SFist Weekend Getaway: Carneros
A great, quick place to head at the last minute to get out of the city and have some fun is to head across the Golden gate and veer East into the southern edge of Sonoma County. We hit our first winery within an hour from the Mission, after just passing Infineon raceway. Going up the driveway to Roche Winery, we scared two vultures away from a a bit of roadkill. A rabbit that just wasn't fast enough. Grisly, yes, but cool nonetheless. We sure weren't in San Francisco anymore.
We haven't had a lot of experience tasting wine -- as everything we know about it comes from a couple weeks as a contractor coding WineShopper pages and seeing Sideways. We're no Alder Yarrow. And no disrespect, but for a plebe like us discussing wine in lyrical descriptors embarrasses us. So we stick to simpler, subjective analyses -- "Mmmm. This is good," and "Could I try that other one?" Luckily, not one of the wineries we visited was pretentious at all -- if anything, it was all a little corny. In a good way.
The folks at Roche, who make their wine on-site, treated us very nicely, letting us taste not only through their list of award-winning wines but also some of their 2004 vintage still in the barrell. In fact, Angelo "Tony" Pappas kept gregariously offering us yet another taste, and regaling us with stories about growing up Greek in Charlotte and serving in World War II. We discussed some of the terms behind their labeling -- for instance, an estate reserve wine is made from only the top quality grapes, the fruit selected by hand. We all agreed that the 2004 Merlot Reserve had a bright future ahead of it. We left with a crisp Chardonnay and a bottle of late-harvest pinot noir dessert wine for our picnic.
Carneros is known for their Pinot Noir, which is why at our next stop, Gloria Ferrer Champagne Cellars. Set atop a hill at a nice remove from the highway amongst vineyards, it was definitely the most consciously fancy establishment we visited. It was a nice reminder of the Spanish tradition in the area, as they flew the Spanish flag and had any number of spanish specialty items for sale in the tasting room. We ordered glasses, including the 2003 Cuvee Brut, the 2003 Sonoma Brut and the 2003 Blanc de Noir. The Rose was a popular choice for couples on dates. Our rank? Cuvee Brut (incredible), Blanc de Noir (really, really good) and finally the Sonoma Brut (suffered by comparison).
We drove into the Sonoma town square, which was busy with families. We stopped at the Sonoma Cheese Factory, who make the world-famous Sonoma Jack cheese. The aged pepper cheese and aged jack (which you can grate like parmesan) were definitely the top choices. There was a line four deep for sandwiches, but just outside was a hot parilla featuring burgers and tri-tip sandwiches. Our party of seven bought up the last of the tri-tip, and settled onto the lawn after exploring some of the historic buildings. As we sat in the sun, trying to finish the huge sandwiches (which would have qualified for Get Stuffed status), an honest-to-god Hippie Freakout Van rolled by, with someone shouting through a megaphone, "You've all had too much wine." Keep Sonoma weird!
After a fruitless search for a local hotsprings, we raced out of town to catch a winery before they closed, which is at five pretty much across the board. Luckily, Cline Cellars on the road out of town is open until six! Set on a beautiful grounds surrounded by cool pools and shade trees, and with a mean-looking Muscovy mascot, it was the perfect place to make a final stop on the way home. The list of wines to taste were very affordable. When we asked one of the hosts about two buck chuck, he said, "Sure, I'll drink it. You cork it, leave it in the fridge three days, and then you can drink it." Cline's wines were very affordable, with bottles starting at under ten dollars. Our favorite, and the bottle we brought home with us, was a clean and refreshing Pinot Gris Chardonnay. With most of the grapes Pinot Gris, and without the heavy oaking of a regular Chardonnay, it reminded us of our favorite Italian whites.
Driving back across the Golden Gate, we had to fight off a nap, but were back in town by seven o'clock and ready to go. What did we learn? Carneros equals good Pinot Noir, we still like Pinot Gris better than Chardonnay, sparkline wines are still the best beverage in the universe, and that you can still be a good-natured, fun-loving person when discussing what you love about your favorite wines. We're going to have to stick our noses in the glass more often.