SbbquilterUT Posted February 24, 2018 #26 Share Posted February 24, 2018 Best winery tour we enjoyed was Benzinger Winery - terrific learning experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA_Cruzing Posted February 24, 2018 #27 Share Posted February 24, 2018 Keep in mind for Seattle, you will be going to tasting rooms in Woodinville; the vineyards and production facilities are in the Columbia Valley, Red Mountain, and the like, 3+ hours from Seattle. The Chateau Ste Michelle tasting room is great for the brands you can’t easily get elsewhere, so I’d slightly disagree with not going somewhere where you already know you like the wine. I would suggest, politely, that five wineries, with tastings, in a rental car, can easily render most average humans over the legal limit... You also lose sensitivity to taste fairly quickly on multiple winery visits. AND, Napa and Sonoma wineries are notorious for their tasting fees. Just keep that in mind. I highly recommend having someone else drive if you’re going to go to several (more than 2-3) wineries. Napa is expensive on tasting fees. Sonoma is not. There are quality wines in both regions. If you have a preference for specific wines or desired experiences , I’d be happy to offer suggestions. We frequent both regions as they’re close to us. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbug123 Posted February 24, 2018 #28 Share Posted February 24, 2018 My experience with wine is one year doesn’t make the next year taste the same. Wine will always be different from one year to the next. Multiple possible reasons but the most obvious is that it's a different vintage of grapes. One year might have perfect weather conditions, grapes harvested at their peak etc., while the next year might have challenging weather conditions, the grapes might be harvested too early, etc. I would suggest, politely, that five wineries, with tastings, in a rental car, can easily render most average humans over the legal limit... You also lose sensitivity to taste fairly quickly on multiple winery visits. Absolutely agree. Don't even think about trying to go to 5 wineries and driving yourselves. Every time I've gone to Napa we've hired a car service. We typically visit 3 wineries and also sometimes ake a stop for lunch (with wine), if we don't visit a winery that does a tasting lunch. By the 2nd winery, there is no way I could drive safely at home, let alone on the twisty roads in the wine country that I'm not familiar with. Even with a driver I'd limit to 3 wineries. As the poster above said, by that time you'll be losing taste sensitivity, and you'll likely also find yourself hurrying through each experience to get to the next one. You'll be so focused on the schedule that you won't get to fully appreciate the experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airrace Posted February 24, 2018 #29 Share Posted February 24, 2018 Wine will always be different from one year to the next. Multiple possible reasons but the most obvious is that it's a different vintage of grapes. One year might have perfect weather conditions, grapes harvested at their peak etc., while the next year might have challenging weather conditions, the grapes might be harvested too early, etc. Absolutely agree. Don't even think about trying to go to 5 wineries and driving yourselves. Every time I've gone to Napa we've hired a car service. We typically visit 3 wineries and also sometimes ake a stop for lunch (with wine), if we don't visit a winery that does a tasting lunch. By the 2nd winery, there is no way I could drive safely at home, let alone on the twisty roads in the wine country that I'm not familiar with. Even with a driver I'd limit to 3 wineries. As the poster above said, by that time you'll be losing taste sensitivity, and you'll likely also find yourself hurrying through each experience to get to the next one. You'll be so focused on the schedule that you won't get to fully appreciate the experience. Hello I never mentioned that you could do the tour and still drink. One person will have to be the designated driver. I would also suggest to stop at a store or deli get some sourdough French bread some cheese and meats and have lunch at any of the wineries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbug123 Posted February 25, 2018 #30 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Hello I never mentioned that you could do the tour and still drink. Seems kind of a waste to spend a whole day visiting wineries and only 1 of you gets to enjoy the tastings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airrace Posted February 25, 2018 #31 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Laurie I actually found it online Cline Cellars http://clinecellars.com No guarantee they always go there..suggest you e mail or call Shire Excursions for info... They are in the town of Sonoma, their is a difference from Sonoma and Sonoma County. Sonoma is about 20 minutes away from Santa Rosa. It has some great wineries. