Sonoma Valley

[RAD]

I was just in Sonoma a couple of weeks ago, so here's my take:

I'll second Chateau St. Jean; beautiful property, and they make something for everyone.

Arrowood is a gorgeous property about 4 miles south of CSJ, and they make wonderful wines. Imagery is a Benziger project that shares the same driveway with Arrowood; also a neat art gallery there. Imagery has interesting varietals like Malbec, cabernet franc, petite sirah, etc.

Just south of Arrowood on the opposite side of the street is BR Cohn (former mgr of the Doobie Brothers), which makes delicious estate cabs and merlots.

Finally, it's a bit removed, but Matanzas Creek is a must. Beautiful property. Their merlots are recognized as among the best in all of CA. I like the Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier there too. Lots of neat lavender products also, though their beautiful lavender fields won't be in bloom in January, obviously. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]

RAD

PS My edits were due to the fact that I originally misspelled "lavender" in both instances [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]

[This message has been edited by RAD (edited 10-31-2000).]