Click here for a map of California

California!

 

Flag of California


Click here for a map of Sonoma Wine Country


May 30th - June 3rd, 2013

   We've always wanted to travel to California and you'd think it wouldn't be that difficult, but we never got around to it ... until 2013. Sheena planned a trip to San Francisco and a tour Sonoma valley wineries for Eddie's birthday.

   We need to do a lot more writing.


The background image of the bridge

San Francisco

    We stayed at a hotel on the top of Nob Hill in the heart of the city. We walked all over including the Parks (TBD), the beach and over Golden Gate bridge.

 
  Telegraph Hill at sunset from our hotel room on Nob Hill.   Sheena in China town.   San Francisco skyline.   San Francisco skyline from Nob Hill.   A mix of modern and old architecture on one of the buildings.
  Eddie hitching a ride on one of the street cars.   End of the line where they turn the street car around by hand.      
         
          California girls!
         
         
         

Sonoma

    For Eddie's birthday, Sheena took him to Sonoma valley for wine tasting. She hired a private wine tour company to setup the winery stops and do all the driving. Since she was the first to make the reservation, she had the choice of winery types to chose from. Eddie being the environmentalist and having put on several environmental wine tastings in Denver, it was decided that the trip should be to environmentally sensitive wineries. In addition, the focus should not be on Pinot Noir. While Eddie and Sheena love Pinot Noir, the cellar is already full of the juice and something different would be a great change. One of the bonuses to Sonoma is that it also specializes in Zinfandel, another favorite.
  The day started with a stop at the Russian River Valley winery located... as you might guess... in the Russian River Valley AVA. It was nice to start with some whites and then a couple reds. This being the 1st stop, slow was the plan.   Russian River Valley winery was a beautiful winery with wonderful views and excellent wines.  Sheena and Eddie on the deck at Russian River Valley winery.   At Benovia Winery, the tour company had scheduled a private tasting. Everyone sat around a table and sampled 6 wines. Benovia was probably the higher end of the wineries visited this day. Not a bad wine in the lot and a case of wine was just perfect for the road.   Next stop was Porter Creek. This was an awesome "toned down" tasting in a small farm style tasting room. The wines were all wonderful, but the Zin couldn't be resisted.
  It just wouldn't be California without equal access for all, even when it comes to wine.   After lunch, the tour guide took us to another private tasting at Acorn Winery. This was the most unique winery with big robust veriatles and field blends. The wine maker Bill Nachbaur, even signed one of the several Zin's that made their way back to Colorado.   Eddie had the chance to talk to the wine maker, Bill Nachbaur about what a field blend was and how he could tell the differences in the vines. Eddie got a short but educational tour of the vines to look at the differences in the leaves.   As with all wineries, there always seems to be the old abused winery pick-up still in use.   The day was topped off at the Mazzocco winery where Zin ruled the day (and several other wines). The staff again was awesome and as always too many wines to try. Once again, several wines made the trip home.