linda

Drove to Geyserville to Hoffman House- an upscale deli run by chef Dan Lucia- a wonderful, charming man with loads of good advice. Delicious lunch.A must do for your picnics!In Geyserville, stopped at MEEKER-tasting room temp in old bank. By far, our best stop. Cynthia gave us a one-hour, laugh-a-minute tasting complete with dancing.One big red after another! Meeker has a sense of humor- they used to have tastings in a teepee.If you miss Cynthia, you'll have missed one of the best trips in Sonoma.She personalized our map and sent us to some great places.She wasn't wrong once.
RAYMOND BURR- Lovely Cindy served and told stories of Mr.Burr and showed us his Emmys and other memorabilia.Pretty setting.
DRY CREEK-the fabulous Frank Dice-fellow musician-served a fun tasting in this friendly winery.98 Res.Zin,98 Res. Cab.Sauv.
WILSON-lucked out here-generally open on wkends only. Thanks Diane- the lovely owner who not only got us reservations at Dry Creek Kitchen (not an easy task) but gave Linda a 6-mile running route for the next day.People in Sonoma are wonderful!'99 Dry Ck Val. Zin
Checked in at Camellia Inn in Healdsburg- a B&B built in 1800's. Stayed in Tiffany room with private entrance overlooking pool and flowers.Read complete review in Rants.Wine/cheese with owner Ray,an award-winning winemaker who shared his vintages with us.Sold! 99 Diamo Grazie Prop.'s Blend
Dinner at the new Dry Creek Kitchen- superb food/service! Even let us bring our own wine.Good luck getting in here, ha ha.
ThEZZI KING- gracious, fun Sharon served wonderful wine. '98 Est. Cab. Sauv.
J WINERY- $10 food/wine pairings in a modern tasting room- how unique! We enjoyed Lisa as we tasted 4 wines and 8 appetizers each. Recipes are on the website- don't miss this. It was lunch for us.
FOPPIANO- famous for the Petite Syrah as well as Ellyn, who is a blues enthusiast.Loved her! '98 P.S.
HOP KILN- very old, historic. LIMERICK LANE- Jim served us in a temp tasting room. We got a personal tour of the vines and bottle-shaped pool. What a guy!Loved the reds and the Furment.RABBIT RIDGE- Delightful Laura served delicious selections. Got a great deal on case of '98 Merlot Sangiacomo.'99 Cab. Sauv.Dinner at Manzanitas in H'burg.One of the best. Great wood-oven baked salmon over potatoes, yum.
FR:Great shopping in Healdsburg. Returned for another lunch from our friend Dan at Hoffman House, took it to LAKE SONOMA Winery on their awesome picnic deck overlooking the valley (with their '99 Merlot.) Drove to lookout over Lake Sonoma-WOW- this is gorgeous.LAMBERT RIDGE- good reds-great mustards which we bought.
Drove to AMPHORA for appt with Rick- a charming artist who makes only a few hundred barrels from his own vines.A delight were the wines and his company as we stood in his cellar in a breathtaking setting. Our final tasting was right from a barrel of "futures" which we'll receive next year.We also bought a case of his splendid '99 Vin. Zin. Rick sent us to MIRAPOIX restaurant in S. Sonoma- a new place which we really enjoyed! Bryan, the [female]owner treated us to a special appetizer.Try this great new place- it's wonderful! Drove to SF for 2 nights- different report.Sonoma we'll do again.Skip Napa. Spring is great time to go, had many places to ourselves and things were in bloom to the max. Rick and I are so in love and this was a truly romantic week!

Lindsey

Sounds like a great trip. Thanks for the report on the different wineries. Going their the week before Memorial Day. This will help.

carl

Linda,
Sounds like you prefer the reds over whites. Did you find many differences in Napa vs Sonoma for the reds, and did you do a sparkling?

linda

Carl,
We are red drinkers. I had several Fume Blancs that were delicious. Had a sparkling at J's which was tasty. But when offered a tasting, I like to line up a few reds for comparison. Of course, there's always next time.....

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