Bryan's Window

Ok, so time for my first real post. After living in the Bay Area for some time, I've finally had the chance to visit wine country. In this post, I'm going to give a review of some of the spots we went to on our day and a half long visitIf anyone asks, I may expand this post to write individual reviews of some of the different places along the visit.

Late on a Friday afternoon, my girlfriend and I drove up to Napa from the South Bay. As any local knows, Friday traffic can be atrocious, and this day was no exception (We crawled along at about 10mph through most of San Francisco). We finally arrived at the Westin Verasa Napa (in Napa, CA) around 8:00. Check-in was fairly quick, and even though my SPG Suite Night Award didn't go through, we were still able to snag a suite upgrade.

We chatted with the bellboy about some places to eat, and have gave some good suggestions for dinner - both a sushi place and a steak house. I was pretty tired and didn't feel like anything too heavy, so naturally I defied common sense and went for the steakhouse. We took the house car to Cole's Chop House a few minutes away, and it was well worth it. The staff was excellent, and the food was delicious. I got the filet. We shared a baked potato, and I had a nice Manhattan to drink. I would definitely recommend the place.

We slept in the next morning and had our breakfast at the hotel. The service was a little delayed, but it was no big deal. Breakfast was pretty tasty, and we got to lounge around by the pool area. All in all, I'd say the hotel was pretty nice (It wasn't bad by any means), but it probably wasn't worth the rate they normally charge.

Our first stop was BV vineyards (no appointment required == awesome in my book). I've enjoyed their wines in the past and was really excited to visit. We decided to opt for the Reserve Tasting Room ($15 more) since we were there and I've never tried their fancier wines. The place wasn't too crowded at all, and the gentleman at the counter was quite friendly. We each ordered the reserve tasting and WOW! This is definitely the best Cabernet I have ever had. My favorites ended up being the Tapestry blend, the Latour Cabernet, and the Clone 6 Cabernet (only available at the winery). We walked out with four bottles!

Our next stop was Frog's Leap winery only a few minutes away. I got the recommendation from both my Lonely Planet and Moon travel guides. The scenery and atmosphere was spectacular. We had a reserved patio seating with wine and cheese. The atmosphere was much better than BV (although a patio by a garden is naturally much nicer than a standard tasting room), but I thought BV still had better wine. Being done with wineries for the day, we stopped by a local Taqueria before the beautiful drive to Petaluma.

For Sonoma, we stayed at the Sheraton Sonoma in Petaluma. I wasn't expecting much (in consultant speak, it's only an SPG Level 4), but I was pleasantly surprised. Again, being a Platinum member, we got upgraded to a suite, and it was a wonderful room with a massive bathroom (and the pool was really nice too).

For dinner, we drove to downtown Petaluma for some Italian dinner. The place, Risibisi, was cute, but the food was just ok (maybe I had just eaten too much of the calamari appetizer). Also, downtown Petaluma gets really sketchy after dark (almost like downtown San Jose), so that wasn't too fun.

For Sunday morning, we were off to one more winery, Gundlach-Bundschu, before heading home. Again, I got this one from my Lonely Planet and Moon travel guides. The location on the hillside was beautiful. I accidentally walked into the tasting room first, but then realized our reservation was for the lake outside (thankfully, since the tasting room was really crowded). This place was amazing. The wine was absolutely wonderful, and so was the food they served with it (my girlfriend loved the chutney). To give you an idea, I ended up buying a full case of wine.

With the last winery visit complete, we were on our way home. One last big thing for the trip was driving back on the Golden Gate Bridge. It was absolutely beautiful - even better than the pictures. I'd definitely love to walk or bike across it in the near future.

All in all, I can safely say my first trip to wine country was a blast! I would definitely recommend a visit to anyone, even the novice wine lover. The Napa Valley was beautiful, and it wasn't insanely crowded like everyone says (although there were a decent amount of people). The prices were high, but the people still seemed friendly and genuine. Sonoma was really nice and much more laid back. It was still a bit crowded in my opinion though, and definitely avoid downtown Petaluma at night.

One final piece of advice - go to wine country to enjoy the wine, and if you go to many wineries, it's ok to use the spittoon (you won't hurt anyone's feelings, and it's difficult to enjoy fine wine when you're drunk). I was actually a bit shocked that for the whole weekend, I didn't see anyone else use one.