cmaldoon wrote:Just leaving st. Supery.

We tasted a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, malbec, Cabernet, and Rutherford merlot.

We also got a wlk through the vineyard while our guide told us about vine management and soils, Lots about soils.

Onward to Corison

Live updates! Whee!
(I would love to hear about the things being learned!)

rpm wrote:As my Mother used to say, "we'll see....."

Hmmm. That always meant "No (and I hope you forget that you asked)" when my mother said it.

Just leaving Corison

Cathy is the sweetest most knowledgable, fantastic, giving, fun lady and I am honored to have finally met her.

She started us off with a glass of her dry Gewurtztraminer that she makes just for the fun of it.

We then got a tour of the Kronos vineyard and Cathy gave us TONS of tidbit about how she manages it. She LOVES her vines and her wines.

We then sat down to a fantastic 2004-2006 vertical tasting of her napa cab. and shared all of our notes. We then progressed into lunch on a patio overlooking the vineyard. Roast beef sandwiches paired with her unreleased 09 cab and the sublime 2006 Kronos.

Sitting and listening to Cathy and RPM talk wines and history has already made this trip worth it.

Ok you guys can stop drooling now.

On to Laura Zahtila!

Leaving Laura Zahtila

Laura and her husband welcomed us with open arms.

They shared with us a Zin Rosé (very pretty), both an estate and a dry creek Zin, a local cab, and their PS based port style wine.

We were guided through their winemaking process as well as given some background on the particulars of Calistoga winemaking as opposed to further down the valley.

Thanks Laura!

On to Wm. Harrison!

That was William Harrison!

Tasted the cab franc, cab Sauvignon, and Rutherford red.

These were very good quality wines trying to span the modern and traditional styles

They showed us the mobile bottling line that they run. Bill was one of the first if not the first mobile bottler and has bottled all over the US. This led to a discussion by RPM about good reds made in Texas of all places. I personally reserve judgement until I taste them.

Now we're off to Scott Harvey's house for dinner and RPM is actually going to allow us to swallow wine! Up to now it has been a bunch of swish and spit ( except Kronos.... I wasn't going to spit that ambrosia)

I'm sure tonight will be a fantastic time.

Great updates cm.
My update is, kt and I crashed the party at Scott's :}
Just a quick hello as we were passing through, on our way to dinner at ad-hoc now (mmm fried chicken).
Good to meet a few newbies, looking forward to meeting the rest tomorrow!

Ddeuddeg & I are really looking forward to the tour. See everyone tomorrow! Stopped at TJs to pick up a few things for dinner @ 87 yr old cousin Alice's. Ddeuddeg found a Wente Riva Ranch 2010 Chard. It went perfectly with the Paprika Chicken that she prepared. Would have liked more chicken & more wine.

Oh my god...

Scott and Jana know how to throw a party

We were greeted with a rose and a Riesling. We were then treated to a contest: name the grape leaf ( 4 choices) and name the wine ( cab, syrah, Zin, Barbera).

Scott then brought out the big guns: double mags of barbera, syrah, Jana cathedral 07, as well as bottles of old vine Zin and Sauvignon Blanc. Dinner consisted of tritip and chicken soft tacos with plenty of roasted bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, spring onions, jalapeños, and corn. There was also a fantastic slaw with a lime dressing, hearts of palm, black beans, and avocado.

Dessert was a german cheesecake Scott made himself served with Forte port and angel eis.

So... Much...fun. They had to herd us out of there and onto the Bus. Only 2 more days??? :-(

What an incredible day!

To top it off with a great dinner at Scott and Jana's place was fantastic! They are such nice people, and the rest of their crew were just as nice. (except I forgot my sunglasses there ;()

It's also been great to meet Winedavid, Winegeorge, and winefarm, all 3 of them are just nice people to know. Woopdedoo has done a great job so far as well! It's also been a blast meeting all the fellow wooters.

ThunderThighs wrote:All you travelers have fun and safe travels. Check in now and then.

I'm still packing.

cmaldoon wrote:Oh my god...

Scott and Jana know how to throw a party

We were greeted with a rose and a Riesling. We were then treated to a contest: name the grape leaf ( 4 choices) and name the wine ( cab, syrah, Zin, Barbera).

Scott then brought out the big guns: double mags of barbera, syrah, Jana cathedral 07, as well as bottles of old vine Zin and Sauvignon Blanc. Dinner consisted of tritip and chicken soft tacos with plenty of roasted bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, spring onions, jalapeños, and corn. There was also a fantastic slaw with a lime dressing, hearts of palm, black beans, and avocado.

Dessert was a german cheesecake Scott made himself served with Forte port and angel eis.

So... Much...fun. They had to herd us out of there and onto the Bus. Only 2 more days??? :-(

I know you were having fun, but any notes on that forte? I've been eying his for quite some time and is one of the few wines in his lineup that I have yet to try. Scott and Jana are awesome people, really can't wait to see them again some time.

I'm currently sitting in LGA waiting for my flight. Soon I'll be connecting through Midway for our flight together to Cali!!! Yay!

