May
24
Woods and Wine
Filed Under San Francisco 2009
This morning, we got an early start and were all three in the car by 8:30 and headed across the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods, about half an hour from the city. It was smart to arrive there before the crowds. The NPS had already posted signs along the highway saying that the main parking lots on site were full and that people should satellite park and shuttle in. Tom knew better, and we found the main parking lot with plenty of available spots. We took probably a 1.5-hour hike through the majestic coastal redwood forest. It’s mind boggling to think of how old this giant trees are. About halfway through the hike, the sun finally came out and added wonderful dimension to the colors of the woods.
Piling back into the car as the crowds were arriving, Tom kept driving us north into Sonoma County where wine was awaiting us. At noonish, we made it to Wellington Vineyards, a very tiny but intimate estate. After eating our packed sandwiches, we headed inside for some free wine tasting. We each tried about five varietals, all quite fantastic. I was disappointed that I can’t carry liquids onto the airplane, otherwise I would have bought a couple of bottles throughout the day. Instead, I took a few of their extra and free bottle labels with plans to turn them into coasters. I took some time walking around the vineyard, noticing how tiny the grapes currently are, smaller than the size of Nerds. Their plants are grown in a gnarly fashion, in which the vine grows naturally rather than in straight rows. The lady who attended to our tasting said that the rows came about when tractors were invented, so that they could plow the fields between without bumping into the vines.
Afterward, we headed basically next door to another small winery. Loxton Wines gave us a good idea of how small its operation is. Inside the warehouse where tasting takes place are about 40-50 barrels of wine, all of their production for the year. The owner is originally from Australia, so he has Australia tourism posters decorating the place. The vines out front gave me a chance to see the thin rows different from the natural growth of the neighboring vineyard. In both of these wineries I tasted some flavors that I have never come across in the seemingly “plain” wine I usually drink.
I should mention that the sun was out the whole time, and I was finally wishing I had capris on. It was lovely! After departing the wine-making countryside, we drove to Healdsburg, a small town where Erin had purchased a dessert wine from Rosenblum Cellars a couple weeks back. When she uncorked the bottle, it did not taste as it should have so, we returned so she could make an exchange. Out of the three wineries we visited, this was the only one to charge for tasting, for which we were actually quite lucky. The winery had a few options for wine flights; Tom went with their more traditional flight while Erin and I both chose the dessert flight. Wow, are those dessert wines tasty. Again, I tasted wines so diverse from anything I’d tried before. We enjoyed reading the wine maker’s description of each wine, especially when words like “meat” and “leather” were used. We met some people who are originally from Minnesota, so we chatted with them for a bit. By the way, both Erin and Tom are native Minnesotans. In fact, they went to the same high school and just happened to reconnect while at UC Berkeley.
With wine tasting done, we enjoyed the warm weather with some gelato and then browsed an antiques sale going on in the town square. I wasn’t interested in much, but one venue caught my eye. They were selling original, vintage posters. Oh, these were beautiful posters back when graphic design was so simple yet vibrant and eye-catching. I would have loved to buy one, but the cheapest were being sold for at least $100. Someday perhaps…
After an emergency run for gum at the local Safeway (gum psychologically helps me to sober up; don’t ask me why, it just does), we headed back to the Bay Area. Thanks to Tom for driving because Erin and I needed naps. After dropping us off, Erin and I relaxed for a bit before walking to a local pizza joint for some tasty pizza and more wonderful conversation. I think Erin and I were lucky to be roommates during our first year in college. Although we never really hung out outside of our room, we were great roommates. We respected each others’ space but kept each other company and shared many funny moments. Visiting her in San Francisco is the longest we’ve hung out since 2000-2001, and I’ve been observing that we can just keep talking about anything and not get bored.
But I digress. With satisfied tummies and yummy leftovers, we rested our feet that evening and got sucked into watching hours of “To Catch a Predator” produced by Dateline NBC. Thank goodness it ended at midnight, otherwise we probably would have stayed up to keep watching.
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