The Wine List

I am going to attempt to post reviews of the bottles we bought while in wine country--and there were many. First bottle:

Kunde 2007 Meritage 202
"Meritage" is a name given to wines done in the "Bordeaux" style grown outside of Bordeaux, since France is very strict about naming their wines (for example, a Champagne has to be grown in the Champagne region). Since I have no idea what "Bordeaux" really means, other than being a description of the place, here's the short review:
It had a tart and full fruit beginning, my mom said it was "dry", and it was, but I'm never really very sure where the dryness begins or ends, and then it finished with a bit of earthiness. Rob's short review: "It was good."

Monday, October 24, Day 8

From 10-17-11 to 10-24-11 honeymoon

We tore ourselves from the Farmhouse after breakfast (of lemon poppyseed muffins, fresh strawberries--only in CA!--smoked salmon scamble with hot pepper sauce) reluctantly, packed up our many bottles of wine, and drove back to LA.
Saying goodbye to the Farmhouse mascot was equally difficult (what a life!):

From 10-17-11 to 10-24-11 honeymoon

Sunday, October 23, Day 7

After a delicious breakfast at the Farmhouse--where they have several courses even for breakfast (consisting of baked currents, apples and walnuts to start, then corn waffles and stewed bananas with chicken sausage, yum!!!), we visited Copain, which afforded one of the many beautiful views to be had in this part of wine country:

From 10-17-11 to 10-24-11 honeymoon

http://www.yelp.com/biz/copain-wines-healdsburg#hrid:WMMLhK-r4mAtNJEIfbrZvg

From 10-17-11 to 10-24-11 honeymoon

We then went to Hawkes on the recommendation of a friend, and were thrilled with their wines, some of the best we had while in Sonoma. They also had really beautiful midcentury paintings by the mother(?) of the owner in their spare tasting room:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hawkes-vineyards-and-winery-sonoma#hrid:06bMOl80TIstqzwyQuPPIw

Next door is Jimtown Store, which is well-known for it's appearance on "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" on the Food Network, but the hype isn't overrated, it's really good (oh yummy pulled-pork sandwich...the pork-a-palooza continues) and the store itself is like stepping back in time to a 5-and-dime with lots of vintage signs, wide wood planks, and cheeky goods for sale.

From 10-17-11 to 10-24-11 honeymoon

http://www.yelp.com/biz/jimtown-store-healdsburg-2#hrid:0j1TCZkmMUPIsrjkCygJ6A

From 10-17-11 to 10-24-11 honeymoon

After that we visited Robert Young, supposedly known for their reds... a beautiful, but disappointing visit:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/robert-young-estate-winery-geyserville#hrid:_mi_NdbC9pxri2cUYd2cgQ

From 10-17-11 to 10-24-11 honeymoon

We were nervous about not getting into the appointment-only tasting room Michel Schlumberger, but no worries there, they were very accommodating (and we learned the only reason most appointment-only wineries are appointment-only is because the number of public permits is limited due to the shear volume of wineries applying).
http://www.yelp.com/biz/michel-schlumberger-winery-healdsburg#hrid:jQxfcX53ENpH0jH2I1T_ug

From 10-17-11 to 10-24-11 honeymoon

From 10-17-11 to 10-24-11 honeymoon

We then went to Quivera just down the road and were delighted by their organic garden and their incredibly reasonable (and different) wines. We finally found the answer to the question "does all wine have to be aged in oak or stainless steel?". No! They actually had a white wine that was aged in Acacia and really tasty. Our server, who, like several of the men we met working in tasting rooms, was a Vietnam vet, and he was great, explaining their philosophy of balance and harmony. They have beautiful gardens with flowering plants, lots of vegetables, chickens, and fruit trees, and all organic! It's really inspiring to see that setup work as well as it does. They are pretty realistic about it too, recognizing that they won't get as big a yield on their crops as the wineries that use pesticides, but that they will be able to use their land indefinitely, as long as they take care of it: http://www.yelp.com/biz/quivira-vineyards-healdsburg#hrid:K7CZmrbvEBhPyeG8yleKbQ

From 10-17-11 to 10-24-11 honeymoon

Here's Sunday's route:

Saturday, October 22, Day 6

First stop on this beautiful morning (after breakfast at The Farmhouse) was Porter Creek Vineyards. We didn't snap any photos, but we did have a tutorial on how to taste wine (and not get drunk) by the very entertaining Scottish man who hosted the tasting in a small shed that had apparently only recently gotten electricity. The vineyard is owned by the winemaker and his wife (the woman who pays for everything), and they have a small daughter and a dog who were hanging around. Their wines are very subtle, but we were delighted by the Zinfandel and bought a bottle to enjoy with food (what their wines are best known for--we saw many of their wines stocked at The Farmhouse restaurant).

