Ok, I鈥檓 still finalizing my itinerary, and I have a few more questions.
Is it rude to show up 15 minutes before a tasting room closes? What about 30 minutes? I鈥檇 specifically like to visit Schug on our way into Sonoma. We鈥檒l be stopping at Muir Woods first, and I want to make sure we leave in time to stop by Schug.
We鈥檒l be in Sonoma 2 nights and although we鈥檒l be visiting numerous wineries, we鈥檙e only planning on one tour, at Benziger. I鈥檓 trying to make the most out of the visit, so would it be beneficial to take the tour first? Because of the wineries we鈥檇 like to visit, it might make more sense geographically to visit Benziger and take the tour our last day in Sonoma. I can rearrange our route though if we鈥檇 really benefit from taking the tour before visiting other wineries. (The only other winery I鈥檝e visited was in France when I was 18 and I remember very little since it鈥檚 been over 10 years. I do really enjoy wine though, and although I%26#39;m by no means an expert, I%26#39;m not a complete novice.)
Lastly, we鈥檇 like to visit a variety of wineries, from small mom and pop to larger ones, fancy to whole in the wall. Would the following list of wineries give us a good sample?
Schug
Chateau St. Jean
Benziger
Domaine Carneros
Artesa
Nicholson Ranch
Gundlach Bundschu
Buena Vista
Possibly one more鈥magery, Sebastiani, or ???
More questions about Sonoma WineriesI thought of one more question. Is it acceptable to share a tasting? Thanks!!
More questions about Sonoma WineriesThe tasting rooms take into consideration the fact that there will often be a last min. rush of people coming in and that%26#39;s one of the reasons most have an official closing time of 4 or 4:30--early enuf to allow for ';late comers';. But it%26#39;s polite not to overstay, and if at all possible, get there 20-30 min. before the posted closing time. If you get delayed and find that you only have 10 min., go in and ask if it%26#39;s OK to taste--most tasting rooms will still welcome you. Re: sharing tastes--perfectly acceptable; don%26#39;t hesitate to do that.
Your winery list is weighted with large production wineries, so I%26#39;d suggest adding Imagery to the list as they are a small producer (under 7,000 cases, I believe). They also have a delightful facility with an educational display on varietals--and a fabulous art gallery filled with ';wine label art';. Since it sounds like your schedule is conveniently set, I wouldn%26#39;t totally rearrange it to do the Benziger tour first, altho%26#39; that would prob. be the ideal sequence. Can you spare time for another tour, perhaps at Buena Vista? Yes, they are large and commercial, but they do a good job of providing all the basic info.--and you%26#39;ll also get some excellent historic background on wine grape growing in the region as the Buena Vista property dates back to the very earliest days (the 1830%26#39;s). Their old stone buildings and walls are quite impressive--certainly worth photographing. Another historic winery property that was part of the orig. Buena Vista estate, is Bartholomew Park Winery off Vineyard Ln. (www.bartpark.com). Beautiful old buildings, hiking trails, views and a small but interesting historic museum. Like Imagery, they are a small producer. Bartholomew Park is owned by a members of the Bundschu Family.
You may want to pick up a copies of ';Wine for Dummies'; and read it during your flight, if you want to garner some basic info. first. Once you get to Sonoma, your innkeeper or lodging staff should be able to provide you with (or recommend) some basic reading materials re: wine grape growing and wine tasting in the Sonoma Valley. The Website of the Sonoma Valley Vintners/Growers may also provide some useful info: www.sonomavalleywine.com. Just remember that everyone experiences a particular wine differently, so treat it like an adventure rather than an absolute--and always have fun doing it!
Your list looks good, Domaine Carneros and Gundlach Bundschu are a couple of my favorites on your list. I have photos of both of these places on this Forum.
I would proably choose Imagery also, it is a smaller boutique-style winery with excellent wines. Enjoy the artwork on the walls while you sample your tastings. We always share a tasting, it%26#39;s the best way to go when you will be visiting several wineries at once.
Chateau St. Jean is also very nice. We did the regular tasting, I believe the Sonoma Mission Inn where we stayed gave us complimentary passes. The Reserve tasting sounds very nice here.
Where are you staying? Be sure to ask your concierge for any complimentary tasting passes. Cheers and enjoy the wine country! :)
I thought most of those wineries might be larger production places. I actually looked at the case production, but didn%26#39;t really know what would be considered ';small';. I think we%26#39;ll definitely plan on going to Imagery. Any other small place we should go do? I%26#39;d be happy to make a reservation if necessary. In fact, I thought it would be kind of fun to make a reservation and be the only ones there, but the winereies that really interested me where more in the Russian River Vally area, like A. Rafanelli.
I%26#39;ll definitely keep a tour at Buena Vista in mind. It would be great to do, but we%26#39;ll have to see how we%26#39;re doing on time.
As far as ';Wine for Dummies';, it%26#39;s so funny that you mentioned that book. I actually have it (although it%26#39;s probably 10 years old), and I dug it our last nigh for a refresher. I%26#39;m defiinitely going to give it to my mom (whom I%26#39;m travelling with) to look at because when I asked her a few weeks ago what wines she liked best in order to select wineries to visit, she said her favorites were both Pinot Noir and Burgundy but couldn%26#39;t say which of the two she preferred! Well at least she knows what she likes. :)
Syrahgirl, I would love to see your pictures, but I%26#39;m not sure how to find them here. I don%26#39;t know my way around this website very well.
I have read that the reserve tasting is very nice at Chateau St. Jean, so we might do that. But they also offer a complimentary tasting pass on their website, so maybe we%26#39;ll do both!
By the way, we%26#39;re staying a The Cooperage Inn, a little B%26amp;B right off the Plaza. It looks cute and I%26#39;m looking forward to it! I%26#39;ll ask the innkeeper if she has any passes, but it%26#39;s such a small place so I%26#39;m not really expecting it. I would be happy if I was proven wrong though!
Thank you so much Forestvillian and syrahgirl! You both have been so helpful in planning this trip and I really appreciate it!
You%26#39;re welcome. Just click on the Sonoma Attractions, scroll down to Gundlach Bundschu and click on that. Same for Domaine Carneros, just under the Napa Forum. Lots of great info and reviews there also that may interest you. Enjoy! :)
There are numerous small wineries in Sonoma County. If you belong to AAA you can request a map of the Sonoma and Napa region. You can also call go to the CSAA website....I think they sell maps. the map has all the wineries listed %26amp; since you%26#39;ll have a rental car the map will come in handy. I%26#39;d take the tour early in your experience %26amp; the the Benzinger tour is very good. I%26#39;m of the belief that if you educate yourself to how wine is made your experience experience will be enhanced. The Benzinger tasting room can be incredibly busy so I%26#39;d go first thing to avoid the crowds. A couple more wineries we enjoy are Valley of the Moon ,B.R. Cohn . Trefethen is also an excellent winery but they are not in the Sonoma Valley. Chateau St Jean has beautiful grounds but I%26#39;m not a fan of their wines...
BR Cohn is an excellent suggestion, you can also sample some fine Olive Oils here. The staff is very friendly, also. I have a couple of photos of the outside on this forum. The metal sculpture with the boy and his dog is a fun place for a photo op! :)
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