North316 wrote:I know you were having fun, but any notes on that forte? I've been eying his for quite some time and is one of the few wines in his lineup that I have yet to try. Scott and Jana are awesome people, really can't wait to see them again some time.

Wait... You want NOTES from the LAST wine of the night?

The only notes I have evidence of are the 4 bottles of 2008 mountain syrah and the magnum of 2007 Jana cathedral (that one will get filed away deep in my cellar next to the 07 Kronos) that I picked up.

cmaldoon wrote:Wait... You want NOTES from the LAST wine of the night?

Actually, LAST wine of the entire DAY.

North316 wrote:I know you were having fun, but any notes on that forte? I've been eying his for quite some time and is one of the few wines in his lineup that I have yet to try. Scott and Jana are awesome people, really can't wait to see them again some time.

Here are my extremely unhelpful, end of night notes:

Taste: sweet
Color: dark red
Bottle: squat
Thoughts: Forte by itself > Forte blended into Zin

Conclusion: Buy it

karenhynes wrote:Yes, please!!! I need to live vicariously through y'all!

+1

HitAnyKey42 wrote:I'm currently sitting in LGA waiting for my flight. Soon I'll be connecting through Midway for our flight together to Cali!!! Yay!

Hope the two of you have a nice flight. They cancelled ours. Got a text while I was in the shower after getting up at 5AM. Next flight out isn't for another 3 hours. I'm pretty sure we'll be on that one, but I just got another text saying it's been delayed almost an hour. Bahwm was on the phone for a half hour taking care of that, and making sure the car rental people would hold the reservation until whenever. Plans for a nice leisurely lunch on the square, followed by a nap before tonight's GTG are now in the ashcan. So thrilled. Fortunately, being veteran tour-ists, we will (eventually) be traveling with the sure knowledge that once we get together with our tour buddies tonight, all will be well.

ddeuddeg wrote:Hope the two of you have a nice flight. They cancelled ours. Got a text while I was in the shower after getting up at 5AM. Next flight out isn't for another 3 hours. I'm pretty sure we'll be on that one, but I just got another text saying it's been delayed almost an hour. Bahwm was on the phone for a half hour taking care of that, and making sure the car rental people would hold the reservation until whenever. Plans for a nice leisurely lunch on the square, followed by a nap before tonight's GTG are now in the ashcan. So thrilled. Fortunately, being veteran tour-ists, we will (eventually) be traveling with the sure knowledge that once we get together with our tour buddies tonight, all will be well.

Good luck! I was helping my friend get back from Phili to Ithaca last night, and that was so annoying as well. Something is going on with flights recently

at scott harvey's house:





dinner aftermath:

redwinefan wrote:PIX

Thank you!

That looks SOOOO much nicer than my view of a congested 9th ave with everyone trying to get to the tunnel to head to NJ. Even though I have a great view of the Hudson River, I have nothing but concrete before it and nothing but NJ (lol) after it.. I need to move to a rural community...

redwinefan wrote:at scott harvey's house:





dinner aftermath:

Oops missed one so this is a double:

We started out this morning with a long drive up Sonoma valley while RPM regailed us with valley history. Tons to learn!

Our first winery of the day was Foppiano. I had never heard of the place but they have been around for a LONG time!

We took a long stroll through the vineyards learning about the peculiarities of northern Sonoma wine growing. They have lots of PS, some Pinot noir and Chardonnay

We then went into their barrel room and met their lovely new wine maker ( trained at Davis). We tasted a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, rose (PN and PS), Pinot Noir, Lot 96 blend, and Petite sirah.

We then took a very long time getting out of there because we all lined up for their deal: $60 for a vertical of their estate PS '96-'98 ( add 95 for only $15 more). I look forward to experiencing this varietal well aged.



We then moved on about 30 min late to Pedroncelli. They have a gorgeous vineyard and we were given a glass of rosé and escorted to the hilltop. From there Ed (one of the Pedroncellis) showed us the vines of the world on surrounding hillsides: Zin, PS, Port varieties, Sangiovese, ect.

We then enjoyed a Chardonnay for our walk back down. We were escorted into their barrel room where 100000 gallons of wine towered over us as we sat down to a fantastic lunch. They served us: a large white bean salad done with olive oil, garlic, and tarragon; a roasted beet and mixed green salad with a balsamic reduction vinegrette; and chicken with kalamata olives and feta cheese. These were served with their Sauvignon Blanc, friends red, and mother clone Zinfandel. Also on the table was a fabulous sweet and sour bread and butter pickle mixture made from a family recipe using zucchini and onions.

For dessert we were served devils food cupcakes with a surprise of chocolate Ganache inside. This was served with their 2007 vintage port made with true portugeese varietals. It is notable that both the cake and the ganache had their port in the recipe.

cmaldoon wrote:
We then took a very long time getting out of there because we all lined up for their deal: $60 for a vertical of their estate PS '96-'98 ( add 95 for only $15 more). I look forward to experiencing this varietal well aged.

WD, get that for us!!!!!

Landed! On the road to Sonoma, finally!

bahwm wrote:Landed! On the road to Sonoma, finally!

