One of the nice things that starts to happen as the nest begins to empty out is that you are able to start turning your attention to "the bucket list". This past October, Loreen and I picked San Francisco and the Northern California wine region of our list and we certainly were not disappointed. While our San Fran tour was very nice, save for this shot from the bay, I want to focus this posting on our wine country visit.

I had been to San Francisco a couple of times on work conferences and had often thought that it would make a great trip for us together. We have also become big fans of visiting the Niagara wine region and were therefore excited to see Napa and Sonoma Valleys. We did a little bit of reconnaissance on TripAdvisor and picked out some hotels, a rental car and even researched comments on vineyards we should target.

After landing at SFO and picking up our rental car, we drove up the valley to the Napa region. Our hotel was in American Canyon which is about 10 miles south of Napa. While not right in Napa, it was well situated because from there you can go north to either Napa or Sonoma Valley. One thing that we were surprised by was the change in landscape as you drive from SF up to Napa. As you leave the city and they drive north through Berkley and further north, the vegetation starts to drop of drastically and the low hills are much more desert like than wine region like. However, it wasn't long before it started to green up again and we started seeing rows and rows of vines covering the hillside. 

After talking with the locals, we found out that these differences are because of the micro-climates created by the valleys which also made the Napa County region ideal for growing grapes. As we got to American Canyon, we were surprised to see that our Holiday Inn Express was situated in a nice little commercial area with a Starbucks and a Walmart and a few other stores and restaurants which made it convenient for us to get some snacks and refreshments for the room. 

After this, we took a drive into Napa and toured around the town's shops before locating a spot for dinner. While I guess we shouldn't have been, we were quite surprised to see that old-town area was quite quiet and seemed to be boarded up for the winter or something. After chatting with a clerk, we were reminded that a fairly significant quake had hit the area only 1 month before and some of the buildings are still under repair. We purchased a few souvenirs and some vinegars and olive oils made in the region and then we strolled down to the Riverfront area where the construction is newer and built to a higher code; all of this area had withstood the quake without issue. 

Dinner at "The Pear" was great, the weather was a pleasant 23 degrees, but the view and company were the best parts. The anticipation of touring one of the world’s most famous wine regions was almost intoxicating. Having our first sip of Napa wine while sitting right in the region was equally moving and romantic in all senses of the word. Later, on the way up to our room we picked up a map of Napa and Sonoma valleys and we logged in to TripAdvisor to map out our targeted spots.  A work colleague told us to be sure to check out Sterling and we picked out about 4 more in the Napa region leaving our research for Sonoma for another night.

One idea mentioned on TripAdvisor was that you could start your early morning tour with the sparkling wines from Dormain Chandon and we had intentions of doing that but in the end, we picked a west to east route which took us out of that area in the early part of the drive. The trip up the Silverado Trail, was gorgeous with rolling hills covered in acres and acres of grape vines. We stopped and took some pictures also capturing some of the wildflowers along the roadside.

This route took us by two Rutherford wineries, Rutherford Hills and Rutherford Ranch. Both were nice and we had a taste of a few reds and picked up a small 500 ml bottle of cabernet sauvignon for the hotel later. 

At Rutherford Hill, we opted not to take the winery tour which would have taken us into their wine caves where they age some of the better vintages. In hind-sight, it might have been worthwhile to take that tour. Robert Mondavi also has caves, but they are more historic and aren't actually used for production anymore. Also at these stops, we saw our first ever olive tree at Rutherford Hill and first ever cork tree at Rutherford Ranch; not a fascinating awakening by any means, but it was a new experience just the same.

Next on our list was Sterling but just before we go there, we passed by Clos Pecase and we were compelled to stop in for a look. It was an impressive property which offered amazing views of the fall colours.

Also, impressive was that they aged all their wines in extremely large oak casks compared to most who have evolved to stainless steel which I’m sure have reduced operating costs and improve. While I’m not actually a fan of oaky wines, it was great to see these huge oak casks in their aging halls just the same.  

We happened to be there in late September which is the time of the "crush" and some vineyards were already harvested and others were underway; it made the smells as beautiful as  the sights. Here's a shot of some vines at Clos Pecase that are ripe for the picking.

From there we carried on to Sterling which definitely had an impressive entrance but even more impressive is that in 1989, they moved their entire winery and visitor center to the top of a 1000 meter (4000 foot) hill. For only $30 or so, you get a gondola ride to the winery as well as a self guided tour including a wine tasting of about 5 of their wines. The views from the winery were awesome and in my humble opinion, no Napa tour should leave out this most excellent location.

The next stop on our Napa tour was Beringer Estates; this was also well worth the visit. Dating back to about 1870  when Jacob and his brother Frederick Beringer bought the property and began one of the first wineries in the area. This amazing and historic vineyard should also be on everyone’s list. The family home, is still there and serves as the customer visit centre. It also has several tasting rooms and plenty of tables so it was an excellent place for a couple of glasses of wine and a small snack. Surrounded by the beautiful gardens and warm weather, this light impromptu lunch was probably one of the best hours of the entire trip.

The last visit of that day was Robert Mondavi Estates. It too was impressive and I’m a big fan of their wines. We picked up a couple of bottles of a 2011 Chardonnay only sold on the premises; one we drank during our trip and one is in our wine fridge, saved for some special occasion yet to present itself.

We ended this beautiful day by driving over to Sonoma and having a very nice but simple wood-oven pizza dinner at the garden restaurant of the Swiss Hotel. The hotel actually dates back to a home built between 1836 and 1840 and it is filled with pictures of the western village in the late 1800’s. It actually has 5 rooms and while we didn’t stay there, I’ve put a one night’s stay at this establishment on our bucket list for the next northern California trip

At the risk of boring my readers to tears, I’m going to leave out most of the wineries of Sonoma Valley, but I will go out of my way to mention that you should take in Imagery Estate Winery. It is a fabulous property and visitor centre with an small deli and plenty of picnic tables for lunches. It also has a small art gallery on the premises where it features all of the art that it commissions for its label; each new wine, gets its own original artwork. I will say one more thing about the Sonoma versus the Napa valley vineyards that one proprietor told me on the Sonoma side “they’re a little more refined and stuffy over there – we’re a lot more welcoming and friendly”. While we didn’t feel ‘snobbed out’ on the Napa side, I will say that the Sonoma wineries did seem to be a bit more inviting.

All in all, this was a great trip. While Loreen and I have been to some nice places, mostly beach destinations and Disney World with the kids a couple of times, this trip was really the first one that we picked off the bucket list as a targeted destination and experience. San Francisco was nice (it turned out to be very hot at about 30 degrees C) but the wine region tour was definitely the highlight for us. Shortly after we got back,

Loreen’s brother Jim asked us what we enjoy about wine tours. For me, it’s an amazing balance between nature and culture. Culturally, wine-making (and drinking ;-), dates back thousands of years and there is a tremendous romance in this for me. Also, at its heart, wine is grounded in the land, the plants and the sun. While somewhat touristy, the wineries are never crowed like a downtown San Francisco or Manhattan sidewalk. For me, this combination of culture, peaceful and natural settings and the great company my best friend makes these visits most memorable and pleasant. The tastes of wine, cheese and cured meats and olives also add to the experience and cement in fond, lasting memories that help us make it through the long Canadian winters.

Can't wait for the snow to melt so we can visit Niagara wine country again in the spring!