Left on a Friday morning in drizzling rain which was better than the deluge that had been predicted. Picked up my friend Remy about 6:00 am and started up the freeway towards Buellton. By time we reached that point we needed breakfast so we went into Ellen's Pancake House. If you are ever in the area it is a great place to stop. A plain jane on the outside but the food is really worth the stop. I know that biscuits & gravy are not the best for a person, but they sure are good here.
Another quick stop just outside of Paso Robles at Turley Winery to pick up a few bottles and we continued on our way to Lafayette. I stayed the night with Remy's in-laws. Nancy made a great stew for dinner and Staurday morning after breakfast at Chows. (I had a smoked slamon and cabbage omelet which was very good), John drove us up to "Mt. Diablo" from where you can see the entire bay area including all the bridges and on a very clear day you are supposed to be able to see Mt. Shasta. It was cloudy that day because of the rains. It was extremely cold and very windy at the top and there was ice on the walkways. I found out later from a friend of mine that Mt. Diablo is used by surveyors as a start point for all the property in California along with a mount in San Bernardino county. That is why we have Baseline and Meridian streets in the area. Saturday afternoon I continued on to Windsor where I was staying at the Worldmark Resort.
Sunday morning I went over to the "Charles M. Schultz Sonoma County" airport to pick up my friend Jan who was staying with me for a few days. The only airport that has statues of "Snoopy", "Charlie Brown" and "Woodstock" in their facilties. It was a quick 3 minute drive from the resort. She arrived early enough that we could get to the first winery as it opened. That Sunday we went to 9 different wineries.
We did share tastings, as she was the navigator and I was the driver. Of course she didn't navigate very well coming back from Bodega Bay and we took the long scenic route back.
I was disappointed in the town on Windsor and Healdsburg as I was expected them to be decked out for the Christmas holiday and it was not to be. The shops were decorated but the towns themselves were sadly lacking of any holiday spirit. I naively thought that small towns would get into the holiday spirit more so that a larger town. Santa Rosa had more going for it than the other 2. Another lesson in life - don't expect anything and if something happens you are ahead of the game.
Jan left on Wednesday evening and I had 2 days alone to seek out a few wineries that we missed and a couple of places I wanted to taste again. I tasted at 37 wineries in 6 days.
After tasting at the "big" ones, I found a few smaller ones that I was had not heard of before.
Williamson Wines in downtown Healdsburg. Owners are from Australia. Nice wines and I especially liked their "Cuvee" which is a 5 Bordeaux blend. A couple of bottles of this went into the shipping carton.
Sbragia in Geyserville,. I even liked their Chardonnay.
Robert Young, (not the actor) in Geyserville. I wish now that I had gone back to buy.
Porter Creek in the Russian River area. Came across this one late in the day and squeaked in just before they closed. One of the best Viognier I have had. I bought a bottle of this for a tasting coming up in January. I will be anxious to see if I still like it as much as I did at the winery. All the estate wines here are organic and biodynamic certified.
Papapietro Perry Winery located on Dry Creek Road. Outstanding Pinots and Zins. I did bring a few bottles home from this winery. Although I do not like "wine clubs" per se, I am real tempted to join theirs. I will file the information away in my "mini brain" and sleep on it for awhile before I make a decision.
The weather was good. Cold at night, in the low 30's and in the mid 60's during the day. Had a 9 hour drive back, (alone, no help). I go the101 as I do not like the 5 at all. I would rather spend an extra hour driving than contend with trucks, 2 lane roads, boring, boring scenery and pulling "grapevine" . I got 39 mpg overall in my "rice burner". I did get 42 mpg on the stretch up and back, so with the stop and go of the wineries and dirt roads, 39 mpg overall is good. A total of 1567 miles driven that week.
Some of you will ask where I/we went to so I amd giving you an alphabetical listing of the wineries that we graced our presence with.
Amphora, Raymond Burr, Clos du Bois, Dutcher Crossing, Ferrai-Carano, Coppola, Gary Farrell, Geyser Peak, Harvest Moon, Hook & Ladder, J Vineyards, Kendall-Jackson, Korbel, La Crema, Limerick Lane, Martinelli, Mauritson, Meeker, Murphy-Goode, Papapietro Perry, Pellegrini, Peterson, Porter Creek, Ridge Lytton Springs, Rosenblum, Sbragia, Seghesio, Silver Oak, Rodney Strong, Starry Night, Teldeschi, Toad Hollow, Trentadue, Wilson, Yokim Bridge, Robert Young & Williamson.
I have not decided If I will go back to Sonoma the end of 2008 or perhaps Napa. I need to make up my mind soon and get my timeshare trade in. Paso Robles is great because its 4 hour drive compared to 9 but I have gone there so much in the past few years. I think I need to broaden my vacation plans. I am going to China in March which is much broader but I'm not expecting to see any great wineries there. I did have a taste of a Chinese Cabernet earlier this year. I don't think Napa has anything to worry about for a very long time.
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