Today was a special day for Cindy and also for me! We spent the day touring Sonoma and wine tasting. It is difficult to decribe how entertaining and enlightening this is for me. I am learning so much. For example...did you know that Shiraz, and Syrah are the same grape. Or that there are only 3 places that they make Oak Barrels for aging wine in (U.S., France, and Hungary/Slovenia)? Or that the flavours that you taste in a wine like, spice, or berry, or citrus, or coffee are the effect of either the barrel, the grape or the soil, or any combination of those? I am actually learning how to distinguish different grapes.
(A very old vine)
(A very old vine)
They grow roses at the ends of rows of grapes because roses are an 'indicator' plant. If they are sick it warns the Winemaker that the grapes are in trouble!
(He's made of rubber or something...crreepy really)I would also like to point out that a wine tasting does not mean that if you try 4 types of wine, that you get 4 glasses of wine (although this was later proven not to be the case for Cindy at Mumm Napa! - I was the D.D. :( - A tasting of 4 wines usually amounts to about 1 to 2 ounces of each type of wine.
With that that in mind we visited several wineries including:Cline (for a very nice wine tasting) then across the road to Jaccuzi where we tasted Olive Oil. Then on to Benziger for a picnic lunch and tour (which included a tasting), then on to Chateau St. Jean where we chose not to taste but just walked around then on to Buena Vista (yes, another tasting) & the Wine Hardware Store.
After returning to our room we walked across the road to a nearby Mexican Restaurant where we had 99 cent tacos and half price Margarita's! (yes, they still have Happy Hour here!). Then a walk back to our room and bed!
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