Destination: California July 1, 2008

June 25 thru June 29 Josh and I traveled California with my brother, mom, and Steve for our 3rd annual wine trip.  We decided to add a day to this trip and spend some time in San Francisco.  The first half was spent sampling wines in the Sonoma Valley, with the weekend in the heart of San Francisco.

Day 1: Travel day!  After a brief delay in Dallas, we arrived in San Francisco mid afternoon and boy was it cold and there was definitely a hint of smoke in the air from all the forest fires.  One of our wine pourers said there were something like 800 fires going.  We picked up our rental car and headed for Sonoma.  We couldn’t leave San Francisco without traveling across the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was an uneventful drive, but we did notice the golden hills (aka. dry land)…it hasn’t rained since March.  Our Bed and Breakfast, the Glenelly Inn, for our 2 days in Sonoma was located in the cute little town of Glen Ellen.  The view from our room was so pretty.  The picture on the left is what it would look like without the layer of smoke and the picture on the right is the one I took.

                        

After settling in our rooms we decided to hit a couple of wineries.  Our first stop was Mayo, it was okay.  Then we hit a joint tasting room, Ty Canton and Michael Muscardini…Steve had to sit this one out (still recovering from the night before festivities!).  The pourer was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed the wine.  A great start to our wine tasting.  We finished the evening with dinner at a local cafe, I had stemmed mussels (delicious!) and went to bed early.

Day 2: Wine Tasting!  After an amazing breakfast we were ready to taste some wines.  Our limo picked us up at 10am and we had our first drink 15 minutes later!   Note: when spending a day on a wine tour ALWAYS hire a driver, no one wants to be the DD on a trip like this!  Here are the days highlights:

• B.R. Cohn: Yes, as in Doobie Brothers.  It was the first, but definitely a favorite.  My favorite white wine of the whole trip.  Recommendation: Woody White
• Ravenswood: Okay.  We tried the reserve wines which aren’t available in stores.  Didn’t like anything enough to buy.
• Gundlach Bundschu (Gun-Bun): This was a group favorite.  The pourer was so much fun and the wine was great too.  Recommendation: Tempranillo…they all were good though!
• Nicholson Ranch: Group dislike, but the view was great.  They had a neat waterfall built on the property and a churchlike building.  Recommendation: nothing
• Larson Ranch: Okay, didn’t like the pourer.  We did take a bottle of the Gewurztraminer with us to have before dinner.  Recommendation: Gewurztraminer
• Eric Ross: Group favorite as well.  The married couple that poured was a hoot…she was even born and raised in Iowa!  Josh and Steve were wined out, so the rest of the group pressed on and it was so good we brought Josh and Steve back the next day to taste.  Recommendations: Struttin’ Red, Old Vine Zinfandel, Carignane, and Ivywood Pinot Noir.
• Cheese Tasting: I can’t remember the shop name, but Nick and I tasting some amazing cheeses.  They even had a Maytag Blue (from Iowa!) on the menu.  Mom was too busy talking to participate in the tasting, but were able to pick out a cheese to go with the Gewurztraminer from Larson Ranch.

            

Dinner that evening was at the Glen Ellen Inn…everyone was wined out!

Day 3: Wine & Seafood!  After another delicious breakfast…except for the bread pudding (not a fan)…we had 2 more wineries to stop at.  Mom and Steve’s favorite, Sabastiani!  Our recommendations: sparkling wine, Carnernos Pinot Noir, Secolo, and Cherryblock (which we weren’t able to try).  We then headed back to Eric Ross so Josh and Steve sample.  We had lunch at Tarantino’s on Fisherman’s Wharf (clam chowder was delicious) and then the afternoon was spent on Alcatraz Island!  Dinner that night was at Scoma’s, a fantastic restaurant with great seafood.

       

Day 4: San Francisco!  Lots and lots of walking…we started the morning with a trolley ride and a small hike through Chinatown.  Chinatown was great, tons of colorful, chunky jewelry and deals galore.  Then it was a downhill hike to the Ferry Building on Pier 1 where they were having their big farmers market.  We took the cable car over to Fisherman’s Wharf for lunch, hit a couple of stores, and then Nick, Mom and I headed to Union Square for some real shopping!  Everywhere I turned Louis Vuitton, Barney’s, Bulgari, Cartier, Lacoste, Betsy Johnson, etc.  Then, finally, a store I can go into…the flagship Banana Republic, biggest in North America!!!  We did manage to hit a few other stores (Crate & Barrel, Macy’s, Nine West), but there’s only so much you can fit when you carry on luggage!  Dinner was at this great little local italian restaurant, Trattoria Contadina.  I had the Gnocchi in a wonderful tomato cream sauce and lemon tiramisu for dessert; yummy!

Day 5: Travel home.  An uneventful day of travel…except for the annoying passage that sat behind me on the flight to Des Moines; an air traffic control Miss Know-it-all. 

All in all, it was a great trip and we can’t wait for the 4th annual wine trip!  Cheers!