We've visited almost 70 wineries in Napa/Sonoma Valleys and surrounding regions, second trip this year! We love reds.Wineries in cap's, I'll list favs, "R" means reserve, Wine Spectator ratings( ), when possible. Arrived TH in Oakland- took 2 hrs from plane to rental car place...horrible! 101 was a parking lot; happy to get off at Highway 12 at Sebastopol. Rain, rainbows and brilliant fall colors in Russian River Valley. TOPOLOS-lost my notes; fun place, good wine. You gotta love a winemaker who bottles "Stu Padasso" wine, say it 3 times.ROSHAMBO:WOW! Beautiful, modern tasting room, hip people/place. Dynamite, wines,reasonable prices.Sonoma, 01 RMerlot 01 Syrah (92) 01 Zin Dry Creek MILL CREEK: 00CAB SonomaCo, 01 RMerlot. In Healdsburg squareTOAD HOLLOW: fun tasting room! Erick's The Red Lot 22. Dinner: Willi's Seafood (small plates)YUM!! Drive to Hopland , 2 nights at Fetzer/ Valley Oaks. Lovely quiet place, people, stunning gardens.Fri:Hiking at Lake Sonoma- very nice. Geyserville, CHATEAU SOVEREIN: Tourisy, but fun.Lunch very good, service not. WR Zin 02 Dry Creek, WR Alex. Valley 00 Cab, 97 Alex Valley RCab (!) RIDGEo-so. 01 ZinDusi Ranch BRUTOCAO: Hopland tasting room- beautiful, nice restaurant.01Cab,01 RMerlot. Healdsburg ROSENBLUM tasting room: my favorite wines! 01Zin Redwood ValleyAnnetteR (90), 02 Zin Paso Robles Richard Sauret (92), 02 Zin Cullinane, 02 Zin Lyons. SAT: Walk a mile into town of Hopland,breakfast at Bluebird Cafe, Hopland. Awesome and LOTS of it! Tasting rooms in town MCDOWELL: 01 Potato Patch!!, 02 RSyrah, ORACLE ONE: 02 Zin- dog and toddler and Dad trying to do it all, LOL! Highway 101 MILANOfamous for Recall Red), Big Ass Red, 99Petite Verdot JEPSON:00Merlot PARDUCCI:great deals.Zingaro Zin,02Merlot.Alexander Valley: wow 98, 99 and 00 Cyrus. Windy road 20 en route to Mendocino encore.Stop at Crown Hall for craft fair/tasting. HARMONIQUE: Pinot, forgot notes.In town FETZER tasting room: 02 Zin Mariah Poor Ranch,99Cab Reserve, 01 Coro Mendocino.Dinner at Mendocino Hotel-Wonderful! Swing dance at Crown Hall- big band! Check in at Alegria, a quaint B&B. We have Cove Cottage, a cozy place overlooking the beach at Big River and stunning views. Breakfasts are great- hosts Eric/Elaine are lovely.Sunday: Walk the beach,enjoy sunrise.Drive north of Ft Bragg to PACIFIC STAR: WOW! It sits on a remote spot only yards from the cliffs with ocean in every direction. Check out the website! 99 RZin B-BAR-X Ranch, 01Dad's Blend (futures..wow!) Back home, shopping, great dinner at 955 Ukiah, stars and ocean in Alegria's hot tub, bliss.Monday: Walk Headlands, coffee at Community Coffee and Cookie, drive to Van Damme State Park and hike the 3.2 mile Fern Gulley Trail. Off to Anderson Valley (hwy 128) HANDLEY CELLARS:01RPinot Noir, 02 Pinot Anderson Valley HUSCH: tiny room- fun! 02 Carignane(!) 99Knoll Pinot,99 Apple Hill Pinot, 00 Cab Mendocino ROEDERER:lovely. All sparkling, one Chardonnay. 96 L'Hermitage 1.5 Magnum (91) ah..we have a couple in our cellar!GREENWOOD RIDGEretty, lost my notes, but we bought some LAZY CREEK: homey, always a fav stop. 02 Pinot 375 ml only.They do great Pinot! NAVARRO:02 Pinot Methode Ancienne CHRISTINE WOODS: 89 yr old winemaker Vernon Rose! 00RPinot Estate. Dinner at Albion River Inn, Rick's was good, mine was so-so. Breakfast: Burrito from Lu's kitchen- outstanding! Back to Oakland, terrible traffic, never again.Sacramento next time. Home to Louisville. (Stop at Betty Ford Center?) I'll be glad to answer any questions!

LOL, It seems that when you place a colon too close to a letter, you get an emoticon. Sorry. I wouldn't stick my tongue out or mock any of these fine places! I will learn to type better, though.

WOW!

You sure you won't be attending the Fodor's GTG in Yountville the day after T'giving? My liver hurts just reading this. I'll have to wear my BF Clinic hat to the GTG.

We love Rosenblum Zins.

SMF is so much easier to get to Napa/Sonoma Valleys than SFO or Oak, IMHO.

(Please note no joke being made about me putting my colon too close to something-I must be maturing.)O

Oh Kal, we are kindred spirits! I can't believe that we missed Rosenblum on the last trips; for shame! We really wanted to visit Esterlina, but couldn't reach them to make appt.They are in residential area and must limit visits. Doggone, better go next year! I'm thinking Amador Co, Sierra Foothills and Gold Coast in June.That is, if Betty lets me out, LOL!

LLindaC~Wow what a trip. I'm glad you liked Alegria. We're hoping to visit this next year. Rosenblum is always a fav as is Lazy Creek. I'm sorry you missed Esterlina. We just tasted their new release(Russian River Valley) Chardonnay before diving into Malbecs at winetasting. It was very good. They also are bottling a cabarnet port which was absolutely delicious.
Next time you are in Mendocino parts check out Queenie's Roadside diner for breakfast or lunch. I love this place.
Roederer is always a good place to stop. The building alone makes one wish to be rich.
We are just back from France and particularly enjoyed the South. We are big fans of wines from Languedoc and will be featuring them at our next wine tasting. These are the "pitchet" wines .
Thanks for your trip report. Betty would be immensely proud of you and your embrace of the "70 steps".

LL,
Let us know when you are doing the foothills in June. Might be a time for a Sacto area GTG?

The "Rosey" Zin from Carla's Vineyard is our fave.

Betty Crocker?

Pammer-You drink wine? Since when?

I just got my shipment from Topolos today. We have a half case of the 2001 (old vines) Zinfandel which is delicious! I will post again when Greenwood Ridge arrives. BTW, my UPS man has a back problem and is no longer talking to me. He is getting a XMas bonus, however!