THE LONG & WINE-ING ROAD - Day Two

THE LONG & WINE-ING ROAD

Day Two

After our beautiful day at River’s End, where the Russian River meets the Pacific we looked forward to another day exploring Sonoma County.

We woke to an overcast sky spitting water outside our condo every 20 minutes or so as my brother Bob, sister-in-law Nguyen, Richard and I prepared for a day of wine tasting.

Ever “weather optimistic,” we decided to pack a picnic lunch. Many wineries have sections on their grounds for people like us who just want to keep sipping wine and not take time to stop somewhere for a meal (raises hand). We had some leftover grilled chicken from the night before so we made sandwiches, packed some fruit, hit the road and headed up the mountain to the Gary Farrell winery.

As we drove through the entrance gate and up the incline leading to the winery/tasting room’s glass and stone structure, it started to rain. Our plans to picnic on the terrace overlooking the vineyards, ancient redwoods and neighboring mountains were dashed. We picnicked in the car. In the parking lot. Overlooking the walls of the winery. After our “atmospheric” lunch, we ran between rain drops into the expansive tasting room w/ a wall-to-wall picture window that gave us the view (shrouded dramatically in rainy fog) we’d missed during our car-lunch. It was time to sip some wine.

Brian was our server and he told us that Gary Farrell was no longer the winery’s wine maker – his apprentice, Susan Reed, had taken over. Bob, Richard and I shared the premier tasting (for $10) and the Limited Release tasting (for $15). I like their 2007 Russian River Valley selection chardonnay in the $10 tasting and the 2007 Pinot Noir – Hallberg Vineyard/Russian River Valley and the 2007 Pinot Noir – Ramal Vineyard/Carneros, but at $32, $50 and $50, respectfully, not enough to buy the wine. I’d buy the view, though.

The next stop on the long and wine-ing road – Arista Winery, visually quite different from Gary Farrell. The tasting room building is nestled in a lovely garden that boasts some modern sculpture and green lawns.

The building itself reminded me of a modern church because of its pitched entrance.

The room was small and cozy. The tasting fees were $5.00 and $10.00.

The $5.00 tasting included a 2008 Anderson Valley Gewurztraminer – I’m not a fan of this wine (maybe because I can’t pronounce it), but it seemed ‘fine’ for a Gewurztraminer ($24), a 2008 Mononi Vineyard pinot gris ($28) that I didn’t care for and two 2007 pinot noirs one from Sonoma Coast ($30), the other from Russian River ($44) – none of us cared for these wines, either. We moved onto the $10 tasting of four more 2007 pinot noirs, all from different regions, all priced at $56.00 – and even though they all scored in the 90’s by Wine Enthusiast and Pinot Report – all three of us were under-whelmed.

Further down the mountain was the Matrix Winery.

Perhaps Keanu would be there to pour for us us. Nah – it turned out to be a guy, raised in the Bay Area who sounded like the guys I grew up w/ in Queens, Long Island, New York, accent and all. Turned out he was from my hometown, Bayside! Ha. This “small world” encounter was probably the most exciting thing about the winery. Though the tasting was free, the wines (all over $35) were mediocre. It did have a nice 2007 Chardonnay, Struhlmuller Reserve and a 2007 Russian River Alegria Reserve Zinfindel, but, again, not a wine I loved enough to buy.

So far, though the views and landscape were glorious and the rain didn’t interfere w/ our having a fun sipping time, we hadn’t found the wine of our dreams.

Next stop was Hop Kiln housed in a Sonoma landmark building.

We again dodged the raindrops as we ran into the huge, funky, barn-like tasting room. The place was jammed. No room ‘at the inn’ (tasting bar) and it was closing in on the 5:00 wine tasting witching hour and there was one winery ‘in town’ we wanted to try. So, as wonderful as the atmosphere was, we passed on the wine and headed back to Healdsburg and the La Crema tasting room.

And I’m glad we did. The room was a simple store front. Modern w/ a flat screen TV and big chairs for those who wanted to watch a game while they sipped their wine, and a bar for the more serious wine taster… Mark was our ‘barista’ – an outgoing guy from Peoria. The tasting fee was $5, but since we had a complimentary ‘coupon’ from our time-share condo complex, we sipped away for free… And out of five pourings, I really liked three: the 2008 Los Caraneros pinot gris, ($25), the 2008 Monterey County pinot noir - Richard really liked this one, too ($24), and the 2007 Los Carneros pinot noir ($40) – and, while we were enjoying the wines, Mark gave us a little La Crema history. In 1993 Jess Jackson (of Kendall-Jackson) bought the winery and his daughter, Laura Jackson, runs the business. Melissa Stackhouse is the winemaker. That was two female winemakers mentioned that day and one female winery “runner.” I liked that. And I liked Melissa’s wines.

