Winery tourMar 11, 2012
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Dei and Peter
There are 13 wine growing areas in Sonoma County. Dry Creek Valley,...
Our first stop was the Ferrari-Carano Winery, one of 63 wineries in...
| The weather gods are with us! Our designated day for winery touring was forecast to be cloudy and rainy, and although it sprinkled last night, as the day progressed the sun found its way through the clouds and it turned out to be a lovely Sunday afternoon. We met up with Dei and Peter, our tour guides for the day -- he of the ham radio, who we first met over the airwaves. We spent many nights anchored in remote bays up the BC coast, talking to Peter who was ensconsed in his radio shack in Berkeley. We finally met him and Dei a few years ago and have enjoyed meeting up with them whenever possible. Two years ago we spent about 10 days in their driveway in Berkeley when three horrendous fronts hit California one after the other and it was unsafe to drive the highways. They could be forgiven for having had their fill of us, but they drove up from Berkeley this morning to show us around the Dry Creek winery country. The first place we stopped was just down the road from our RV park, the Ferrari-Carano Winery, a replica of a Tuscan villa, apparently built with Las Vegas casino money. And what a replica! Gorgeous formal and informal gardens, a very elegant tasting room, and reportedly first-class wines, which I only sniffed, but the others gave rave reviews to. Then a lovely drive along the backroad to Quivira Winery, a much smaller company, with a smaller stock of wines, but equally delicious, according to the experts among us. No formal Tuscan gardens here, rather raised vegetable beds and happy chickens, all grown according to Biodynamic principles which include specially formulated organic compost and correct alignment with the universe. Fascinating. Then into Healdsburg for lunch, one of the dozens of really lovely small towns in Sonoma County that have reinvented themselves to cater to winery tourism. Lots of B&Bs, restaurants, smart shops, and a spiffy downtown area. It was a "Wine Road" weekend, so the place was hopping. At these designated times, you can buy a pass that gives you unlimited access to certain wineries, which includes a special wine glass (as well as a wristband) for identification. So there were lots of people giggling around town and popping in and out of backroad wineries with wine glasses in hand. Our final stop was to the Hop Kiln Winery. This area used to grow hops, and the winery now uses the old hop kiln as part of their operation. Quite an impressive and unique structure, although the panel of experts in our two vehicles were not as taken with the wine. It was a lovely day and wonderful to see our old friends again. Add several more names to the lists of places to come back to. |
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