Another Fun Trip to Stock the Wine Cellar

We just returned home from five days in Northern California. We flew into the SF Bay Area on an absolutely gorgeous day. We had a reunion dinner with some of our fellow travelers from our Morocco bicycle trip in April. Several of them had just returned from a bicycle trip in France, and of course, we're getting ready to head off to SE Asia on a bicycle trip.

The group met in Sausalito at Poggio Tratorria. Lots of wine - everyone did quite well drinking wine in Morocco. This time we stuck to California wine - I don't even think Moroccan wine was on the wine list.

Then we headed to the Dorrs' over in Lafayette because the four of us were leaving for five days and four nights in Mendocino.

During the trip, we visited EIGHTEEN wineries in northern Sonoma county and Mendocino county. We drank some fantastic juice, all from small wineries that you almost never hear of because their distribution consists of sales at their winery, to their wine club, and to a few restaurants.

I think our favorites were:
Breggo Cellars, Anderson Valley, Mendocino County. Great Pinot Noir and whites.
De La Montanya, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County. Great Pinot, Zin, Syrah, and Cab.
Toulouse, Anderson Valley, Mendocino County. Unbelievable Pinot.
Limerick Lane, Healdsburg, Sonoma County. Great Zin and Syrah.

And I can't forget Esterlina Vineyards. The winery sits atop a ridge about 1,000 feet above the Anderson Valley. What a view! We had a picnic lunch on their deck, sampled all their wines, and were very reluctant to leave (but we had more wineries to visit).

It wasn't all wine tasting (although we did feel "pickled" a lot of the time). We did feel obligated to get in some athletic activiity every day before wine tasting. So we went kayaking, mountain biking, hiking along the coastline, and hot tubbing (a new sport).

We stayed at the Stevenswood Spa Resort. The breakfasts were incredibly good (Caren really liked the Waffles made with wild rice, and I liked the Ricotta and Berry Pancakes) and the dinner was outstanding. They have a chef that rivals the best in LA or SF.

John and I tried out the hot tubs and gave them a thumbs-up. It was a perfect Indian summer week for weather, but we needed the in-room fireplace one night. Real pampering - helped John get used to his transition into retirement.

Caren assembled a photo album from the trip. It is a Picasa web album - click on the link:

Our trip to Mendocino