Grasshopper,

That was such a fabulous website that you provided once for Sonoma/Russian River.

Do you know of anything similar for Napa?

Danke Schoen.

Sorry, no. I wish I did. But truly, I'm a bigger fan of the Sonoma/Russian River/Alexander Valley/Dry Creek areas. Less crowded, friendlier, small wineries. Great bike routes.

mmm yeah. I'm trying to break out of my Preston
Belvedere
Trentadue
Gundlach Bundschu
Ridge
Ravenswood

rut.....

Any suggestions that don't include Hop Kiln or Topolos?

Sure. I like Ferrari Carano for the Italian Villa and gardens (and their Siena is my favorite wine), Davis Bynum is very small with wonderful wines and talkative pourers, Rafanelli a small family owned winery with a fantastic Cab, Chateau Souveraign for lunch (great views in the "cafe"), Alexander Valley Vintners has a nice tasting room and good picnic area, Hop Kiln's wines are underwhelming but the building is fun and the little pond picnic area nice, Michelle Schlumberger (make an appt. for a private tour and go up on the hill in the late afternoon for a great view) will sometimes give private tastings in the kitchen of the villa. Seghesio has a wonderful old vine Zin. And if you have out of town guests Korbel is a fun tour with a beautiful facility. Top it off with a picnic at Armstrong Redwoods.

BayArea, where do you live? I live in Foster City.

Mostly I live in Berkeley.

Pinot Noir -- Who has the best Pinot???

Wish I could help you, I mostly drink Zins and Chards.

sowweee.

Grasshopper, et al, although you dabble mostly in Sonoma, do you know anything about Geyser Peak or Atlas Peak (Napa County) wines? Both are recent trends in my area, but are they noteworthy?

Mmmmm Pinot Noir, I just had some lovely David Bruce Pinot Noir tonight

David Bruce is in Los Gatos. There are a few wineries in Los Gatos and Saratoga, along Highway 9. David Bruce wants to be the best Pinot in the world. www.davidbrucewinery.com. Budman, it's about an hour south of SF.

Sorry Speedo, can't help you there.

Pinot Noirs from the Russian River Valley..It would be a tough choice for me between Sapphire Hill and Merry Edwards. Sapphire Hill now has a tasting room. Merry Edwards I think still has to be purchased on-line(merryedwards.com), at a restaurant(try it at Santi in Geyserville) or from a wine store(last I checked the wine store just off the Plaza in Healdsburg(down the street from Hotel Healdsburg) carried it. Grasshopper..I am making one of my treks to Healdsburg in June..any new suggestions?

PamSF, thanks for the advice on Sapphire Hill. I checked out their web site. Their 2001 Sapphire Hill Pinot Noir retails for $38.00 thru the winery. WOW! I wonder if I can get a better price at one of the wine stores?

Budman-I got it at Beverages and More
in Spring 2002(the 2001) I think for around $30/bottle. I think when I checked out their website it was around $4 more/bottle..allowing for time and circumstance(read inflation) it might be a few dollars more now at Bev Mo but still less than through their website.
I also want to suggest Lazy Creek Winery which although not in Russian River (it's in Philo) has wonderful non-filtered pinot noirs. They also have a website. They sell as well a table red which is 100% pinot noir only since the grapes came from elsewhere(Napa I think) they have to label it table red.
We were at Lazy Creek in late January 2003. The table red was $15/bottle. I think we got their pinot noir for less than $25/bottle. Check out their website. I know they do mail order..their wines are hard to find in other than very small wine shops..but these are (the Lazy Creek folks) some very nice people). Their tastings are done in the small barn right on their property..with their kids running in and out. Since you like to go tasting I recommend this area if you haven't done it in awhile. We also hit Esterlina(small with a generous tasting..and some very good zin and pinot noir)and Roederer(sparklers)..there are many other wineries(Husch,Handley) as well. We stopped by the Apple Farm(home of the Schmidts of the old French Laundry) and picked up some of their chutney and preserves..yum!

Maybe you already know this stuff..in any case...I'm with you on the Pinots.

PamSF, this is my first time in the Sonoma region. I did a short tour of Napa 20 years ago. At that time I was only drinking Boxed wine. Since I make my own wines now, I've really got the bug.

I only have one day, probably a Sunday, so I am going to the Healdsburg area. From what I've seen on this board and searching the web, seems like it should be my best bet.

Just going up to 4-5 tasting wineries, have lunch, and head back. (I'm a lucky man - my wife doesn't drink wine so she can drive back.)

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Can't ship the wine to NJ so I want to take a care or 2 back with me.

Budman,
Enjoy! And..hasn't baseball season started in Tom's River?

Budman, actually you can ship wine to NJ you just have to ship it yourself. A case from Mailboxes, etc. (including the box) runs about $60 I think last time I shipped. I will suggest Quivera (quirky reds), Ridge, Preston(a fine bakery on site) & Ferrari-Carrano for the view alone.

I forgot, check out Ledson (near Santa Rosa)also & they WILL ship to you via their wine club.

Budman, PamSF gave good advice for the Philo area in Mendicino Co. It's a beautiful Pinot growing region & the wineries are soulful with good quality. Be sure to try the Pinot Noir at Navarro, especially their "Deep End Blend". You would have time to do some Healdsburg on the way back.