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+--- Thread: Building an itinerary for Aug. Sonoma/Napa trip -- looking for help (/thread-15156.html)
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- dananne - 06-25-2007
It'll be our first trip to Cali wine country (and my first trip to Cali at all!). Through some time on the 'net, including reading posts from the regulars on this board, I've picked the following wineries to consider. In the first section are places we want to visit. The next section are wineries that we might visit, but don't know much (or, in some cases, anything) about. So, please let me know what to move into the "visit" category and what to drop from the list entirely. Some may serve plonk, for all I know.
Planning to visit in Sonoma:
First of all, we are dying to visit Scherrer and Swan -- anyone willing to vouch for us and help us arrange a tour?
Siduri
Martinelli
Papapietro-Perry
Selby
Eric Ross
Marimar-Torres
Dutton-Goldfield
Meitz
Acorn
Considering -- yay or nay?
Flora Springs
Inman Family Vineyards
Quivira
De La Montanya
Buena Vista (go for the history?)
Sterling (go for the views?)
Arista
Nalle
Preston Vineyards
Peterson Winery
Porter Creek
Russian Hill
Sappphire Hill
Longboard
Murphy-Goode
Rochioli
Keller Estate
Armida
Hanna
Fritz Estate
Frick Estate
Planning to visit in Napa:
August Briggs
Bouchaine
ZD
Considering -- yay or nay?
Casa Nuestra
Goosecross Cellars
Jessup Cellars
Summers Estate
Turley Wine Cellars
Kelham Vineyards
Any advice on the above is welcome. Am I forgetting anything? Any additional suggestions for wineries? Also, any suggestions on non-wine things to do are welcome, particularly by Anne [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
[This message has been edited by dananne (edited 06-25-2007).]
[This message has been edited by dananne (edited 06-25-2007).]
- winoweenie - 06-26-2007
I think maybe I can help in getting you into both Scherrer and Swan. Both are well worth the price of admission and the proprietors are throwbacks to a gentler, kinder, more accessible winemaker. I'd also be glad to contact Flora, Duckhorn, and Robert Craig if you're interested. Would also be glad to get you entrance into Diamond Creeks vineyards...NO tasting but a beautiful spot to have a picnic lunch. Let me know the wnens and times. WW
- wondersofwine - 06-26-2007
Sterling for views--yes. Gary Farrell might be included along with Selby. Maybe Merry Edwards? Don't overlook Bouchaine Chardonnays if you go there--not the usual overdone Cal Chard. Saintsbury? Casa Carneros does not offer a tasting room but perhaps could be visited by appointment (Napa). I love their Pinot Noirs and they specialize in Pinots and Merlot.
- dananne - 06-26-2007
Thank you so much, WW, for the kind and thoughtful offer. We would love for you to help us get into Swan and Scherrer, but we wouldn't want to overindulge in your generosity beyond that. As for our schedule, we are wide open beginning on (and including) Monday, August 20 through (and including) Friday, August 24. We will visit whenever it is possible, and I'll schedule any other appointments around them. Again, thank you! I can be reached off the board via e-mail at our username for this board (dananne) @mindspring.com. You can remove the parentheses and the space -- I only put the address that way to avoid spammers that look for e-mail addresses on the web. Our last name is Johnson, if you need it when you contact them. If you need any other info from me, feel free to e-mail. We are both so excited -- we've heard wonderful things about both wineries and winemakers.
Jane -- Thanks for the input and suggestions. We've moved Sterling into the "yes" category, and I'll also schedule a tasting at Merry Edwards -- it's by appointment only. I can't believe I forgot about that one, as we've enjoyed her wines in the past. Also, your comments have me more excited about Bouchaine, which I had only thought of for the Pinots. I'll see about Casa Carneros.
Again, thanks to you both!
