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Sonoma area wine excursion
Hi,
I am visiting my girlfriend this summer and based on many of the suggestions on posts, this is a plan I have come up with. Of course I don't know how many winerys we can visit in a day but we have done this before and made it to up to seven, including tastings. And we didn't feel rushed, we just had a plan! I would appreciate suggestions of places we shouldn't miss etc. Is Chateau Sovereign pretty out of the way? I have heard it is really beautiful. BTW, we like all varietals of wine. I am into Sav Blanc right now so I would like to pick up a few of those. Also a big zin lover. Wednesday, June 28th Leave Sacramento airport no later than 10:15. Arrive at Sonoma Plaza by 11:30 Explore Plaza including Sonoma Enoteca which is open from 3-7 on Wednesday. Try to hit B.R. Cohn, Kunde, and St. Francis wineries on the way to Healdsburg if we have time. If we arrive at St. Francis by 3:00 we can do the wine and food pairing. Check into Best Western Dry Creek Inn. Possible restaurants for dinner in Healdsburg: Willis. Ravenous, Dry Creek Kitchen Thursday, June 29th OPTIONS: 1. Morning Express WINE COUNTRY SAMPLER WALK a.k.a. Walking Concierge Place-and-Taste Tour 1 hour | $20 per person 2. Wine Tasting Rooms at or near Healdsburg Plaza: Plaza Farms- Has tasting for several wineries, Olive Oil, Chocolate, Cheeses, etc. Open 10:30-7:30 Rosenblum Tasting Room- 250 Center St. Thumbprint Cellars 3. Wineries to visit: Armida Roshambo Hop Kiln Gary Farrell J Winery-wine and food pairing Limerick Lane Everett Ridge Belvedere (acre gardens) Rochioli Papapietro Perry Friday, June 30 Leave Dry Creek Best Western whenever we decide depending on if we want to do one of the items we didn’t have time for on Thursday. On the way to Placerville, (where my friend lives) stop at Nicholson Ranch and Domaine Carneros. Thank you! |
We had a great tour of Gary Farrell a couple of years ago, and the setting is gorgeous. Hop Kiln was more of a store setting with a tasting, but we found an amazing red after dinner wine that they served with chocolate.
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Ledson is practically next door to St. Francis, it is not to be missed. You can call ahead & they may even do a private tasting for you. Preston & Quivera are also two, off the beaten path/great wineries. Imagery another & that should be a great place to take care of your Sav. Blanc fetish if memory serves. Adjacent to J is Rodney Strong also. You may want to cut back 3. a bit, I can't imagine you'll have much of a palate after 10 wineries. We have done as many as 13 in a day & found over the course of time that 8 is probably a good place to max. out. Cheers !
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I don't understand the Hop Kiln comment. Hop Kiln is in an old actual kiln place with a small lake and is pretty cool, though I did not care for their wines so much. Roshambo is worth a visit. If you like going to many wineries, split tastings or just request one or two small tastings. You can alsways pour it out! I don't get the number 1 concierge walking tour. Sounds like a ripoff, actually. I've been to most places on your list and there are only a couple with a fee. J is fun because of the food pairing and it's a gorgeous place. PapapietroPerry has one of the best Pinots I've ever tasted, I have a case of the 2004 Sonoma Coast. In the same complex is Amphora and the affable Rick Hutchinson.They like girls there, they'll yell "LADIES IN HOUSE" so that the guys in back will stop swearing. I would substitute Armida and Everett Ridge for Wilson. Diane Wilson just won the double gold in SF Chronicle show. Their wines are just fabulous, I've had 3 trips there to stock up. Your hotel will give you a pass to Simi. Skip it, it's a cool place but a touristy one. I always say, why go to places with huge production that you can find anywhere? Explore! We love Willis, had a good dinner at Dry Creek (maybe a bit too high) never been to Ravenous. For breakfast, and you need a good one before you start tasting, try Center Street Cafe in H'burg, GREAT breakfast!
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I just meant that Hop Kiln seemed more focused on selling wine-related products than on tours. It was cute and the tasting was enjoyable, but when I was there (admittedly two+ years ago) it seemed to be more about selling "stuff" than focused only on wine.
