I’m just back from the Boston GTG today so I felt inspired to write an overdue trip report about a recent trip that my husband and I took to the wine country. This was our third trip to Napa/Sonoma. We’ve been to most of the larger and well known wineries, so our goal was to visit some smaller wineries where we could find wines that are not generally available in our area.

We left SF on a rainy Saturday morning – very unusual for late September. Our home base for our trip was Sonoma and we were staying in The Victorian Garden Inn (our second time staying there – more about the Inn later). We drove over the Golden Gate bridge in misty rain and fog, anticipating sunshine as we proceeded North on Route 101. Unfortunately, the rain continued but I knew that good wine was ahead, so I couldn’t be too disappointed about the weather.

We went straight to the Dry Creek area, which is north of the town of Sonoma by about an hour. We had not visited this area on our other trips as it is somewhat out of the way. As soon as we exited the highway and turned onto West Dry Creek Road, I knew that we were going to have a great afternoon. I felt like I was back in Tuscany as we were on a narrow road with vineyards right up against the road. Our first stop was at Bella, known for their outstanding zinfandels. We parked and were met by welcoming live music and a rustic barn. We sampled the Big River Ranch zinfandel, their signature wine, made from grapes grown on vines that are 102 years old. The Lily Hill zin and the Lily Hill syrah were also notable.

Our next stop was at A. Rafanelli, which had been recommended by some posters on this board. You will need to call and get an appointment for a tasting and also the code to punch in at their gate. This winery does not sell retail at all as their mailing list and restaurant allocations completely sell out their inventory. There is also a limit per person on the number of bottles that you can purchase at the winery. Their wines (zinfandel, merlot and cab sauvignon) are excellent and we felt that their cab was a steal at $42 a bottle.

Next, we visited Peay Vineyards in Cloverdale, north of the Dry Creek area. We had sampled their pinot noir at a restaurant in Nantucket and were excited to visit the winery. The winery is a family business owned by a husband (the grape grower), his wife (the winemaker) and the husband’s brother. When we arrived, we were met by the grape grower who spent a lot of time with us, even though they were having a crisis about whether or not to pick their grapes the next day due to the rainy conditions. We were not able to taste any of their wines, but as we were familiar with their wines, we bought some of their La Brauma Syrah. They were out of their more limited syrah, Les Titans, unfortunately. They make 450 cases of the La Brauma as opposed to only 260 of Les Titans. We were impressed by the knowledge of the grower and the attention to detail that goes into their wines. Their grapes are grown in an area 4 miles from the ocean about an hour away from the winery. The closeness to the ocean and the elevation of the vineyards create a unique microclimate for the grapes that adds to their character.

We returned to the town of Sonoma following our visit at Peay. We checked into our room at the Victorian Garden Inn, a charming B&B located just outside of the center of Sonoma. Our room was a cozy room located at the top of a water tower at rear of the Inn. This was our second visit to the Inn, and the owner Donna is a terrific host. Breakfast is eaten on the front porch (weather permitting) and there is plenty of fresh fruit, pastries, coffee and cherry juice.

Dinner that night was at the El Dorado Kitchen with some friends from Boston who were coincidentally in Sonoma on that night as well. I would recommend dinner at the El Dorado – nice ambiance and good food.

The next day arrived and the weather was sunny, clear and beautiful (just as I had remembered). We were spending that day at some wineries closer to the town of Sonoma Our first appointment of the day was at BR Cohn. Now, where else can you find yourself at 10:30 on a Sunday morning sampling wine but in the wine country? It doesn’t get any better than that….okay, back to BR Cohn. I did not know that the owner of this winery is Bruce Cohn, the manager of the Doobie Brothers. The tasting room of the winery is filled with evidence of this. Also, the “mascot” of the winery is a huge dog called Moose – half yellow lab and half bull dog. We did not see Moose, unfortunately, as Moose is a true rock star who does not get out of bed until 1:30 in the afternoon. Our tasting guide at Cohn was very impressive with his knowledge of wine and also very young (21!). He really made our tasting a lot of fun. We purchased some of their Olive Hill Estate Cabernet – a terrific cabernet that is drinking well right now but you could also keep it for up to 10 years. Their Syrcab, which we also tasted, is another outstanding wine. The winery is also known for their olive oil, which has a separate tasting room. However, due to the new airline restrictions, we had decided to just buy wine on this trip as we were going to have to ship most of it back home. I was tempted but decided to forego the olive oil.

Our next stop was at Landmark Vineyards. This winery, we discovered, is owned by a descendant of John Deere (it seems like all the wineries have something unique about them!). We purchased two excellent wines there – the Lorenzo Chardonnay and the 2006 Grand Detour Pinot Noir. Also on our agenda that day were Arrowood (known for their malbec and cabernet reserve wines); Ledson (the winery is located in a unique, “gothic” style building); and Imagery (this winery is a division of Benziger and the wines come in bottles with artistically designed labels). All of these wineries also have excellent tasting rooms and are worth a visit.

Dinner that night was at The Red Grape in Sonoma – a casual restaurant specializing in thin crust “New Haven” pizza. As we are fans of Sally’s and Pepe’s, we were looking forward to sampling the pizza here. We were not disappointed at all. I would highly recommend The Red Grape if you want a casual, friendly restaurant in Sonoma. We ate at the small bar as we wanted to watch Sunday night football (our Inn, like so many of the small inns in Sonoma, did not have any TVs). We enjoyed talking to the owner/bartender and watching the game.

