Sonoma is the sleepy undersold little brother to the world famous Napa valley, and that appealed to me. We only had a day to see wine country (at least near SF) and so Sonoma it was.
This advice came in part from a little lady I met in SF the night before, and it was sound advice. She also told me the best Pinot around came from Russian River which was similarly great advice.
SF to Sonoma
Sonoma City Hall
An effortless 1-hour drive over the Golden Gate (I prefer the Bay Bridge) found us in swish Marin County headed for wine country. You reach a cross-roads which almost begs the question of you: are you a Napa type or a Sonoma type?
Napa is slick, commercial and marketed, whilst Sonoma is sleepy horizontal hill billy quaint and I like that. There are many more family wineries and often of equal quality to the Napa neighbour.
Sonoma City main square
Sonoma City is a gorgeous quaint colonial style town, manicured to perfection and with little for the tourist alone. We had a delicious lunch washed down with a glass of local Pinot, my handmade gnocchi were a thing of culinary beauty.
A short drive later and we hit our first winery B.R. Cohn but it was a little lacklustre and too busy, being the closest to the town itself. So, we got back in the shed and headed for Glen Ellen to the local behemoth The Benziger Family Estate. Glen Ellen is super quaint and reminds me very much of Braemar in the Scottish Highlands for some reason. Think perfectly painted yellow wooden barns with US flags draped on their western fonted signs and little picket fences.
The Benziger winery was excellent in that it allowed oservation of all steps of the wine making process as well as the usual tours and tastings. I didn’t mess around, I knew what I came to California wine country for – straight into the Pinot’s. Like fireworks – in the mouth, punchy rude, expensive and short lived but wondrous.
Some lucky ones may find a couple of bottles coming their way if we can sneak them home.
Wine country could be a holiday in its own right, the standard of everything here is very high and apparently America’s finest restaurant is to be found in this area, French Laundry
Tags: caifornia, napa, pacific, pinot noir, sonoma, valley, wine country
September 19, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Wineo’s usually start drinking with friends then drink by themselves in their bedrooms. They start with half bottles a day then move on to full bottles a …day
Take care Dan or your career could end in tatters
September 19, 2008 at 6:57 pm
If it is pinot noir that is to end my medical career then so be it, an inferior grape may make me think twice.