I agree that Roshambo was worth a visit. |
aha, I see. Yes, that was one place where we really didn't taste anything we liked. That was 3 years ago, and we didn't ever return. I forgot to give a big nod to Rosenblum. If you're a zin lover, then you'll have an oenogasm here. It's one big zin after another and don't miss the dessert wime made with a dash of chocolate. It's GOOOOD.
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I checked out that walk and I don't think that's a great way to start your day. Get a big breakfast,stroll through town a bit, then head out to the wineries. Take a lunch break- actaully Js is pretty filling and a good alternative to an expensive lunch. Keep some crackers and cheese in the car. Around 3, come back home and dress for dinner, etc. Drive to town and park. Then, explore town and try Rosenblum and other tasting rooms for a couple hours.You are women, you'll like the shops, lol. But you don't need an organized tour, the town is small. Then to Willi's for dinner. Willis has a corkage fee option, btw. The only way I know how to make a reservation there is through opentable.com and that's a very good idea! Remember, if you're coming from another time zone, like us, all that sipping and driving, etc you'll be ravenous at 5 pm. So consider that!
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Chateau Souverain (the place)was purchased by Francis Coppola last fall and he moved in and changed the name earlier this year
<i>"On March 1, Coppola took possession of Chateau Souverain in Geyserville, which he purchased from Foster's Wine Estates in November 2005. <b>He renamed it Francis Coppola Winery</b> and is expected to produce his Diamond Collection and Francis Coppola Presents wines there, plus operate the existing restaurant and tasting room. It's Coppola's way of separating his lower-priced brands from Rubicon, his $110 Bordeaux-style red blend, produced at Rubicon Estate (formerly Niebaum-Coppola Wine Estates) in Rutherford. Expect Coppola's movie memorabilia to relocate from Rutherford to Geyserville -- and expect tourism in northern Sonoma County to skyrocket. Foster's and winemaker Ed Killian will continue to produce the Chateau Souverain brand, at the company's production facilities at the former Italian Swiss Colony site in Asti."</i> From the SF Chronicle 3/16/06. There goes the neighborhood ~sigh~ Me ? I would opt for Lambert Bridge- known for more for their reds they do a VG Sau Blanc. Rochioli is my favorite SB. Rosenblums' Zin is fabulous. Eat at Willi's. (I don't think that Linda lives elsewhere in the USA, I'm quite sure she lives here in Sonoma COunty) :S- Make time to visit Gary Farrell-it's a good 20 minute drive back in to the winery once you turn into the entrance off of Westside Rd. It's worth it. R5 |
Linda would love to live in Sonoma County, but the difference in cost of living in Louisville vs Healdsburg would land me in a trailer park. :-)
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Thank you for the fantastic advice. We will definitely skip the walking tour and have breakfast at the Center St. cafe and then head to the wineries. We have actually been to Simi, Imagery and Ledson on a prior trip. Love the Ledson marketplace and we had a great time at Imagery. I will check out the websites for some of the others mentioned and try to narrow down the list a little bit. That is going to be difficult since I want to keep adding not deleting. So many wineries and so little time!
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Is it Armida that makes the Poizon Zin ? The wine maker there, alone, is worth the trip.
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Ah yes, SAnParis, Armida's
Poizin, "the wine to die for." The view from their terrace t'aint bad either ! R5 |
The wine is divine at Rochioli, and Rosashambo is a clever place. I agree with a previous post that the Sauvignon Blanc at Quivira is really nice. We ate at Dry Creek Kitchen - had the tasting menu with wine pairings - and thought it was really good, very cutting edge. We loved the food and wine pairings at Madrona Manor the best. A little more traditional. Wish we had reserved a table on the terrace, though. Beautiful gardens there. We also liked visiting Bella winery (wine cave and good zin) and Preston of Dry Creek. And there was a family winery called Unti, that one of the employees at Bella told us about, that we really liked. Father and sons working together; good wine. Wish I were going again this summer!
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Family-owned Seghesio Winery is just a block's walk from the Best Western, and they have very good Zins as well as Italian varietals.
Our favorite Healdsburg restaurants are Cyrus (for a big splurge & multi-hour meal), Ravenous, and Zin. |
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