Here are a few more details about this unique winery and a link to their website:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/porter-creek-vineyards-healdsburg#hrid:Xf41NMbv2l73ydD0b5SLFQ

We had a little detour while olive oil tasting when the keys were locked in the putt for an hour. Thank god for AAA. Even in wine country, they sent someone within minutes to unlock the car, and rushed it when they found out it was our honeymoon.

We high-tailed it to Healdsburg to grab a sandwich at the Oakville Grocery deli counter before horseback riding. It was a zoo--but a good lunch place with lots of specialty meats, cheese, and ready-made options. Being rushed didn't help the experience:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/oakville-grocery----healdsburg-healdsburg#hrid:4J1Rs48T4H3xU0YhZb7VWw

Our last stop of the day was the Chalk Hill vineyard (which we had trouble finding--apparently there is also a Chalk Hill Farm) where we had reservations for horseback riding with Rafael, one of the nicest people we met while in Sonoma. My horse was "Siete", a beautiful Polo pony, who let the way on the trail around the grounds. This winery had fantastic views! This was really a relaxing way to spend the afternoon:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/chalk-hill-estate-vineyards-and-winery-healdsburg#hrid:s-Yn0t7eTtLlqH0uUcAFEQ

After a thoroughly relaxing visit to the Sauna (in our room!), we went to dinner in Sebastopol at the Starlight Wine Bar, housed in an old dining car:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/starlight-wine-bar-and-restaurant-sebastopol#hrid:CgFY0cCwPRTnlLihhIl31Q

Here's Saturday's route!

Friday, October 21, Day 5

We started out the day at Kunde--a beautiful spot with an awesome mountaintop tasting and some of the best all-around wines we had while in Sonoma.

From 10-17-11 to 10-24-11 honeymoon

http://www.yelp.com/biz/kunde-family-estate-kenwood#hrid:aEiuze57kUs_E753r7NNcA

From 10-17-11 to 10-24-11 honeymoon

We had some tasty eats at Cafe Citti before hitting the VJB wine tasting room:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-citti-kenwood#hrid:z-6FWZHoqLgVL4M9LgoRuA

From 10-17-11 to 10-24-11 honeymoon

VJB had delicious wines:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/vjb-cellars-kenwood#hrid:-dWZHcy63mAccroa3n827Q

And then we checked into the Farmhouse and had dinner--best!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/farmhouse-inn-and-restaurant-forestville#hrid:BMAoDz3YAfmOM-oTN_Pzaw
Here's the route for Friday:

Thursday, October 20, Day 4

In the middle of our honeymoon we stayed at the lovely renovated Gaige House.

It's one of those Joie de Vivre hotels that looks all swanky but actually isn't completely overpriced. They put in those amenities that you really want like breakfast and cookies at the front door and wine and cheese in the afternoon, and a heated pool (sadly, we weren't able to take advantage of the wine and cheese and the pool because we were too busy going to wineries!!! The walls were a little thin, but you can kind of forgive that considering we were in the main house, which was built over a hundred years ago.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/gaige-house-glen-ellen#hrid:vvwxztsNrMPVyr7VbanZLA
First stop on Thursday was Domaine Carneros in the Carneros region of Sonoma. Apparently people who tried to grow wine here were initially laughed at because the area was supposedly only good for sheep herding. Oops! Too bad for those haters, the place has really tasty wine! Domaine Carneros is totally over-the-top in a Louis XIV kind of way, but their sparkling wines were a nice beginning to the day.

