This post from the archives – I lost most of my history but found this one on GoogleDocs. It is being posted mostly so I remember where to go next time I travel to Sonoma. We traveled in 2006.
Over President’s weekend, Erica and I traveled to Sonoma for an enchanting long weekend. I bought the trip on a lark from Luxury Link and the package I bought entitled me to 3 nights at the Trojan Horse Inn with breakfast each morning. Neither Erica nor I had ever stayed at a bed and breakfast so we were a bit ambivalent. Upon arriving, Bethany and Greg, the innkeepers, quickly helped us to our room and made us feel comfortable. We came down to the beautiful dining room and enjoyed a glass of wine and fresh cheeses by the fire. We had been there only 15 minutes and yet I felt totally at ease. Their restaurant recommendation of Della Santina’s was great.
Day One:
We were up early, enjoying coffee and the local paper while breakfast was prepared. The food was sublime; an egg souffle with ricotta cheese and ham. After devouring it, we decided to head up to Dry Creek Valley to begin our wine tasting tour. Our plan was to hit several vineyards in the valley and then stop in Healdsburg for a romantic lunch. Greg and Bethany provided us an itinerary and tips on vineyards we couldn’t miss. Our first stop was Bella Vineyards and Wine Caves. We did very little to prepare for the trip so we enjoyed the explanation that Dry Creek Valley specialized in Zinfandel. I think we appalled our host when we admitted we’d only ever had White Zinfandel! We quickly tasted the Big River Zinfandel, the Dry Creek Zinfandel and the Belle Canyon Zinfandel; we also tried Bella’s Syrah. Erica loved the Big River while I preferred the mellower Dry Creek but both of us were instant fans of Zinfandel. We purchased a few bottles and went on to Raymond Burr Vineyards and Winery.
At Raymond Burr, we enjoyed the memorabilia and the Emmys then got down to tasting. The vineyard specializes in an outstanding Cabernet and we tasted the ‘99, ‘00 and ‘01. The staff explained that all the Raymond Burr wines were estate grown which, for those who know as much as I did, means that all the grapes are grown at the vineyard. We purchased two bottles of the Cabernet and we’re advised to age them and enjoy them a few years from now.
Our next stop stands out as the highlight of our first day. We called Gopfrich Estate Vineyards and Winery which does tastings by appointment only and Ray Goepfrich encouraged us to come right over. We met him in his newly built tasting room and he lead us through tasting each of his wines. We paused midway through and he took us into the barrel room where we could see all of his wine fermenting. He offered us a barrel tasting of one and then explained it had another year in the barrel. Ray advised us to head to Yoakim Bridge and we did. We feasted on the delicious meatballs and enjoyed the selection of Zinfandels. We left with a jar of the Zinfandel sauce because the meatballs were spectacular. By now, it was late in the afternoon and we decided lunch was needed before we did anymore tasting. We at in downtown Healdsburg and then headed back to Sonoma. We dined that night at Meritage and enjoyed a delicious bottle of Selby’s 2001 Zinfandel, one of the great Dry Creek Valley vineyards we missed.
Day Two:
For our second day, we decided to hit the Sonoma Valley. We got an early start at VJB Vineyards; unbeknownst to us, the valley was having the “Now That’s Amore!” event so we purchased bracelets and began to taste the Italian varieties. We tasted 6 different Italian varietals and left with a bottle of our favorite, the 2003 Dante Cabernet Sauvignon.
We then headed to Kaz Vineyard and Winery; Kaz is small vineyard producing 1000 cases annually in only 40 barrels. We met Kaz and saw his incredible labels. He is a former commercial photographer who uses old family photos to create his labels. He lead us to the barrel room where we tasted his 2005 Nebbiolo Rosa we then tried the rest of his lineup. All Kaz wine is organic and produced with no sulfates. Our favorites were the 2002 ZAM and the 2002 Flying Star.
From there, we headed to Navillus Birney . I’m told this is a “luxury boutique” winery and the tasting room was a beautiful storefront in Glen Ellen. We loved the two Pinot Noirs and the Syrah here. We then decided to check out the big winery experience and went to Benziger . We took the tram tour and enjoyed the overview of the wine making process. We giggled as we heard the tenth different version of how long the oak barrels can be used; it seems they are used anywhere from 4-10 years, depending in part on the quality of the wine.
Our favorite vineyard of day two was clearly Loxton . We pulled up to the unassuming barn and couldn’t understand why everyone had declared this a place not to be missed. Chris Loxton greeted us as we tested his Syrah and walked us around his barrels. He explained what grapes where in each and allowed us to watch as he refilled the barrels. We loved his take on wine making and his explanation of the region. We purchased both his 2003 Zinfandel and his 2003 Syrah. I can’t wait to buy his 2003 Buffalo Bluff Cabernet. We finished our weekend with a delicious dinner at Deuce; we enjoyed a bottle of Loxton’s 2002 Syrah.
I cant recommend enough a trip to Sonoma and would again stay at the Trojan Horse Inn!
Update: Since we’ve been back, we’ve been drinking more Zinfandel and fell in love with the 2004 Joel Gott Zinfandel