Less than a week until GAD's a kept man.

[Glass_A_Day]

Was just thinking the same thing Verne. It started out as planned coming in to the Vintner's Inn on Monday afternoon. The weather was fantastic but the weary travelers were 3 hours behind and decided to have an early dinner and a restful night to get ready for travel. We ate at John Ashe and Co on site and had some out of this world apps and entrées. The following morning Maryann and I were ready to go. And go we did all week long. We originally planned two to three stops a day, but couldn't seem to hold ourselves to that limit. Verne's appointment for us with Fred Scherrer of Scherrer Winery was the first and best. Fred spent hours with us opening bottles and explaining all aspects of the wine making process. I knew as we left that we may taste wines that rivaled his, but we would not have an experience like this one for the rest of the trip. I was right. Duckhorn was a standout tour and tasting. Beautiful grounds and another informative tour. I was surprised that varietals that I normally pass on were done in my taste at Duckhorn. The Merlot was standout and the Sauv Blanc was outstanding due to it's barrel maturation. We also hit their second label, Paraduxx which is their Cab/Zin blend. Beautiful grounds and outstanding customer relations people. Pretty darn good wine too. Sterling was beautiful. The short tram ride was fun and the view from the hilltop winery was breathtaking. Pine Ridge, Stag's Leap, and Simi were let downs, but were just afterthoughts as we drove by. Darioush was an amazing site as was Ferarri Carano. Just beautiful grounds and buildings. Clos du Bois was fun, but nothing to write home about. Silverado was great again with amazing views of the Valley and some fantastic late harvest sweet stuff. Chaulk Hill was very interesting and the story behind the owner was inspiring. We did the full tour of the grounds and bought some Chard from the library pour of the day. Martinelli was not much to look at, but the wines poured were great. Swan was a trip back in time with truly euro styled wines. To taste a cab that they only made 1 barrel of was a trip. I'm not a big pinot fan, but their's was one to take home. Now for the best wine of the trip came Flora Springs. We had a two hour tour with an Aussie named Gus that WW made happen for us. He had us tasting from the barrel in the caves. Then we headed out to taste the finished product overlooking the vineyards. Let me just say, their cab and their blend (Trilogy) were the best of our trip. I could have sat and sipped for hours. The only wine that came close was found by chance while dining at The Farm House back up in Sonoma. I had never heard of Kamen wines, but Maryann and I were having our first fight [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img] over the last glass of their 02 Estate Cab. I am going to search for it tonight on winesearcher as the local shop doesn't have it. The Napa Wine Train was a fun touristy dinner. Ridge was good stuff as always and St Clement was tasty. Mirepoix was by far the best dinner of the trip. The redwoods were amazing. We put the top down and drove up and up until the road was "pass at your own risk." When we were finally at the top, the wildlife was just amazing with baby deer everywhere that had no fear of us. We ended our trip with a trip into San Francisco and a boat ride around the bay and to Alcatraz. Now it's back to 14 hour days fixing up the new house and waiting for my 4 cases of wine to arrive from the trip. I can't wait...

[This message has been edited by Glass_A_Day (edited 07-07-2006).]