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When Southwest Airlines began nonstop flights to Oakland, my husband and I decided to take a long-dreamed-of trip to the California wine country. Arriving in Oakland, we headed to the car rental to pick up the convertible we had requested - after all, this was California. The agent took one look at my 6-foot-4-inch husband and my numerous suitcases (I'm a terrible packer. Always too much.) and tried to talk us out of the convertible. She only had one - a Mitsubishi Spyder. She had a point. The trunk wouldn't hold the luggage and my husband had to duck to see out of the front windshield...but that little car loved the winding hill roads in Sonoma and Napa counties!
You don't need to be a wine connoisseur to enjoy the wine country. Just north of San Francisco, the redwood forests and the Pacific are close neighbors of the quaint towns and charming wineries that dot the area. The rolling hills are carpeted in a patchwork of vineyards, and the air is filled with the aroma of grapes. Definitely convertible territory!
Lured to the region at the turn of the last century by the temperate climate, California winemakers have cultivated a thriving industry. They produce four-fifths of all wine made in the United States, including some of the best pinot noirs, cabernets and chenin blancs in the world. The passion that the wine producers have for their work is contagious. They are naturalists, scientists, farmers and romantics. Meeting them was the highlight of our visit.
Michel-Schlumberger
Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley was our first stop. On a breathtaking 100-acre estate, we had our first opportunity to walk the vineyards, as guests of the Michel-Schlumberger winery. As a rookie, I tried to listen and learn. It is said that great wine begins where the fruit grows. This benchland estate has culled a challenging environment out of its gently stepped hills. That struggle, I was surprised to learn, makes the vines work harder to produce fruit, enhancing the resulting harvest. The region has warm and dry summer months, perfect for building sugar in the grapes. Fred Payne, the winemaker, places different varietals in blocks to take advantage of the climate, which is heavily influenced by the Pacific Ocean just 17 miles to the west.
Jacques Schlumberger, the owner of this beautiful mission-style winery, is true to his family's four-hundred-year history of grape growing and wine making in the Alsace region of France. That sense of tradition is evident in his production of small lots of fine estate wines. The heralded cabernet sauvignon was our favorite, but Michel-Schlumberger produces fine chardonnay, syrah and merlot, as well.
The town of Healdsburg is a gem. The original town square, lined with fine restaurants, local hangouts and boutique shops, is perfect for a relaxing stroll. A thriving arts community brings summer weekend concerts to the plaza, and there are many galleries filled with treasures. The Russian River, which makes its way southwest through the mountains and giant redwood forests, attracts canoe day-trippers and kayakers during the summer months.
Murphy-Goode
We made our way to the Murphy-Goode Estate on the Russian River in Alexander Valley. Partner Dale Goode came to the valley in 1965 and brought with him experience and new ideas in grape growing. The first to trellis vines in the area, he was told, "You can't grow grapes on wires." A glance across the valley proves him right. He welcomed us to the Murphy-Goode winery and shared lore and laughs with us during our tour. "I love what I do and look forward to it everyday," he says, with obvious appreciation of his good fortune in a life's work well chosen.
A true family operation, this winery's unmistakable characteristics are serious wine and joie de vivre. The sons of Goode's original partner, Tim Murphy, now grow most of the grapes for the winery. The winemaker and cellar master are sons of partner David Ready, who teamed with Murphy and Goode in 1985. Working closely, they create some of the most highly regarded fumé blanc and red wines in the Alexander Valley region. We were lucky to taste a limited bottling of the local legend, Liar's Dice Zinfandel. There were also many lessons in the art of blending and the influence of the barrel, mixed in with our tasting of several additional varieties. A visit to this winery is a must.
Old Faithful
We stopped at the Jim Town store on Highway 128 to fill our picnic basket before heading south on the Silverado Trail to Calistoga for lunch and a visit to the Old Faithful geyser. The stage in the small park is bare ground surrounded by bamboo and pampas grass, until steam from an underground river announces the show. One of only three "Old Faithful" geysers in the country, it offers a 350 degree water show every 40 minutes.
Auberge du Soleil
Nestled on the slopes of Rutherford Hill in Napa Valley is Auberge du Soleil. This elegant country inn offers excellent spa services and a fine restaurant. Individual cottages, set amidst the olive groves, are secluded and romantic, sun-drenched and spacious. The private terraces offer views of the vine-studded valley. The Auberge provided the perfect pied-a-terre for the remaining days of our visit. Convenient to the wineries of Napa Valley, it has a more gracious ambience than we found at other locations along the main thoroughfare.
Chappellet Vineyard
After checking in at Auberge, we finished the day with a visit to the nearby Chappellet Vineyard. Set atop Pritchard Hill, the winery has tiers of vines rising from 800 to 1,800 feet. First planted as a vineyard in the 1870s, the volcanic soils and altitude of Chappellet create a unique challenge for winemaking. A tour of the estate highlights its special focus on working within the natural environment to create the wines for which the winery is well known. A particular favorite is the late harvest Liquoreux dessert wine. There are 15 acres of steeply terraced old chenin blanc vines that make use of "the noble rot," botrytis cinerea, to create fruit with exceptional sweetness that offers a bright and fresh aroma. (The rookie wine expert in me almost wrote "nose.")
Grgich Hills
After a swim and breakfast on the private terrace of our beautiful cottage, we came down into the valley for a visit to Grgich Hills. If chardonnay is your varietal, don't miss this one; the grapes from their Carneros vineyards produce some of the finest. Grgich builds on a great history with the chardonnay grape to produce winners season after season. Founded in 1977, the winery was formed as a partnership between Miljenko "Mike" Grgich and Austin E. Hills of the Hills Brothers coffee family. Grgich had first drawn worldwide attention in 1976 as a result of the famous Paris Tasting in which an all-French panel of judges chose his 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay over the best of the white Burgundies in a blind tasting. California chardonnay would never be viewed the same. We enjoyed a Grgich chardonnay with our sack lunch from Dean and Deluca, one of my favorite shopping spots in Napa.
ZD Winery
The last stop we made in Napa was at the ZD winery. Originally the dream of a pair of aerospace engineers, this family-run winery produces wines with vibrant flavor. I think the most notable among these is the Rosa Lee Pinot Noir, named for the wife of original partner Norman de Leuze. Active in the operations of the winery, Rosa Lee is the mother of ZD winemaker, Robert de Leuze. We brought home a bottle of this special vintage to enjoy on Mother's Day, and it is quite a tribute. Produced using a blend of whole and crushed berries in the fermentation, it can be described as sultry, intriguing and complex with notes of black cherry, strawberry and summer plum.
San Francisco
The return flight to New Orleans leaves unreasonably early, so we decided to stay near the Oakland airport. After a leisurely morning visit to the Auberge spa, we headed back to the city the afternoon before our departure. Our Spyder took us along the coastal highway, over the Golden Gate Bridge, past the pier where the tour boats leave for Alcatraz, over the hills and down the winding roads through San Francisco. At dinner that evening in a restaurant on the pier, we began formulating a plan for our return visit. With Southwest flying non-stop, why not? California, here we come!
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