Winerys in SF
 

What is the best winery to visit while in the San Francisco area?

There are so many -- that's like saying "what's the best restaurant in New York City?" We spent a weekend in Healdsburg and enjoyed visiting a number of wineries that were on our way from SF to there...most were in the "Russian River Valley" and Sonoma as opposed to Napa Valley. We stayed in that region because the scenery was as wonderful as the wine. We enjoyed visiting Hop Kiln, Davis Bynum, Michel-Schlumberger (which had a great tour), Ferrai-Carrano (gorgeous gardens, excellent wines), Geyser Peak (we enjoyed talking with the staff there it was in the morning and tasting wine at 10AM just seemed an odd concept! We "worked through" that though. ha ha). Just know that you will hardly scratch the surface. Are there any California wines you particularly enjoy drinking at home? Check to see if they have websites and tell you about visits. Some offer tours, some don't. Most charge tasting fees (some give you a glass to keep).

Yes, it's a BBBBBBRRRRROOOOOAAAAAADDDDD
question, though,as a 'local' I ,must say it's almost refreshing to find someone who doesn't know about all the over-marketed and over-hyped high hoopla venues for wine here. Kinda cool!
That said, uhoh_busted has good ideas for aiding your selection(s).I am a great fan of the RR Valley and you will find lots and lots of info at wineroad.com. Anything we can help with,just ask!
R5

Go to this site and click on http://www.wineroad.com/maps/

Down load the section for free maps and they will send you one within a couple of weeks.

We preferred Sonoma over Napa, especially the Healdsburg area. In the Dry Creek area, just north of Healdsburg, Pezzi King has wonderful Zinfandels. A.Rafanelli I heard was supposed to be a nice winery to visit, but they have tastings by appointment only, so we missed out.

Download the maps, pick your poisons, and go for it and have fun. ((b))

Uhhhhh.....Didn't I just say that?????????????????????????
R5

Yikes!

If you're in SF, just drop by the London Wine Bar and sample, sample and sample!

I finally started reading "Tale of Two Valley's" by Deutschman.
Kind of explains most of the comments made by both NV and SV lovers.

"Less Filling"
"Tastes Great"

((Y))((Y))((Y))

BTW, does the Pezzi King Zin come in a bottle with a big head on top that snaps back so you can drink it? 8-}