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Wineries on Day 2

My second day started with breakfast at the Hoffman House (next to the Geyserville Inn). A great breakfast for a small price.

After breakfast, I drove to Healdsburg for an ATM. I was a little early to begin wine tasting, so I drove around Alexander Valley. I tried to go to Jordan, but it was appointment only. I stopped by Hanna Vineyards (which I had been to earlier this year), but decided to head on to Napa Valley to start my wine tasting for the day. Here is the wineries I hit that day (including my lunch start).

1. Chateau Montelena – Know for their Cab’s (and for their one Chardonnay). Recently renovated tasting room. The week before they had just finished filming a major film about the wine owner there.

2. Vincent Arroyo – I have futures on their wine. Had stopped earlier this year and added to my order (which will be shipped in October / November). It was worth the stop (added two more Greenwood Ranch Petite Syrah to my order).

3. Envy Winery – This was a recommendation from Rick and Vincent Arroyo. A fairly new tasting room. They had some first release wines to taste. One of the owners owns a restaurant is know in the area and had two Cab’s that are excellent (but very expensive). All were great.

4. August Briggs – The winery was recommended by people at both Montelena and Arroyo. High in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. I bought a Pinot there.

Lunch – Taylor’s Refresher (in St. Helena) – It’s been a lunch stop for me during the last two years. An old drive-in converted to a walk-up dinner. Great food and wine. Their burger menu is large and multiple types of fries (I like the garlic fries).

5. Alpha Omega – I turned into this winery on a whim last time in Napa and was impressed. They are only on their first release of wine, but they are very solid. I would recommend a stop (even though the wines are a little expensive).

6. William Harrison – Another recommendation from Vincent Arroyo. Known for their Cab Franc (which I bought). The only made 4 red wines.

7. Robert Sinskey Vineyards – One of my “let’s stop here” finds. A organic winery which has special food pairing that are served with their wines for the price of the tasting. One white and three reds. All wines were excellent with the food pairings.

8. Signorello Vineyards – Another last minute decision. They mostly produce reds (only a couple whites). I tasted the high end reds (2 Cabs and a blend). All were great, the only issue was the price ($45 to $95).

All of the wineries above I would recommend trying.

Dinner that night was BarBer’s Q in Napa. A friend of a friend of a friend owns this place. I BBQ joint with wine. Very nice and great food. I had the roasted turkey sandwich and key lime pie. Someplace to try if you are out there. Reservation are recommended.

Overall, the trip was great. One and 1/2 cases in two days. Not a bad trip.

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Wineries on Day One

I left the conference in San Francisco and headed north. Instead of heading up through Sonoma, I decided to head to the Dry Creek Valley. Here are the list of wineries I visited yesterday.

1. Mauritson / Rockpile – Very nice winery. Their high end wines are from the Rockpile area (north of Lake Sonoma). I bought a Zin and a Port.

2. Dry Creek Vineyards – Another nice winery. I bought 2 of the single vineyard Zin’s there.

3. Papapietro Perry – Located in a area where multiple family wineries are around a common parking lot. Bought 2 small bottles of Pinot. Also known for their Zin.

4. David Coffaro – A small boutique winery. The tasting room was in a Morton shed. The winemaker’s testing area is behind the tasting counter. Very laid back. The have a wine that is basically all of their wines combined into one bottle. Picked up a blend called Escuro.

5. Geyser Peak – The winery that I belong to. Picked up 4 Chardonnay’s (2006) and 2 Vigonier.

6. New Coppola winery (called Rosso & Bianco) – Nice winery. Wines are pretty good. Didn’t buy anything there.

Had dinner at Healdsburg at Willi’s Seafood. I would recommend it. I stayed at Geyserville Inn (for my second time). I very quiet place to stay in upper Sonoma Valley.

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I left my heart…….. in San Francisco.

I usually don’t post about a trip, but I thought I would post about this trip to San Francisco.

1. If you are in town during the week and are staying downtown and would like to see an interesting performer, go see Nikki at John Foley’s Irish Pub every Tuesday and Thursday.

http://www.johnnyfoleys.com/index.html

2. An good place to eat is down near the Financial District. I was looking for one restaurant, but wondered to Belden St. I ate at Cafe Tiramisu tonight. The wine list was excellent (a lot of wine from Italy). I had the Pepper crusted Ahi Tuna on a Spicy Shrimp Risotto. Very tasty!!!! I had the Limoncello for an after dinner drink. For the second time in less that a week, it wasn’t very good. It seems that in America, they don’t chill it. It is served room temperature (or slightly chilled). When I was in Italy last year, it was served frozen (or near frozen). It is much better this way. Here is a link to the other restaurants on Belden St.

http://www.coastnews.com/restaurant-guide/belden.htm

Off to wine country tomorrow afternoon.