Wine, wine, wine

A day outside the city, a day full of sun, a day full of wine - that's what I'll call today. When planning this trip, I wanted to booked a wine tour, but I've been to both Napa and Sonoma before. I've visited a few vineyards before, and they might into that "biggest" category, so most tours offered stops that included one or another of those big vineyards. I kept searching, until I finally found this combo valley wine tour, hitting 3 boutique vineyards I had never even HEARD of! Success - I booked immediately, and now here we are, me waiting on the stoop in the chill of the morning fog, waiting for my pick-up.

This particular tour was a small group tour, so it didn't take long for the group to be collected, on our minibus with enormous picture windows, and we were on our way, out of the hustle and bustle of the city. Our driver/guide, Aaron, chatted as he drove, regaling us with the history of the area, or stories of the neighborhood, or recountings of his personal experience living in the city. He looked like a laid-back bearded version of Mr. Rogers, but sounded exactly like Jeff Goldblum when he spoke over the bus' PA system, and spoke with the catch-phrases of and old hippy. It was hilarious. Our first stop brought us to the gorgeous sight of the Golden Gate Bridge from the far side of the Bay, but 'tis the season for foggy mornings, and this one was no exception. With the exception of the deck and crossing cars, we saw nothing but fog before us, so we crossed our fingers for sunny afternoon skies and continued on. Not 5 minutes further down the road, into Marin County and past the mountains, the fog receded, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, and the sky turned brilliant blue. It was going to be a beautiful day after all.

Our first vineyard was the cleverly-named Peter Cellars, own and run by a Brit named Peter, who one day made a decision, left the tech industry, studied in Oenology and moved to Sonoma to start his own winery. On his small estate, he grows and picks his own grapes, crushes the fruit, ferments and blends the juices, and elaborated his own wines. He also washes the tanks, bottles the product, and runs the tasting room when someone calls in sick, like today, so we got a very personal experience, though perhaps a little reserved, Peter being the guy behind the scenes and not the personable face of the vineyard. We worked our way through several different Pinot Noirs, a Syrah and a Cabernet Sauvignon, all very dry - Peter explains how his wines often have no residual sugars - and though they were good, nothing blew me away, but the hospitality was good and the hidden location, down a farm road and removed from the highway, make this place a real gem in Sonoma. Next!


Our next stop in the gorgeous expansive Nicholson estate, relatively new to the area, these vines having been put in the ground by the Indian owner. The tasting room and surrounding grounds are marvelous, well laid-out, with several cozy area to sit and enjoy not only the wine, but the accompanying scenery, too. Inside, our tasting guide explains the history of the vineyard as we enjoy our first glass of Chardonnay, continuing the experiencing with a walk outside, between the vines. Here, we taste a second Chardonnay, along with another Pinot Noir, and the grapes they came from, straight from the vine. It's still a few weeks off from the grape harvest, and so the fruit is very sweet and plump, this summer having been a good growing season. We finish up with a final Pinot back in the tasting room, and I decide that, as lovely as it is to sip a wine while walking among the vines, it is not conducive to proper wine-tasting, and the sun is heating up my wine, affecting the flavour. My notes from Nicholson are incomplete.

Lunchtime! Aaron the bus driver drops off the group at Oxbow Market in Napa, where we have a wealth of options to choose from, including wood-oven pizza, sushi, burgers, oysters, salads...oh, and did I mention the Culinary Institute of America right next door?! So much good food, what is an indecisive foodie to do? I pick seafood, in the form of a rustic stew with toasted sourdough bread for soaking up the rich, tomatoey broth. Packed with littleneck clams, mussels, squid and rockfish, and topped with one incredibly tender, head-on shrimp, it was divine. I was happy. I chose NOT to order wine alongside, because, you know, wine tour. I also picked up some fresh green olive oil to bring home, our supply from Spain dwindling. Onwards, because that wine tour is calling.

Last stop for day is at the larger, but no less boutique, Bouchaine cellars. Set at a point in the Napa Valley looking straight down to the San Pablo Bay, we were ushered out into the garden, to a long wooden table under large red parasols, with glasses of rosé(their "vin gris") waiting to welcome us. Here, our tasting guide encouraged us to discover the wines a little differently, attempting to follow our tastes with her proposed wines, continuing our flight in several different directions, depending on the palette. You could tell she know her stuff a little more, and that Bouchaine(part of the Carneros family) had a large offering of wines for us. I proceeded through two more Chardonnays, one oaked and one not, to a Pinot Gris that no one else wanted, though I was eventually brough back to another couple of Pinots Noirs before finishing up with a Late Harvest Chardonnay. I gotta say, I was a little surprised at how one-dimensional all of the tasting had been at the three vineyards we visited, and how I am not particularly fond of Pinot Noir wine. The more you know, I guess! One thing the group did agree on was the beauty of the location, and how we would love to spend the rest of the day in the garden sipping our wines. Sadly, it was not to be, as Aaron began to usher us along, out of Bouchaine and towards the bus ride home.

We did luck out in the end, as we exited the Robin Williams tunnel leading to the Golden Gate Bridge and our crossing back into San Francisco - the grand dame was showing off all her lovely red splendour in the bright blue sky, with the sun shining bright behind. We stopped briefly in the Presidio to take a look, and as everyone walked down the hill to get a closer look, I headed back up the hill to one of the defunct military batteries, climbing onto the roof for the best views. It was a glorious way to cap off a wonderful day, full of sun, full of wine.