I love the cities that don't need designation of state. Where are you going? New Orleans, Boston, Baltimore, Las Vegas, L.A. None of these need clarification. If I'm going to one of these towns in a state other than where they were made famous, I'm probably not that excited about it. Then again, I'm not a huge fan of big cities, but if I'm only visiting and get some time to sightsee, I'm a happy girl.
So, I'm headed to San Francisco next week. I'm going out over the weekend to enjoy the town a bit and to hopefully hit up some wineries in the Napa or Sonoma area. I still don't have an exact plan on that. I'm staying in San Francisco for work but I'm going to stay at a hotel in the Napa or Sonoma area for the weekend. I figure it would be better to be closer to a few of the wineries so I don't have to deal with traffic when driving my wine-tasting self back to my hotel.
I have had some wineries suggested to me. So far, I've heard I should try:
Dutton Estate
Pine Ridge Winery
Turnbull
I checked them out on the map and Pine Ridge and Turnbull are quite close to one another. Dutton is pretty far away from them. I did some research on other wineries near Pine Ridge and Turnbull. There are a few that I recognize and think I might just go to them since I know the name, unless I'm given other suggestions.
One winery I feel like I should go to is Silver Oak. I have a bit of history with the wines from this company. In 2003, I was living with my folks at the house I grew up in while I worked in DC. My parents and I get along pretty well and they let me stay there, to save some money for a house, instead of making me find a $1000 apartment in the DC area. My Dad worked in New Jersey during the week, so it was just Mom and me when I came home from work during the week. On weekends, I spent the whole time at my now-husband's house, so we really didn't get in each other's way.
I don't remember the exact timeline of all of this but my parents put our house on the market while I was living there. That same week, my Dad called my Mom and told her that his company had offered him an amazing buy-out and he was retiring. I think that was the same day or a day before that they found out the house had a buyer. I was conflicted. I loved that they had such great luck that Dad got an awesome buy-out and that they sold their house. At the same time, it's my childhood home; it's the place where I have so many memories and I won't have it to go back to in another month or so. It's my home! You're selling my home! (insert childish tantrum here) That was depressing.
I knew Dad was coming home that night, so I called him to see when he would be home. He was taking his time leaving town and wasn't going to be home in time for dinner. Mom was out at her bridge club. I ended up making myself dinner and drinking a couple of glasses of wine from a bottle I picked out of the wine rack, to drown my sorrows. I fell asleep before either parent came home.
When I came downstairs in the morning, Mom looked at me funny and Dad asked me if I liked the wine I drank the night before. I told him that I had, it was one of the best wines I had drank in a while. He said he was glad to hear that because...I had opened a $100 bottle of 1999 Silver Oak Cabernet that he had been saving for his retirement.
Oooops.
The good news is, I opened his retirement wine the night he retired. The bad news is, he and Mom only got one glass each. I took crap for that for many, many years afterwards. Our family get together's were fun with everyone finding it hilarious to bring that one up. Finally, for Christmas 2009, Hops and I bought him another fantastic bottle of Silver Oak Cabernet that he is saving for another momentous occasion.
So, of course I would want to go to Silver Oak with that story!
Do you have any suggestions on what other wineries I should consider while I'm out there?
3 comments:
Oooh San Francisco!!! Discovered your blog via The Handcrafted Life :) I'm a huge pinot noir fan, and while I'm not sure how close you will be to the wine region Russian River Valley, but that is where you will find some yummy pinots. And I'd highly recommend Arista Winery. There's also a really fun jeep tour, Vine Rover Tours that are great for customizing your trip. (Enjoyed both of these last year for my birthday, and loved the experiences!) You really can't go wrong though in wine country, hope you had a great work week and a lovely wine getaway :)
That story about you drinking your dad's Silver Oak Cab is so funny! No wonder you want to go there. It really is a beautiful winery, but pricey. I think it was the only place on that particular trip that we didn't buy a bottle at, although I was tempted because it was so good.
I already emailed you some specific recommendations earlier today, but pretty much you can't go wrong if you just drive up there and start looking for wineries. They're everywhere!
I love the Silver Oak story. That's something that R and I would have done to his parents by accident - no one drinks wine in their house, though, so I doubt they're actually saving it.
I also share your love of cities that need no introduction. In fact, now that you put it that way, I guess those are the only kinds of cities I can see myself living in - Chicago, New York, D.C., Paris. Have fun in San Francisco! Can't wait to hear about it. I'd love any winery recs you end up with.
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