Anyone else have any thoughts? Or suggestions for restaurants, shopping, sightseeing, spas, etc.? I believe KC mentioned a place for pottery that Anne and I plan to check out, as I doubt that she'll want to spend every minute in a tasting room [img]http://wines.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]
August needs to hurry up and get here! We're getting excited!
- wondersofwine - 06-27-2007
Dananne,
I'm hoping to visit Sonoma (and San Francisco and Monterey) in October if I can save enough moolah between now and then. Too bad I couldn't time it to cross paths with you. I expect you to post extensively on your Sonoma visits for my edification. I'm glad you're including Eric Ross in your plans--great Zin from Occidental Vineyard.
- TheEngineer - 06-27-2007
Fritz Winery has a new wine cave that was finished last year. The owners were all excited about it to the point where even I wanted to see it...but Fritz is so far north...that is the only issue.
I noticed that you are avoiding all of the typical Napa wineries on I-29. What are you looking for in Napa? KC has made some good suggestions in these parts in the past also.
- dananne - 06-27-2007
Eng -- I'm sure this will degenerate into incoherent rambling, but I'll try to explain so that I may be able to take advantage of your advice. In Napa, I'd like to find some smaller, out-of-the-way places, and the places I picked so far, like Bouchaine and ZD, make wines we really like (Pinots, in those cases). We also would like to visit places that make different stuff that we wouldn't get to taste everyday (such as Petite Sirah, Refrosco, Charbono, etc.). It's not that I'm opposed to the words "large," "corporate," or "Cab," though I suppose it may look that way. Frankly, having never been out there, I just don't know where to go in Napa. Over in Sonoma, I can think to myself, "I love Martinelli wines, so I'll visit." In Napa, there are many places I've heard of, but really have no intention of visiting (like Sutter Home and Opus One, to name two, though for differing reasons), but I may be way off base with my assumptions. Maybe I'd love Opus One, who knows? I might even think Sutter Home was the greatest winery in the history of the world after a visit (though I'll go out on a limb and say probably not). What I do know, however, is unless we may be buying something, Anne had better have some stellar views or something to justify the stop [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
So, to try and sum it up, we'd like to find the smaller, sorta hidden spots, places that make Pinots, places that do neat stuff with more rarely seen varieties, and/or places that offer wines that we would consider buying (to accommodate Anne's love of combining the pastimes of drinking and shopping at the same time [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
And, yes, KC's posts have been very helpful. For example, I'd have never known about North Eagle Pottery or Ace in the Hole Cider Pub, two places that we're planning to visit.
I know you, too, have traveled the area, so I'd love any advice or suggestions, wine or other!
- TheEngineer - 06-27-2007
Ahh...yup sorry but your answer is what I had anticipated (especially after seeing zd on the PN front). sorry ta make you explain. Regardless I think you will have a BLAST!!!!
I'll dig through some notes tonight to see what I'd suggest but here are a few that may do the trick
(1) I love terra valentine for the visit. It is out of the way up in spring mountain and they have a fantastic little hand built castle that the original owner (a bit of a recluse) built. They use to make a PN but not sure anymore. A call would clear that up.
(2) Milat is a small family winery on I-29 (can you believe that!!)
(3) Joseph Phelps (which also owns Fogdog which does the Pinot) had a great site but it is a bit large scale....maybe not...
(4) What about the Carneros for PN trekking? Acacia is there and I enjoyed a visit to Ceja which is a fully Mexican-American family owned vineyard. I like their PN too which was on the lighter fresher food friendly kind...They are also great cooks and often have tapas to go with the wines.
(5)If you are going to Swan, Inman family is right around the corner as is Walter Hansel and Lynmar.
(6) For variety of varietals...nothing probably beats V. Sattui. Their wines are also not distributed outside of the winery (they sell everything on site only) and have a nice little area for a picnick. Viader (tempranillo, etc) and heitz also have a number of different varietals and I like their tasting rooms (Viader is at the top of their VERY steep slope that would be double black diamond if you were to skii on it...