The clock chimed five and wine tasting was over… but to paraphrase Miss Scarlett, “tomorrow’s another day.”

THE LONG & WINE-ING ROAD - Day One In Sonoma

ROAD TO RIVER’S END

I first watched the old Hope/Crosby “Road” pictures on TV when I was about seven. I loved traveling to Morocco and Singapore, to Zanzibar and Utopia even though I was prone to motion-sickness when in the back seat of the family car on our own road trips. By the time “Two For The Road” came out, I was sold on road trips (and had discovered Dramamine) and was the first one in the car when Richard and I drove through Germany, France and Italy when he was producing shows for the Food Network… and first, again, when we took our road trips through New England, the Carolinas and, of course, California. So, when my brother Bob and his wife Nguyen invited us to share a condo time-share in California’s Sonoma County wine country, I couldn’t wait to jump into the car, picnic on the I-5 (see my earlier blog titled, of course: “Picnicking On The I-5”) and head north. We arrived in the town of Windsor just in time for ‘happy’ hour.

The next morning Bob suggested we follow the Russian River until it met the Pacific Ocean at Goat Rock Beach. Sounded like a plan to me. We drove through little towns, some that are flooded every couple of years when the Russian River rises from too much rain. We drove through redwood forests and through lush green hills (which turn ‘tan’ in the dry summer months) where sheep and black & white cows leisurely grazed, reminding me of Wallace Nutting painted photographs. And then we hit the beach where the river meets the sea. Breathtaking.

There were crashing waves, black sand and sunbathing seals, but they’d have to wait til we had lunch.

 Bob and Nguyen recommended River's End, a small motel/cabins complex overlooking the ocean where they had stayed some years earlier which had a restaurant w/ “views.” Sounded perfect.

The exterior of River's End looked like a roadside hash house.

This look continued inside. The restaurant’s bar, walls and ceilings in the main rooms were paneled in dark wood. And old-fashioned brass and glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling giving the interior that rustic ‘hash house’ feel.

The menu, however, was far from ‘rustic’ and definitely contained no hash. Among the dinner entrees were almond encrusted petrale sole served w/ ‘forbidden’ rice, baby seasonal veggies w/ a pomegranate sauce; smoked applewood filet mignon smothered in gorgonzola walnut butter and served w/ almond potato croquettes and roasted garlic mashed potatoes, finished w/ a port wine reduction; and North American elk w/ a red wine poached pear and blue cheese served w/ roasted garlic mashed potatoes in a green peppercorn sauce. See. Not rustic!

The lunch menu boasted “Bubbles & Oysters” which consisted of two ½ glasses of Scharffenberger brut and fresh oysters w/ a wasabi tobiko and lime ginger mignonette; an ahi poke – fresh sushi grade ahi served raw w/ an Asian vinaigrette and crispy wontons; and a trio of baked oysters – one in a garlic dill sauce, one in a pesto sauce and the third in a bbq sauce… And those were just some of the appetizers.

As we studied the luncheon salads, soups and main courses, our waitress brought us a copper basket of warm rosemary bread. As some of you know, I’ve been dieting – low carb - but I had to taste. Rosemary-y! Delicious! Big mistake! Like a recovering alcoholic who takes that first sip which can lead to a second, third and a fall off the wagon, I fell off the low carb wagon I’d been riding for weeks. I love bread! I love sandwiches. And, as many of my blogs have shown, I really, really, really love burgers…. So how could I resist the “West County Burger” made from all natural sirloin (ground daily), hand pressed and served w/ fried leeks, cheddar cheese and house bbq sauce – all on a Kaiser-style roll w/ baked cornmeal on top? Be still my heart! I ordered it (though I did pass on the bbq sauce). I ate it. I loved it! It was really, really, really good! The mouthwatering memory lingers.

Richard, always the healthier eater of the two of us, ordered the duck confit salad served over warm spinach tossed w/ beluga lentils and a bing cherry vinaigrette dressing. He was a very happy diner. I tasted. The duck was perfect.

Bob opted for the grilled portabella salad w/ mozzarella cheese, roasted peppers and tomatoes served w/ organic mixed greens and dressed w/ an almond garlic vinaigrette. The blend of flavors? Wonderful! And though he wished there were a few more mushroom slices, he, like Richard, was a happy diner. So much so, he plans to make this dish at home.

Nguyen is a fish girl so she decided on the fish & chips in ale batter (tempura-style) made of rock cod and served w/ fries and a cucumber dill salad. She loved everything about her meal, even the dill-tartar sauce.

(One quibble: I know restaurants need to make a buck, but unlike most I’ve been to, this one charged for Coke refills!)

Sated and very happy we went down to Goat Rock beach and walked off the calories while we watched the crashing waves and saw the seals play in the distance.

A great day! Delicious food and sightseeing. I love road trips.

Tomorrow?  The long and wine-ing road.