During COVID we managed to continue tasting at home with some ZOOM events, but being back at wineries and restaurants in person is a great improvement. Hope you can take tasting trips soon!
April 2022
Sedona, AZ
We drove to Arizona and stayed at L'Auberge de Sedona for some hiking and peaceful R&R. The view from our cliff-side cabin was breathtaking and the vibe along nearby Oak Creek made it a great spot for relaxing or dining at their restaurant, Cress on Oak Creek.
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| Oak Creek |
Although we didn't tour any wineries in Sedona, we did enjoy several other restaurants - The Hudson Grill for lunch and one of Chef Lisa Dahl's award-winning Sedona restaurants: Mariposa - Latin Inspired Grill.
Sadly, I never felt any Sedona vortex vibe, but I think I did get a picture of one ...
May 2022
Big Sur
On our way to wine tastings in Healdsburg we took a fun detour and stayed at Glen Oaks in Big Sur. Our peaceful Sycamore Cabin was surrounded by redwoods and near the Big Sur river.
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| Big Sur Fernwood Tavern |
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| "Little" Big Sur River |
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| Andrew Molera State Park |
After a few days of hiking around Big Sur and making S'Mores over the fire pit we drove to Healdsburg and stayed at the Harmon Guest House. It was located near the Healdsburg town square and was convenient to restaurants and wine tastings in town.
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| Harmon Guest House |
While we stayed in Healdsburg we found a restaurant that was outstanding for food and drink options, or as they describe it, "Modern wine country cuisine." The Matheson, is a Sonoma Farm-to-Table Restaurant & Bar that serves fantastic cocktails, gourmet dishes and it's where I discovered Rivers-Marie "Sonoma Coast" 2020 Chardonnay. Rivers-Marie is a small-production winery in Calistoga owned by Thomas Rivers Brown & Genevieve Marie Welsh. If the rest of their wines are anything like the Chardonnay that I tasted, then they are fabulous! More on that later.
If it seems like we ordered a lot of food, that's because we had to go back a second night for dinner. It was out of this world - including the service.
Although the weather was a little toasty during our visit we thoroughly enjoyed tasting at Copain. We sipped their Rosé, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah wines with a perfectly paired cheese plate while overlooking the Russian River Valley. All of the wines we had were very good.
Our wine tasting was informative and very generous! I tallied up 12 tastes, although the official tasting menu only had 5 listed.
The wines we purchased were:
2021 Les Voisins - Rosé of Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley - From an estate vineyard, which is also home to Edmeades Pinot Noir
2018 DuPratt - Chardonnay, Anderson Valley, DuPratt Vineyard - Near the town of Elk.
2018
Maggie Hawk - Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley - Named after the vineyard
owner’s beloved horse, Maggy Hawk. It is near Navarro.
2018 Sealift - Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast - SeaLift Vineyard is in Annapolis, four miles from the Pacific Ocean.
2017 Brosseau Syrah, Chalone - Old vines planted in 1980.
PLUS:
2017 Tous Ensemble - Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast - Provided in our room by the Harmon Guest House. Nice touch!
An interesting side note: Jackson Family Wines bought Copain in 2016 and has not changed their boutique operation.
Soda Rock Winery
Soda Rock in Healdsburg's Alexander Valley burned down in October 2019 in the Kincade Fire, but they have managed to keep operating from their barn. Some of the winery’s 1869 stone façade survived and they hope to rebuild it completely in a few years. We enjoyed visiting them because they have retained the authentic spirit of wine country, before everything became ‘all fancy.’And we just dropped in, no appointment.
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2020 Lord Snort Blanc White Blend, Mendocino County
2021 Rosé Wine (Primitivo), Dry Creek Valley
2019 Primitivo, Lytton Station, Alexander Valley
Stonestreet Estate Vineyards and Winery
2019 Broken Road Vineyard Chardonnay, Alexander Valley
2017 Farrier Mountain Blend, Alexander Valley, Mountain Estate
2010 Rockfall Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
Papapietro Perry Winery
This is the place to taste Pinot Noir! Papapietro Perry Winery hosts a very nice wine tasting on their patio overlooking Dry Creek Valley. In the early 1980s Ben Papapietro and Bruce Perry began making Pinot Noir in a San Francisco garage before starting Papapietro Perry Winery in 1998. Their Pinot Noir wines are made with fruit from the Anderson Valley, Russian River Valley and the Sonoma Coast.
We took home these great Pinots:
2018 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
2018 Peters Vineyard Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
2018 Charles Vineyard Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, Boonville, Mendocino County
2019 777 Clones Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley - Various vineyards with five different soils and microclimates. 5
Holman Ranch Estate Vineyard & Winery
The Holman Ranch began in 1941 and in 1989 grape vines were planted. Over the years the ranch diversified with weddings and events and their first wines were produced in 2009. The Tasting Room opened in Carmel Valley Village in 2020. We arrived in 2022.
It was an interesting tasting in a comfortable setting.
The 2017 Hunter's Cuvée Pinot Noir, Carmel Valley was the winner of the tasting and we bought a bottle.
Northern California wineries are always a great get-away and we're glad that we can drive up there from southern California. Arizona is a big drive but worth it in the spring. Hope you can go wine tasting again soon too!
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Nice blog, Gary. You captured the highlights well.
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