I'm Baaack - long trip report

[Kcwhippet]

Been gone a couple of weeks. The main purpose of the trip was to attend our son-in-law's (Tim) graduation from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Academy. We did, and he's now a sworn Sac County Deputy. Previously he was a flooring guy like WW, but the hard stuff - Regional Manager with Daltile. He really enjoys interfacing with people, but wanted to do more, so at 33 years old he chucked it and went into the academy. They went six months with just my daughter's salary to feed them and our two grandsons, but now he's doing what he always wanted and with a decent salary.
Anyway, Judy and I figured that since we we're going to be out there anyway, we might as well get into some wine. We started with three days in SF around the Rhone Rangers event. There was a lot of good juice there, with a few standouts. Met with Adam Lee pouring Novy Family wines, and if you can find any of their stuff, get all you can. Wonderful, intense, mouthfilling wines - my favorites at the event. We saw Kevin Hamel who we met about five or six years ago, and he now has his own label making a terrific Syrah. Finally got to meet J. P. Pawloski from River Run. We've been fans of his wines for about ten years, but never had the opportunity to meet until now. Really nice guy and besides his great Syrah, we've always liked his huge Zins. For lovers of SW, Philip Staley was pouring a 2002 Viognier which was the best white at the show. He did it in stainless steel with no ML. It has beautiful floral notes with some nice tangerine and mineral tastes. He also had Mourvedre, Grenache and Syrah that were outstanding, but the Viognier was just about the best I've ever had. Many others had some wonderful stuff as well, like La Crema (really), Bell, Chatom and St. Amant. Spent the rest of the time just walking around my favorite city and eating good food, nothing pretentious, just good.
Went over to Fremont to visit really old friends who took us up to Livermore to see the winery their former neighbors started up. Talk about small - there were about twenty barrels in their winery, but good enough that we picked up some of their Zin and Cab made from local grapes.
Next we traveled up to Santa Rosa to visit Siduri. Adam and Dianna Lee are super people as is Scott Shapley their assistant winemaker. Might have been a mistake though, because we've only recently come to really appreciate Pinot Noir and their wines were so scrumptious we came away with a bunch of 2001 Garys', Rosella's, Vander Kamp, Muirfield and Clos Pepe.
After Siduri, we went up to Healdsburg to visit Betsy and Bill Nachbaur at Acorn Winery. Their wines (all 1900 cases) are all from estate grown grapes, about 25% from a vineyard planted in 1890 with a field blend of 78% Zinfandel and the rest Alicante Bouschet, Petite Sirah, Carignane, Trousseau, Sangiovese, Petit Bouschet, egrette, Syrah, Muscat Noir, Cinsaut and Grenache. Talk about a diverse lot of grapes! Their other wines are also from field blend vineyards with major grapes - one is Syrah, another Dolcetto, a third Sangiovese and the last Dolcetto/Sangiovese. Very nice people and wonderful wines (another case shipping back).
We were a little hungry by then, so we went up into Healdsburg and did the obligatory stop at Oakville Grocery. Went into the Rosenblum tasting room next door and picked up a nice LH Zin.
After checking into the hotel we rested a bit and later went up Healdsburg Ave. to Tastings. If you haven't tried it, do so. Do the tasting menu and sit at the counter because the chefs are as much of a show as the food. Tiny little kitchen about 3 x 8 feet of floor space between the ranges and counters, so it's almost a ballet watching those two work. The chef, Derek McCarthy, put together a five course meal with a different wine for each course that was superb.
The next morning we visited Mietz Cellars, also in Healdsburg. Kieth and Nancy Mietz have a nice operation right across the street from Christopher Creek, but there's no sign - just a big old concrete barn. They're known for their Merlots but just recently sold their Merlot vineyard and are going to concentrate on Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Cab and Zin - all very well made stuff (another case being shipped).
From there we headed off to Citrus Heights to see the kids and grandkids. Judy and I took the little ones down to the Folsom Zoo (right next to the prison) the day after and it was a great time. It's nice to have time with the grandsons we only get to see once or twice a year. Spoil the hell out of them and give them back to their parents. Next day was the graduation. Tim had to requalify and get his issue arm the day after graduation, so we and our daughter, Carole, went to St. Helena to visit Dave Wight at Lewelling. He's a genuinely wonderful person that's making exceptional wines that Parker found recently and raves about. Had to stop at Prager too because Tim is a port freak and likes Prager. A few days later, we all went down to St. Amant in Lodi to check out Tim Spencer's ports. We met him a few years ago and again at the Rhone Rangers, and he agreed to open up for us. Picked up some of their Barbera and Tempranillo - very nice. Rested up for another day or so and flew home. I'm bushed, but it was really great to check in with our old friends and to spend some wonderfull, quality time with our daughter and family.