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airrace Posted February 25, 2018 #32 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Wine Country Update: Last week with the warm weather we are having has actually tricked Mother Nature into making some of the grapes start to bud. Then over the weekend we had frost and killed off most of the buds. Not a big deal this time of the year as new buds will form again. If this were to happen let’s say next month it could be a big deal. We have large fans that they turn on that move air to prevent the frost. In the old days he had smudge pots. They here actually closed pots with a chimney on them. You ignited the liquid in the pot (diesel) and it would warm up the vineyards preventing frost. This was quite a process as you had to set out the pots, ignite them and do all of this at 3:00 in the morning. Some even used water but that practice is rarely used anymore to help preserve all the water they will need later on. The next two weekends will be busy in Sonoma County as our annual Barrel Tasting event takes place. For $50.00 you purchase a ticket to sample wine for four days from over 100 wineries. This is your chance to taste future wines from the barrel and purchase future wine with a discount. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airrace Posted March 8, 2018 #33 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Some of the advantages of living in the wine country is you get invited to some of the cool winery events. Balleto wines (Santa Rosa) is hosting a barrel wine tasting event paired with local foods and we scored two tickets. This is the chance that you get to sample wine from the barrel. They have a glass wine thief to get the wine from the barrel to your glass. It is also a chance for the wineries to sell future vintages of their wine. It can also be the chance you can order their wine at a lower cost before it goes on sale to the public. Should be a good evening to taste over 13 of their wines and get feed as well. I will let you know how it went! Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare hcat Posted March 8, 2018 #34 Share Posted March 8, 2018 They are in the town of Sonoma, their is a difference from Sonoma and Sonoma County. Sonoma is about 20 minutes away from Santa Rosa. It has some great wineries. Sent from my iPad using Forums I was describing the Celeb excursion the OP inquired about.. We enjoyed the town of Sonoma that was included..we went on the excursion mostly for the tour aspect not so much just the wine tasting ! Area was lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airrace Posted March 10, 2018 #35 Share Posted March 10, 2018 Some of the advantages of living in the wine country is you get invited to some of the cool winery events. Balleto wines (Santa Rosa) is hosting a barrel wine tasting event paired with local foods and we scored two tickets. This is the chance that you get to sample wine from the barrel. They have a glass wine thief to get the wine from the barrel to your glass. It is also a chance for the wineries to sell future vintages of their wine. It can also be the chance you can order their wine at a lower cost before it goes on sale to the public. Should be a good evening to taste over 13 of their wines and get feed as well. I will let you know how it went! Sent from my iPad using Forums If you ever get to Sonoma County (Santa Rosa) you need to add Balleto Vineyards to your list. The are a family run and operated winery with over 500 acres of grapes of which they only use 10% of for their wines selling off the remainder. We were lucky to have obtained tickets for this 2018 barrel futures event held the Thursday before the annual barrel tasting event. The food was great and tasting the future wines from oak barrels was a great adventure. We even got to taste a 2017 Sexton Hill Vineyard Chardonnay RRV set to release in March of 2019. The barrel had not been blended yet but we did get to try the previous year (2016) and the difference was amazing. You could taste more of the fruitiness of the grapes after it had been blended. The best part of the evening was sitting outside on the patio overlooking the vineyards and the production area while tasting wine and eating dinner. They were more than generous with their wine that evening as someone was constantly refilling our glasses. The other wine I enjoyed from the barrel was their 2017 BCD Vineyard Pinot Noir Reserve. It is slated to be released in November of this year and had some great undertone flavors that just lingered in your month for several seconds. It will be a $50.00 bottle of wine when it’s released but being a wine club member allowed us to purchase it for $43.00 a bottle. All in all we tasted eleven wines from the barrel and many more like the 2016 Unoaked Chardonnay. The wine is stored and blended in stainless steel tanks. I ended the night drinking plenty of their 2015 Zinfandel and smoking a cigar. The wine retails for $29.00 but if you are a club member and get six bottles the price goes down to 20.00 a bottle. The wine is a bright and aromatic and the part earth and savory spices pair great with my Cuban cigar. Another great evening in the wine country! Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airrace Posted March 10, 2018 #36 Share Posted March 10, 2018 Did you know that wine is aged in a barrel to soften the acidity and add texture. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix_dream Posted March 10, 2018 #37 Share Posted March 10, 2018 BTWWe also enjoyed the Celeb Funk Zone tour in Santa Barbara..long but thorough tour of this beautiful area...then they took us to the tasting rooms ( not wineries) in the Funk Zone..choice of 3..had a great time with 2 couples we met along the way...from the ship..bus took us back to the pier area Glad you mentioned this. Would personally recommend just walking over to the area - not that far for anyone with normal mobility. Then you can experience the area at your own pace and pick the tasting rooms that appeal to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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