Category: Wineries

Wineries:

1. Benzinger: a walk from you and just a gorgeous setting. Bio-dynamic wines and worth going to the reserve tasting. The family sold it but have heard the wines are still as fabulous.
2. Hamel Wines: a must if you can schedule a tour. The library tasting is amazing too. They may already be booked up but worth trying. Definitely one of our favorites. If you want, drop our name and see if that helps….we have been loyal wine members and used to do events there.
3. Repris: another amazing experience and definitely need to schedule a visit vs. just a walk in. On the level of Hamel and the setting is spectacular.
4. Talisman wines: need to set up a tasting. This is situated right downtown in a small building. Amazing pinos. We have been on again off again members because they’re so good.

Food:

1. Yeti – amazing nepalese food and should have awesome vegetarian dishes too. They have gorgeous outdoor seating now too.
2. Glen Ellen Star: great grilled veggies and pizzas. Very much a scene so make reservations. 

Random

1. Wine Country Chocolates: Started by a mom and daughter and their main facility was in GE (not sure anymore). They have a retail store in GE. You won’t be disappointed. I love the rocky road chocolate.
2. Glen Ellen Village Market. Love, love, love. What’s not to love about a grocery store. It’s owned and operated by someone who GE. People that work there love it too…food is off the hook and some of their  prepared dressings and sauces, like tomatillo, are awesome. Great vibe all around. 
3. Our first office was in this building.… across from the GE Market. Had our initial office in a former wine storage closet and made it to the bigtime when we expanded upstairs. 
4. Jack London Park: You’ll love everything about this place. Soulful! Not dog friendly.
5. Sonoma Valley Regional park – Nice hikes everywhere and dog friendly.

 

Start: Domaine Carneros, its on your way, early enough that you can break up the drive and catch a slight morning champagne buzz and be ready for lunch at Auberge.

Unless you are a Republican you absolutely must start your day drinking champagne and for this you have to go to Domaine. Domaine is in the Carneros appellation of Sonoma in the southern part of Sonoma County and is best known for its Chardonnay’s and Pinot’s but most of all, Domaine has excellent bubbly. It is also a great place to start since it is open early at 10:00 am. Ask the nice people for a wine map, they all give them out. It will be your guide. If you aren’t into bubbly the Pinot Noir called Famous Gate is top shelf.

2nd stop: This is about 30 minutes away so leave Domaine at 11:00

Start with Brunch:  Auberge De Soleil.

This is the spot. It has a wonderful view and great food with the best location in Napa for our favorite wineries. The key to Auberge is the bar deck. The bar is better than the restaurant and its first come, first serve. They open at 11:30 so stroll in at 11:31 and you are set. We haven’t had a bad meal yet. It’s not bar food at all. Its very good.

3rd stop:

Quintessa:

It’s at the bottom of the hill from Auberge. We consider this the best Cabernet tasting event in the valley and possibly the best Cabernet. It’s a sit down deal with a wonderful cheese plate and a tour worth taking. There is a great back story to the property and the owners, it’s a very unique estate. Reservation only.

4th stop:

Duckhorn:

Head north, you are on the prettiest part of the Silverado trail. After Quintessa you are very close to Duckhorn. Duckhorn serves amazing wines, both white and red, the reserve Merlot’s they make are some of our favorite wines and they are the purveyors of  our favorite Pinot. Ask them if they “happen to have a bottle of Goldeneye open” that’s the Pinot from their sister winery In Anderson Valley. They are reservation only and tend to pour quite a bit so bring a driver.

5th stop:

By now it should 230-3pm, swing over to downtown St Helena, very nice shops and a Dean and Deluca on the way south out of downtown. Walk off the slight buzz.

Final stop: about 45 minutes from St Helena on your way home. Enough time to work up a little appetite.

Rams Gate.

A new winery on your way home that will force the rest of the wine country to up their game. Finish your day here and get there by 430 so you can relax before 6p close. Beautiful setting, great building and some of the best food in either valley, bar none. The wine is good, not as good as rest of this tour but very good, Rams Gate is more of a cultural touchstone, the essence of the wine country and a restaurant experience more than anything. Exceptional small plates…

As my parole office knows, the reason I started this web log is to share info in one place for folks coming to visit instead of the emails and docs I send out now. So let’s start with Dennis and Diane @ Eric Ross, a Glen Ellen winery that has the most local flavor of any winery. We always recommend ER to those looking for the non-pretentious. Eric Ross is run by the aforementioned (it’s a word, look it up) Dennis and Diane. The ambiance is very relaxed with a fire going in the winter and a couch. A couch is hard to come by in a winery and this alone should give you an idea of what you are dealing with. Many great wines, the most unique being the Marsanne-Roussane, a crazy white that pairs with many a spicy ethnic meal.

Geo Sensible Napa Tour:

Disclaimer: Napa has better wine than we do. They just do and we live with it. The following tour is a sensible tour that starts in the northern part of the valley and keeps one from driving all over the valley.

Start with Brunch:  Auberge De Soleil.