The next morning we set off for a day in Napa. We were planning on visiting some of the wineries located on Spring Mountain Road in St. Helena. Our first stop was as Beringer. While this is one of the larger wineries, they do make some excellent Reserve Cabernets and Merlots. We went to the “Rhine” tasting room (no appointment was necessary) and sampled some wine. We bought some Montagia, a cabernet based wine, and a collaboration of the winemaker Ed Sbragia and Joe Montana (the Hall of Fame football player).

Before visiting the wineries on Spring Mountain Road, we had lunch at one of our favorite spots in St. Helena – Taylor’s Refresher. Their burgers and garlic fries are great! We also discovered that they have opened another store at the Ferry Building in SF (haven’t tried that one yet).

We then headed up to our first appointment at Barnett Vineyards, on Spring Mountain Road. This winery is not easy to find. After driving up and down Spring Mountain Road for about twenty minutes, we had to stop for directions. Barnett is located down a road that is not clearly marked (be sure to get directions before you go). It was worth looking for, though, because the wines are great, especially the Rattlesnake and Cyrus Ryan Cabernets and the Savoy Vineyard Pinot Noir.

Our last visit on Spring Mountain Road was at Pride Vineyards. We had heard about this winery on our last trip, but could not work it into our schedule. We were determined to visit this time and were really glad that we did – all of their wines are outstanding. I really liked one of their whites (the 2006 Voignier, a French varietal). As you can see from my description of our purchases, we are mostly into red wines, but I found this white to be delicious (very aromatic with a peachy, stone fruit flavor if you like wines like that). Their Cabernet Franc (made with 20% merlot), their Merlot (a big merlot that appeals to cab drinkers) and the Cabernet Sauvignon (made with 5% petit verdot) are also noteworthy.

I would also recommend the wine store located in the center of St. Helena (I believe it is called the St. Helena Wine Center). We were able to find a bottle of the Peay Les Titans Syrah there (which was not available at the winery). Dean and Deluca is also worth a trip for a picnic lunch (great sandwiches).

Please note that you will need to call the wineries that we visited to make an appointment. We mostly made an appointment for a tasting, but some also offer formal tours.

We ended up with almost three cases of wine. We had bought two wine boxes with styrofoam inserts with us that we could fit inside our (large!) suitcases but we were faced with finding someplace to ship most of our wine back home. We found a place that I would highly recommend – St. Helena Shipping Co. on Adams Street in the heart of St. Helena. The owner used to work at a winery and knows all the ins and outs of shipping wine to all states (even the ones like Massachusetts that present a challenge).

What else can I say about Napa and Sonoma? It was our third visit, and we can’t wait for our fourth. My husband said that he felt like a kid in a candy shop – so much to sample! If you love wine, it is heaven!

Thanks for the report! We also enjoyed a nice lunch at the El Dorado Kitchen one visit to this area. ***kim***

Hi Marie! My husband and I go to CA every year, sometimes twice!! I urge you to branch out next time and try either Lodi, CA or Mendocino/Anderson County wineries. We still haven't been to the central coast wineries, but that's on our short list. Lodi has some amazing wine and is a really diverse and fun area.

Hi LLindaC: Thanks for the suggestions - there is just so much to do and see there! We did go to some of the wineries in the Mendocino/Anderson area on our first trip out to Northern CA (we were driving up the coast from SF to Oregon). I remember that they were also very nice. I wished we lived closer!

I wish we lived closer, too. The next best thing is the companion pass we just earned on SW.

>>What else can I say about Napa and Sonoma?<<

Healdsburg - many people who live in the Bay Area prefer it over Sonoma, St Helena, or anyplaces else in the Napa Valley or Sonoma County. Better restaurants than Sonoma too, IMO.

Stu Dudley

Stu: Thanks for mentioning Healdsburg. I liked the vibe as we drove through on our way to the Dry Creek wineries and thought it would be a good place to stay on our next trip. We were envious of you guys in the Bay area who have the wine country so close by (but then we in Boston have the Cape and Islands as our escape) .

Thanks for a great report, Marie. We are from Maine and just did a Backroads bike tour of this area. Wish I had known about the BR Cohen/Doobie Bros connection, my husband would have gotten a kick out of it.

While you were at Beringer, did you go to the Culinary Institute of America? Its almost right next door in the old Christian Bros. winery building. A great little stop and they display a huge corkscrew collection that belonged to the head Bro at Christian Bros. (Can't remember his name.) Also a great little gift shop for kitchen freaks!

Also, on your next trip I highly recommend Quintessa. I had been introduced to their wine a few years ago by a friend. Their story is very interesting: they only make one wine a year, a blended red. Their theory is that they adjust the blend a little differently each year to get the best possible wine. They only use grapes grown on their 100+ acre estate right there. Their wine is absolutely delicious and their building (set into a hillside) and grounds are quite beautiful.

Also being from New England I am jealous of anyone who can get to that area easily. Looking at today's cold gray skies makes me wonder why do we live here? And we actually enjoy the winter!