Winter Wineland
Jan 15th, 2007 by Ashley
8:30am people arrived at my place and we were ready to head north. Destination: Santa Rosa. The drive was shorter than we anticipated; we got there 20 after 10 so we decided to fill our stomach with protein, be prepared for the wine ahead of us. We hit a charming inn on the road, had a fulfilling while incredibly delicious family style breakfast (had pancakes, omlette, crab cakes and scramble.)
We started off the day from Ferrari Carano, a rather NAPA-ish (that is, luxurious) winery in Healdsburg region. The beautiful weather paired with refreshing landscape, we had a great begining. The decor inside was superb as well, got us right into the mood of wine tasting. A slice of salami and cheese, a sip of Zin… Ahhh, I admin I forgot what i drank there. However, I believe none of us could plassibly forget the taste of Eldorado Noir. This blend used 100% black Muscat which all grew in Russian River Valley is a last harvest style dessert wine, yet not overly sweet. It’s a very beautiful wine. (So all of us got one.)
(rub his nose and good luck will come your way ^_< )
Due to the time limitation, we only got to hit 6 other wineries (one didn’t participate in Winter Wineland fest.) Dutcher Crossing, they had awesome beaf stew (we all had 2 cups); Preston: excellent pizza and 3 cats; Bella: didn’t get the food, the line was too long, but they held the event in the cave, great atmosphere; Goepfrich: sister winery presented German Riesling; Quivira : tasty Jambalaya; and Lambert Bridge.
Didn’t taste anything too impressive (except the Eldorado Noir); however, it’s such a blast hanging out with friends and visiting different wineries. And the weather and the scenery, can one ask for more?
On our way to Santa Ramen, we took J to experience the famous Lambert street and the night view of Twin Peaks. Though it was freezing, we were lucky enough to have a fogless evening and a beautiful city view.