BTW, I have this great map that I use all the time (in fact it is in my daily laptop bag permanently). It is from Quick Access, Napa-Sonoma wine Country (Map and Guide). Sells form about $7 in Borders and amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Access-Napa-Sonoma-Country-California-Region/dp/1891267574
I find this invaluable to just get oriented.
[This message has been edited by TheEngineer (edited 06-27-2007).]
- TheEngineer - 06-27-2007
Oops...forgot the other part of food and wine. So for eating I love the informality of Taylor's refreshers. The Oakville Grocery is a bit too far on the touristy side but still has good stuff and you can go in and by bread, cheese, dried sausages and have a great lunch somewhere...however, I would instead of that go to V. Sattui who has roughly the same things and is cheaper and their front lawn is a great place for lunch. There is are a couple of restaurants also that I've been to
Bouchon (Tomas Keller's second restaurant) is a bistro style place much cheaper and much more informal. Reservations are suggested
Terra (in St. Helena is a bit of Spago up in Napa..their chefs are former Spago chefs)
Tra Vigne (just south of St. Helena) is pretty good and decent italian restaurant (but I always find it a bit salty).
I've never been to Brix but heard that it is pretty okay as well.
If you get into the French laudry, let me know and i'll jump right onto a plane... [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img].
Teh school at Greystone also serves meals that the students cook but I heard it was not as good as the CIA in San Fran.
- winoweenie - 06-27-2007
Now that the guys are on the plane I'll call tomorrow and see what their schedule mite be. Just as an aside, August is probably one of the busiest months for the smaller botique winemakers as they are up to their patooties in harvest but we'll see what ir looks like. Will post this weekend after talking to Fred and Rod. WW
- dananne - 06-27-2007
Great suggestions, Eng -- I'll look into them all, and I thank you for helping us create our itinerary.
WW -- You are very kind to do that, and it is greatly appreciated. I knew you were busy entertaining this week. And, regarding the time of year, it is unfortunate in some respects, but what is drawing us out there is actually a wedding on Sat., Aug. 18, in San Anselmo. It is for one of my former students from Alabama, who Anne and I kept in touch with after I moved here, and for whom we served somewhat as surrogate parents when he went to college in Atlanta. After college, he went out to California to a seminary, after which he served as an Army chaplain at a VA hospital. There, he primarily worked with wounded vets home from Afghanistan and Iraq. Following that stint, he accepted a calling at a chuch in Wisconsin. At this point, I've known him since he was 14 or 15. Thinking about that fact makes me feel quite old. Anyway, Anne and I will be sitting with family at the wedding, which is a kind gesture, and it makes me proud to have been able to impact such a person.
After the wedding, we're free to spend time in wine country, and we've rented a cottage for the week in Occidental. So, long story short, the time of year is bad for visiting the smaller wineries, as they are so busy, but I couldn't convince him to change the wedding date [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
- winoweenie - 06-28-2007
Understandable. WW
- winoweenie - 06-29-2007
Have left phone # on both guys phone. Will probably hear from them this weekend. WW
- dananne - 06-29-2007
Thank you so very much, WW. We really appreciate your help.
- wondersofwine - 07-02-2007
Dan,
Check out the link post below. (It takes a while to connect on my computer so be patient.) The book should be very helpful in planning the Napa part of your trip.
http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?p=73853#73853
- TheEngineer - 07-03-2007
I forgot to add a few other wineries that might be of interest.
I really like the wines of Truchard and they are in Carneros. Nice elegant PN but also a number of other varietals to try including Roussanne, Syrah, Zin, Tempranillo, and then the standard bordeaux varietals. Their vineyars supply a lot of grapes to people in the area including Nickel and Nickel. Reservations are necessary though.