Woot! Safe drive! If you want to stop by for a drink in SF give me a ring...I'm almost on the way Regardless, see you tomorrow!

cmaldoon wrote:We then took a very long time getting out of there because we all lined up for their deal: $60 for a vertical of their estate PS '96-'98 ( add 95 for only $15 more). I look forward to experiencing this varietal well aged.

That is exactly the kind of offer you should feel free to call/email/text me about and I'll pay you back later

Thanks for the updates...living vicariously through you guys is excellent.

klezman wrote:That is exactly the kind of offer you should feel free to call/email/text me about and I'll pay you back later

Thanks for the updates...living vicariously through you guys is excellent.

Yup! BTW: Woop, Sparky, HAK, Andy...whotheheckever...DITTO on what Klez said. I can't BE there to buy, but I can buy through you guys...lemmee know, and I'll make a transfer ASAP!!!

Edit: only if blessings are bestowed from on high, of course.

Had an awesome lunch at the girl and the fig.
Why didn't we come here before? Stupid

I've been posting pics on Facebook, if you'd like to see some pics.

Update, Scott told me he found my sunglasses.

Cesare wrote:Had an awesome lunch at the girl and the fig.
Why didn't we come here before? Stupid

Ooh, I've been wanting to go there. We're going to check in to availability now. Just got into our room @ the SVI.

We are now done with dry creek vineyards ( and if you didn't catch my edit to complete the earlier post, go back first. )

At dry creek we were met by their chief hospitality person ( Chief entertainment officer or as he noted CEO) and seated in a lovely shaded outdoor area

They started us off with a chennin Blanc. As was noted to us, chennin Blanc has gotten a bad name for being a sweet, characterless wine. We were broken of this thought by a beautiful, tart, dry wine. Like most all of their wines, this one was made in a style that is friendly but not at all over ripe.

We then moved onto Sauvignon Blanc which dry creek is known for and were told about the various vineyards and clones that go into theirs.

Afther this we moved on to their zins: Heritage and Old vine. The heritage Zin had so much character it put all of the high alcohol, jammy zins to shame. This one was only 13.5% abv but had fully developed favors and a fantastic finish. The old vine was in a slightly riper style (jammy) but not heavy and still only 14.5%. We were told about how their heritage vineyard came to be: 50 different cuttings from around California, culled to 20, 10, and finally 5 to get their final vineyard blend.

We finished with their Mariner meritage and got the story of the origination of the term Meritage which they were a big part of.

I left duly impressed.

It's now off to Iron horse. We are winding through the back roads of the Russian river valley.

bahwm wrote:Ooh, I've been wanting to go there. We're going to check in to availability now. Just got into our room @ the SVI.

Ok, so we're @ The Girl & the Fig on the patio in back. Anybody else?

bahwm wrote:Ooh, I've been wanting to go there. We're going to check in to availability now. Just got into our room @ the SVI.

And we're here, at the Girl and the Fig.

bahwm wrote:Ok, so we're @ The Girl & the Fig on the patio in back. Anybody else?

Just missed us. We left and went to the WCC office for a while. Going to the market now.
I see Sparky is here and Hak is almost here.

We were rolling from iron horse at 5 after 6. Joy is as wonderful and bubbly a person as her wines and our visit was over much too quickly.

Joy and her crew shared her ocean reserve and her wedding cuvée when we arrived. From the tasting area we could look out over a large portion of her large vineyards in the rolling hills of the Russian river valley. Nothing was flat and this helps add complexity to her wines. Next we went back to the cave where they age, rack, and cork the champagnes.

Joy told us about racking, why they do it and showed us that they do it both by hand and by machine ( both equivalent). She then told us about how the yeast is frozen in the necks and then popped out in the final processing. I finally got to see a champagne cork BEFORE it is put in the bottle... Not the traditional mushroom shape, just one fat cylinder.

After the cave we moved to the gazebo area and traded in our flutes for standard glasses. We enjoyed both an unoaked Chardonnay and a native yeast Chardonnay. Both of these were very interesting. With these we were served: a crostini with hummus, crushed olives, and shaved Parmesan; lamb sliders (yum!); corn frittata with avocado and bacon on top ( super yum). Joy then came out with her TOP Pinot noir and shared it with us (thanks Joy!)

On our way out we stopped once more at the tasting area and had their Russian cuvée (which helped end the cold war) and a peach and custard tartlet.

Now it is time to head back and meet with the other tourists and enjoy the Sonoma farmers market.

Until tomorrow, cheers!

Shopping, day two, but missing the 2.5 cases still to be delivered from Scott Harvey

So winefarm's worried about people driving after the gathering Wednesday, was planning on driving home but does anyone mind if I crash with them if needed? I'll pay for a rollaway or whatever and chip in.

tenuki wrote:So winefarm's worried about people driving after the gathering Wednesday, was planning on driving home but does anyone mind if I crash with them if needed? I'll pay for a rollaway or whatever and chip in.

If it's an issue, molarchae and I could possibly share a cheaper room out there if needed. Currently planning on taking it easy, mostly just tasting, then driving back.