemed to get much more enjoyable for me
the farther north we went. Yay!
On Tuesday, we continued our way north on West Side Road, and entered Dry Creek Valley
appellation. We stepped off of West Side Road, and went northward on West Dry Creek Road.
We learned that while Russian River Valley is best known for Pinot Noirs, Dry Creek was
known more for their Zinfandels. I started to realize that maybe I wasn't such the Pinot
fan I thought I was, as every Zin I tried was enjoyable. With white wines, I was focusing
on Sauvignon Blancs. Our first winery visit was to De La Montanya Winery which is, so far,
my favorite of the trip. Their wines were so tasty, I ended up joining their wine club.
Twice a year, I'll get shipments of wine costing around $165 each (about 6 bottles). For lunch,
we went to Healdsburg Bar and Grill. Had a nummy burger and a Stell Artois. Mmmmm!
On Wednesday, we decided to start on Dry Creek Road (a bit east of where we had been
on Tuesday). The first one we visited was Wilson Winery, my 2nd favorite so far this
trip. After a few more wineries, we stopped for lunch at Dry Creek General Store,
which several wineries had recommended. I had a fantastic sandwich: "The Fiery Italian",
which is "Dino's" Calabrese Sausage, aged provolone, arugula and a house-made Calabrese
chili mayo, grilled on Ciabatta bread. It was super spicy, but oooohh so good.
We then headed back to highway 101 via Lytton Springs road, stopping at 2 more wineries
on the way.
On Thursday, we went back to the northern edge of Dry Creek Valley. We left highway 101
at Canyon Road and started our trip at Pedroncelli Winery. One of the vineyards,
Ferrari-Carraro, had the most amazing grounds: in some areas, perfectly manicured lawns
were trimmed with squared-off hedges and carefully laid out flowers of all colors. They
also had an amazing Japanese garden with lush greenery, flowers, trees, all sorts of plants
ponds and a trickling stream. It was very peaceful in there, save for the cars along the
the highway. In most places, the plantlife was so dense, you couldn't see the buildings
at all! After this, we visited one more winery and then headed to lunch in Geyserville,
at Catelli's Restaurant.
Wineries we've visited, in chronological order:
Sunday, 7/25/2010:
Moshin Vineyards
Gary Farrell
Porter Creek
Thomas George Estates (formerly Davis Bynum)
Monday, 7/26/2010:
Arista
Hop Kiln Winery
C. Donatiello Winery
Matrix Winery
Twomey Cellars (formerly Roshambo Winery)
Tuesday, 7/27/2010:
De La Montanya Winery & Vineyards
Armida Winery
Mill Creek Winery
Everett Ridge
Wednesday, 7/28/2010:
Wilson Winery
Mauritson Wines
Amista Vineyards
Family Wineries - Dry Creek Valley
(includes several labels: Mietz, Forth, Collier Falls, Lago di Merlo, Dashe Cellars,
and Philip Staley)
Kokomo Winery
Mazzocco Vineyards & Winery
Ridge Vineyards
Thursday, 7/29/2010:
Pedroncelli Winery
David Coffaro Winery
Dutcher Crossing Winery
Ferrari-Carano Winery
Sbragia Family Vineyards
Bulk pictures, in chronological order, are here.
Wine Inventory:
SUNDAY, 7/27/2010:
Moshin Vineyards
2007 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (drank it 2 days later!)
$38
Moshin Vineyards
2007 Russian River Valley Petite Sirah
$36
Gary Farrell
2007 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (Starr Ridge Vineyard - Dijon Clones)
$60
Porter Creek
2007 Sonoma County Zinfandel (Old Vine)
$34 x2 = $68
Thomas George Estates
2008 Russian River Valley Chardonnay
$32
MONDAY, 7/26/2010:
Arista Winery
2007 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (same day: already drank it!)
$44
Hop Kiln Winery
2009 HKG Russian River Valley Rose of Pinot Noir
$24
C. Donatiello Winery
2007 Russian River Valley Pinor Noir
$39
C. Donatiello Winery
2009 Russian River Sauvignon Blanc
$20
Matrix Winery
2007 Zinfandel Alegrio
$38
Matrix Winery
2009 Sauvignon Blanc
$18
Twomey Cellars
2009 Twomey Saubignon Blanc
$25 x2 = $50
TUESDAY, 7/27/2010:
De La Montanya Winery
2007 Dry Creek Valley Primo Reserve Zinfandel
$36
De La Montanya
2009 Russian River Valley Estate Vineyard Viognier
$24
Everett Ridge Winery
2006 Alexander Valley Esterlina Zazy S Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
$40
Everett Ridge Winery
2006 Dry Creek Valley Estate Petite Sirah
$32
WEDNESDAY, 7/28/2010:
Wilson
2009 Alexander Valley Sauvignon Blanc
$18
Wilson
2008 Estate Dry Creek Valley Molly's Vineyard Zinfandel
$32
Mauritson
2008 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel
$27
Amista
2005 Dry Creek Valley - Farrow Home Ranch Syrah
$30
Amista
Ilusion Dry Creek Valley Red Dessert Wine
$24
Dashe (Family Wineries)
2008 Dry Creek Valley Late Harvest Zinfandel
$21.60
Kokomo
2007 Sonoma Coast - Peters Vineyard - Winemaker's Reserve Pinot Noir
$48
Mazzocco
2008 Dry Creek Valley Serracino Zinfandel
$32
Ridge
2008 Mikulaco Vineyard Chardonnay
$25
THURSDAY, 7/29/2010:
David Coffaro
2007 Dry Creek Valley "Aca Modot" Red Wine
$30
Dutcher Crossing
2008 Alexander Valley Stuhlmuller Vineyard Chardonnay
$34
Ferrari-Carano
2007 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel
$25.20
Sbragia
2008 Dry Creek Valley Schmidt Ranch Sauvignon Blanc
$24
Sbragia
2008 Dry Creek Valley Home Ranch Chardonnay
$26
Total = $995.80
Bulk pictures of the trip (in chronological order) are here.
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