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Wine Country

xvart

Doing it wrong until I do it right.
Staff member
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My wife and I went on vacation this week in the Sonoma/Napa Valley region. I tell you what, if you ever want to go on a nice relaxing vacation, this is the area. We went on a wine tour today. This tour had a shuttle that took us to five different wineries in the area. It was awesome because at each place they gave us anywhere from four to eight tastings of wine and you didn't have to worry about driving around since they picked us up at our hotel. It was absolutely beautiful. If you love wine then this is the thing to do! I thought I would share just a few of the pictures I took.

This first winery was built on this hills that were supposedly volcanic mountains. They built into the caves to age the wines, which you will see later.
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Here is the entrance to the cave.
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Some cute little grapes that are about to grow.
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Here is the inside of the cave with the mile of cavernous storage space.
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This was my favorite winery.
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We had a ton more pictures. What a great experience. I had a blast and met some nice people from Boston and Houston. My wife stopped drinking the entire sample we were alloted at each stop so I finished off her glasses for her.

We had talked about doing this for our honeymoon but ended up going to Colorado instead. I highly recommend this instead anytime! There were two couples on our tour group that had just got married. It is so beautiful here!

xvart.

edit: wow. I really messed up that title. Can someone fix that please?
 
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Man That would be fun, I cant wait till i am of age to drink, then I can get all the wine I want. If ill be old enough to make my own responcable choices when im 18 such as smoking and buying pornography, why not drinking? What ever...

Either way, It looks like you had fun. What part of the country? I dont know where the valley you mentioned is.
 
Either way, It looks like you had fun. What part of the country? I dont know where the valley you mentioned is.

All the vineyards we visited were in Sonoma county, which is about an hour outside San Fransisco.

xvart.
 
Seems like an awesome time; I've always wanted to go! So, which wineries did you visit??

Neal
 
What's a nealfor?

For drinking, silly! I don't get into those fancy wines. Colt 45 is good enough for me!
 
My wife stopped drinking the entire sample we were alloted at each stop so I finished off her glasses for her.

edit: wow. I really messed up that title. Can someone fix that please?

I guess you're still feeling all that extra wine, eh? :p

Current title alright with you? Let me know if you'd like it to be something else.

BTW, the Nappa valley really is a very nice place, even if you're just driving through. Acres and acres of grape vines, and not a whole lot else. But it's sort of nice that way. Thanks for sharing your pictures- I really like the one of the winery you liked, that house's architecture as amazing!
 
So, which wineries did you visit??
We went to Kunde, Ledson, St. Francis, Landmark, and VJB and had 5, 4, 4, 3, and 8 tastings respectively.

Colt 45 is good enough for me!
Well, if it gets you into "grin mode" then it's good enough for me. lol.

I guess you're still feeling all that extra wine, eh? :p

Current title alright with you? Let me know if you'd like it to be something else.

LOL. Busted! I did so well typing that entire message out, and you wouldn't believe how many types I had to backspace and stuff. I guess I need to start checking my titles. It's funny because whatever it was did not have any relevance or accidental markings. They just came from nowhere! You did just fine with the new title, Est. Thank you.

BTW, the Nappa valley really is a very nice place, even if you're just driving through. Acres and acres of grape vines, and not a whole lot else. But it's sort of nice that way. Thanks for sharing your pictures- I really like the one of the winery you liked, that house's architecture as amazing!

I wholeheartedly agree. I can't remember the exact acreage of Napa and Sonoma and how much is devoted to grape vines but it is ridiculous. We talked about how these areas are so popular but still continue to have a "small town" feel to them.

That particular house was amazing on the inside, too.

xvart.
 
Great pictures!
The immature grapes on that picture look just like the ones on my grape vine out in my back yard!! And that cave looks like Bilbo Baggins’ house in Hobbiton. :)

Thanks for sharing!
 
that's awesome! thanks for sharing.

i'm a super lightweight. i'd be toast after just one sample or two i'm sure.

did they help educate you on what wines go good with what foods/occasions and that sort of thing?
 
  • #10
I was under the impression that wine went good with all foods and occasions.

..hey it makes communion better :)
 
  • #11
did they help educate you on what wines go good with what foods/occasions and that sort of thing?

Yes. They more recommended wines that would go well with the wines were were sampling. "This wine would go well with a hearty meal and some meat because of the robust flavor..."

One of the places had a list of all the flavors you should experience when drinking that particular wine. The card would say:

AROMA:
PALATE:
FINISH:

This was really helpful for me, even though I couldn't pull out barely any of the flavors. But it made me feel more educated. I also liked laying the wine glasses on their side and rolling it down the bar to decant the red wines.

I also ran into Lois today while exploring the California countryside! I'm mad that I didn't think to get a picture of the two of us. She was the first TF member I've met in the real world! lol.

xvart.
 
  • #12
Come back tomorrow to get our picture then you can meet Peter, too.
It was a gr8 pleasure meeting you too, J C
Lois
 
  • #13
We are headiing out to California this August, I don't suppose you would be willing to let me know the name of this particular tour?
 
  • #14
We are headiing out to California this August, I don't suppose you would be willing to let me know the name of this particular tour?

"California Wine Tours - Sonoma Public Tour" was the specific one we went on. California Wine Tours does all sorts of tours: public, private, limos, and they have Napa tours as well. The tour we went on was about $80 and included 5 tastings (valued at $5 - $10 each) and a $15 meal at Ledsons. Plus they drive you around and tell you about the area, so in my opinion it was worth it. That price also included the tip for the driver.

I think some of the tours do not include the tastings in the costs so make sure to look at all the options for the best fit for you. You'll have a blast, this part of the country is so beautiful and so fragrant!

California Wine Tours.

xvart.
 
  • #15
We went to a couple more vineyards on our own today. I am continuously amazed with the landscape around here. Everyone is so nice and friendly. I'm also impressed because nobody we have encountered has been pretentious or arrogant about wine; in fact, many of the guides at the wineries have gone out of their way to talk about certain wines that people generally don't like of theirs and why that may be. It's so relaxing, too.

I just wish that in the second picture the rose bushes at the end of the grapevines were bigger and more colorful. Everyplace we went the roses were busting out except here (at least by the grapevines). I'm not sure why, but maybe a slightly different micro climate.

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The barn is on the "Valley of the Moon" property. I had remembered buying a bottle of their wine back in college so I had a nice nostalgic moment at that particular place.

xvart.
 
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  • #16
Awesome information! It looks beautiful. I have been to California quite a few time, but have never made it up to the Sonoma/Napa valley area. I'll finally be 21 by the time we get there, so I really want to go now. I have found it to be quite difficult to be a conniseur of good wine when you aren't old enough to buy it ;) Glad you are having fun! Beautiful pictures too!
 
  • #17
And the final update of our vacation. I am now back in rainy Kansas City. We managed to have a few minutes on our way to the airport to pull over and take some pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge and the surrounding area. I thought it was a great morning for pictures with all the fog.

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Unfortunately we did not have any time to explore SF. I really wanted to see the Grateful Dead house and the Full House house (lol - just kidding). Next time we are in the area we will make a point of navigating the city. It's a great area of the country and I am jealous of all of you that live in this area.

xvart.
 
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