This is the spot. It has a wonderful view and great food with the best location in Napa for our favorite wineries. The key to Auberge is the bar deck. The bar is better than the restaurant and its first come, first serve. They open at 11:30 so stroll in at 11:31 and you are set. We haven’t had a bad meal yet.

Second stop:

Quintessa:

It’s at the bottom of the hill from Auberge. We consider this the best Cabernet tasting event in the valley and possibly the best Cabernet. It’s a sit down deal with a wonderful cheese plate and a tour worth taking. There is a great back story to the property and the owners, it’s a very unique estate. Reservation only.

Third stop:

Duckhorn:

Head north, you are on the prettiest part of the Silverado trail. After Quintessa you are very close to Duckhorn. Duckhorn serves amazing wines, both white and red, the reserve Merlot’s they make are some of our favorite wines and they the purveyors of great Merlot and our outstanding Pinot. Ask them if they “happen to have a bottle of Goldeneye open” that’s the pinot from their sister winery In Anderson Valley. They are reservation only and tend to pour quite a bit so bring a driver.

Fourth Stop:

Paraduxx: For the hip farmer in you….

This happens to be a Duckhorn property as well. The reason I recommend is that it’s a single proprietary red blend. It is a Zin  blend and you get to taste a 3-5 year vertical. It’s a modern tasting room, very comfortable and if you appreciate the whole idea that this wine thing is fundamentally about farmers you will enjoy the year to year difference in the wine. Reservation only.

Fifth stop: (Oakville cross wineries)

As you head south on the Silverado trail you hit the Oakville Cross road, on this road is Plumpjack Winery. Plumpjack is known for its Cab and it has a very relaxed tasting environment. The problem is they tend to be out of stuff, so call ahead. Be warned, a bit hipster’ish.

You are also next to Silver Oak and Opus, two signature Napa Cabs. Oakville is Cab central.  If you feel like splurging go to Opus and do the expensive tasting and go upstairs and check out the valley. Whether Opus or Silver Oak, a problem here is that you are coming off of Quintessa, Duckhorn and potentially Paraduxx, three great sit down tasting rooms. Unless you really want more wine you may be better off checking out the St Helena shopping and perhaps dining.

Notable addition:

Whether in St Helena at this point of Oakville Cross, you aren’t too far from Dean and Deluca.

Sonoma Valley. That’s our valley and the valley you are in. This tour is based on the idea that you shouldn’t zig zag across the valley’s to get to wine you like or wine you had back in your grocery store. This allows more time to lollygag.

Itinerary:

1: Domaine Carneros

Unless you are a Republican you absolutely must start your day drinking champagne and for this you have to go to Domaine. Domaine is in the Carneros appellation of Sonoma in the southern part of Sonoma County and is best known for its Chardonnay’s and Pinot’s but most of all, Domaine has excellent bubbly. It is also a great place to start since it is open early at 10:00 am. Ask the nice people for a wine map, they all give them out. It will be your guide. If you aren’t into bubbly the Pinot Noir called Famous Gate is top shelf.

2: Nicholson Ranch.

These folks have amazing unfiltered chard’s and the friendliest tasting room in either valley and are a very informative bunch. They guy who started the place is named Socrates. They are very close and are a very good value. We were in their club for the better part of 2 years. They have a nice lake, a cool cave and do great tours but it is all about the wine. Unfiltered Chardonnay is very different.

http://www.nicholsonranch.com/

3: lunch

Lunch. It’s only two stops but by now its noon and you will be hungry. Drive into the town of Sonoma which is only 10 minutes away and on the way to the other Sonoma wineries. Sonoma is an old Spanish town, the northern most of the Jesuit missions. It has a central square with several places to eat. El Dorado Kitchen and The Girl and The Fig are at the top of the list. EDK has better outdoor seating. There is shopping around the square as well.

4: Oak Hill

There is a fantastic flower and veggie farm on hwy 12 as you are headed to Kenwood. This place epitomizes the slow life. A must stop. Say hello to Gail

Time to start drinking again:

5: Chateau St Jean

The prettiest winery in the valley is Chateau St Jean. This is in Kenwood, about 15 minutes north of the square and 10 minutes or less from Glen Ellen. It is one of the few wineries where every single wine you taste will be great. There are two tasting rooms, the regular and reserve, I recommend paying the money and going to the reserve room. The staff is very knowledgeable. When you are done tasting, the regular room has quite the gift shop. On a side note, this is also a good place to start since the wines are so damned good. The reserve Merlot is amazing and one of my favorite bottles in the valley.

6: Audelssa: Spectacular. The tasting room is in DT Glen Ellen. Superb staff, exceptional wines. These are the kind of reds that will explode in price over the next 2 years. I recommend pretty much all the reds.

7: Rams Gate.

A new winery on your way home that will force the rest of the wine country to up their game. Finish your day here and get there by 4 or 430 so you can relax before 6p close. Beautiful setting, great building and some of the best food in either valley, bar none. The wine is good, not as good as rest of this tour but good, Rams Gate is more of a cultural touchstone, the essence of the wine country and a restaurant experience more than anything.