If you do go to Flora Springs, there is a Dean and Deluca just north of them [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
If you go to Terra Valentine, I would suggest that you drive up to Pride just to see it and if you are in the mood for some distilled products, call Charbay which is immediately beside Terra Valentine. Their owners purchased what he calls the Ferrari of all distillers. He is proud of that piece! Spring Mountain tends to be less traveled because it is off the beaten path.
[This message has been edited by TheEngineer (edited 07-03-2007).]
- dananne - 07-03-2007
Thanks for the book rec, Wonders, and thanks Eng for the additional suggestions.
- Kcwhippet - 07-05-2007
Dan, Sorry I haven't replied sooner, as we were a bit occupied the past 10 days or so. Anyway, I noticed you were looking at Siduri, Scherrer, Swan, Mietz and Acorn in Sonoma County. Do you need any contacts for Mietz and Acorn? Siduri and Scherrer are absolute musts in my book. The Ace in the Hole is perfect for lunch before a visit to Scherrer. Fred opened so much wine, I was glad we had the food cushion in us beforehand.
Glad you're going to make a stop at North Eagle. There's some great stuff there, and they ship cheaply so you don't have to cart everything back with you. Make sure you take a left after you go in the front door and check out all the cut rate stuff they have for sale. They say it's stuff that doesn't quite make it up to their standards, but we have many pieces from those shelves, and we like them as well as any of the other pieces we have from NE. If you're interested in a good lunch after North Eagle, Wayne recommended Cafe Citti a bit further into Kenwood on the right side of Rte. 12. The food is innovative, delicious and quite inexpensive.
I know you guys really like Pinot Noir, but over in Napa I would really recommend Lewelling. Thay make only Cab from their own vineyards that were first planted in 1864. Dave Wight (his mom is a Lewelling)makes some really fine juice, and it's a fabulous visit. You'll taste either in the dining room or the back yard of their old house. Not sure how much stock you put in Robert Parker, but he said the 2004 Wight Vyd Cab reminds him of Screaming Eagle's top vintages, except that Lewelling goes for $45. You have to go!!!
Anyway, I'm sure there's more stuff I could give you, so if you think of anything, let me know.
- dananne - 07-05-2007
Thanks, Bob. We received a bit of help [img]http://wines.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img] and managed to get appointments for Scherrer, Swan, and Duckhorn. Now that those visits are set, we're scheduling visits with Siduri, Merry Edwards, and a few others. Thanks for the offer on Acorn and Mietz -- we may take you up on that. From their websites, I couldn't determine if they allow tastings, but from your notes, I knew that you had tasted at both, and have done so in the past. I just wasn't sure if it was because you have a personal relationship with them, or if they had tasting rooms, but were just open only by appointment.
Since we're renting a cottage in Occidental, we'll probably only venture over to Napa for a day, maybe two, spending the rest of our time in closer environs. Thus, I don't want to overschedule the Napa stuff, but we'll look at Lewelling and see about arranging a visit. I had forgotten about that one from your previous trip reports.
Again, thanks for the advice and suggestions. We really appreciate it.
- Kcwhippet - 07-06-2007
Acorn and Mietz are both open only by appointment. I stumbled on them a few years ago when I was looking for places that were small and unique. Mietz, for instance, is in a big concrete barn right on the road directly across from the Christopher Creek Winery driveway. There are no signs on the barn, so the first time we went we weren't really sure we were at the right place. Acorn is in a small winery building in the middle of their vineyards on the other side of 101 from Mietz - you can almost see one from the other. They were two of a number of small places we've been to over the years, but we keep going back to these in particular because we like the people and we really like their wines. Of interest to you would be the Pinot Noir from Mietz which we like a lot. It's not anywhere like the big Central Coast PN's like Loring, et al, but much more restrained. Both produce a Sangiovese - Acorn's is more traditional with small amounts of Canaiolo and Mammolo, while Mietz adds about 20% Merlot. Acorn also has a Dolcetto that's just luscious. I could go on and on, but you probably get the point that we really like these two.