We unfortunately didn’t have the time to visit any vineyards during our spring trip to Charlottesville, but we made sure to grab a few bottles to enjoy post-trip.
It’s only taken a year, but Michael & I finally have the opportunity to take advantage of his pretty amazing work travel schedule. (This year, he’s already been to Hawaii and Italy, and will make it to Seattle, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and London before 2013 is over!) In September we’re squeezing a trip to Sonoma in the week between his travels to Seattle & San Francisco! It will my first trip to Northern California and our very first wine country experience, and we’re clearly very excited about it. After finishing this book the other night, I stayed up way past my bedtime researching vineyards, and my dreams that night were filled with all kinds of wine-related adventures.
So far, we’re hoping to visit a number of these Sonoma wineries:
Ridge Vineyards – Recommended to me by the father of a recent bride (who lives in Northern California and visits Sonoma often) as his favorite! Ridge is also mentioned a few times in Eric Asimov’s book, How to Love Wine.
Copain Wines – Another recommendation from Rebecca (the bride from above who happens to be a Map & Menu reader!) who is spending her honeymoon in Sonoma this week!
Scribe Winery – We linked to Scribe on Weekend Reads via a blog post from A Continuous Lean a few months ago, and the winery is also highlighted in our beloved The New York Times 36 Hours book.
Peay Vineyards – Mentioned in Asimov’s book, I love the private nature of the winery, which is only open to mailing list members who make purchases.
Arnot-Roberts – Another mention in How to Love Wine. I’m really not ashamed to admit that their branding is one of the main reasons this winery is on our list.
Ramey Wine Cellars – A favorite from the honeymoon visit of our friends, John & Rachel, whose opinions I’ll always trust.
Preston Vineyards – Discovered through the Ingalls Photography food/travel blog, The Epicures.
Are we missing any must-visit Sonoma wineries? Do you all have any tips for first time wine country goers? Do we have our sights set on too many? We’d absolutely love to hear about your past trips to Sonoma County or any vineyards you’re dying to visit someday.
Now in Portland, I used to live in Marin County, CA, and have wonderful memories of several trips to Preston, always hoping to arrive just as Lou took bread out of the oven. So many new wineries in just a few years!
You’ll have a wonderful time, probably right at harvest/crush season!
If you ever go back, I MUST suggest Medlock Ames. The entire production is eco-friendly and organic. They even have vineyard dinners and a small farm where you can hand-pick your own small loot of veggies! I loved their wine and their story. It’s a rather small production/staff, but one that I found to be a true gem. Also, tune into the Krush radio (it’s a hoot), and head into Sebastapol for the best bacon ever at Zazu!