Here's the skinny online:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/domaine-carneros-napa#hrid:7O1VjrlgTSVBp7pNaPv8KQ

As Monty Python (and my dad) would say "and now for something completely different":
di Rosa preserve is this wacky property right across the road from Domaine Carneros, where Mr. di Rosa spent most of his adult life collecting and displaying Northern California artwork. While I am not usually a fan of this region's art (too much lumpy pottery and ugly figurative stuff), it was cool to see how passionate and thorough he was in his love of art--he lived with it every day and essentially built a shrine to house an impressive collection. As a nod to the region's "sheep herding" past, di Rosa's wife painted the sheep right next to the parking lot (hehe):

Here's more about di Rosa and me spouting about the importance of art and culture...
http://www.yelp.com/biz/di-rosa-preserve-napa-2#hrid:GWDySNockg2jLVhFV9keQw

And more pictures of the house...

Lunch was at the delightfully unpretentious Moore's Landing diner that overlooked the river:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/moores-landing-napa#hrid:c-GCIGROzvVm-wrN26jwww

After lunch we went back to the Carneros area and did Artesa--a beautiful winery up on a hill with a super-modern tasting room and overall some really good wines. Makes me think of Spain for some reason...
http://www.yelp.com/biz/artesa-winery-napa#hrid:QeZdH9LXj5GHi0EaFd983w

Dinner was in downtown Sonoma (adorable!) at the Girl and the Fig. Great food! Weird art on the walls, but a cozy, charming place with friendly waiters.
(stars by the plates we had) I love that the restaurants would gladly give you a copy of the menu. They make great keepsakes and are the only way I could possibly remember what we ate every night!

Here's more detail about the Girl and Fig...and my favorite cheese.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-girl-and-the-fig-sonoma#hrid:uBSW4iKsEYuf5UasMIid5w

Here's the route for day 4:

Wednesday, October 19th, Day 3

The wine tasting continued at an old-school winery called Regusci, where we met a belly-scratch fiend, pictured below:

The tasting room was calm and the grounds were beautiful--with a storage barn that looked as old as they come and a lovely sunny view. The wine was great! And we learned that some of the wineries in California stayed afloat during Prohibition (how the heck did that ever get passed? What was Congress drinking???) by selling their wine to pharmacies, who doled out wine as "medicine". Totally agree with that--if more doctors wrote prescriptions for wine, we would be one healthy country;)

Here's more about this picturesque spot:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/regusci-winery-napa#hrid:v8aABbir2o4JacA1BbpmVQ

Next was the cave tour at Rutherford Hill Winery. We had a really friendly guide who answered all of our questions about the whole wine-making process and showed us the ground and the man-made caves where they store their wine.
The tasting room is housed in this fantastic redwood "barn" structure that was built during the 1970's (almost certain) and has withstood all those woodpeckers (we heard many of them while we were there).

We were lucky enough to witness the "crush" while we were there--we had gorgeous weather our whole stay, but apparently it rained the week everyone planned to pick their grapes, so the grapes were bloated with water (not a good thing for flavor) and most wineries left them on the vines to dry out before picking.
At Rutherford Hill we saw the man-made caves where they store their wine (a good investment as the caves built into the hill keep the wine cool without the cost of refridgeration).

Here's the same thing as above, only on yelp:)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/rutherford-hill-winery-rutherford#hrid:05pytTFF2NXBiuw8sixohA

Lunch was Yountville (yes, that place again!) deli where I had the ubiquitous Reuben sandwich. I had this sandwich at least three times on the trip, and each time was good!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/yountville-deli-yountville#hrid:uzaUKXqAZ2q0AtGoczxcuw

We ended our day at Chateau Montelena, a gorgeous spot with a Chinese garden and a jam-packed tasting room (can someone mention "Bottle Shock" one more time please? Not sure I heard about it the first 8 million times).

Their famous 1973 Chardonnay won best white at the famous Paris wine competition in 1976, over all the French wines, and put Napa Valley on the map. It's hard to get any information out of the servers in this place unless you look like you have expensive jewellry. But no matter--the grounds are perfect for wandering away from the crowds!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/chateau-montelena-winery-calistoga#hrid:AlOVWtyrucurIatFxzB0wg
After all the wine, we drove to the Gaige House (review to follow).

Here's the route!