Wine Tasting in Sonoma - 9 April 2011

Sonoma is part of the beautiful Napa Valley wine district. With it only being 45 minute drive away it was a must do. We had to see if California wine country can compare with the South African wineries back home that I’m use to. The drive there is absolutely gorgeous. With the redwood surrounding the wineries it felt like we where in a different world. Our fist stop was at the Balletto Winery. It was a good place to start off. With the wines being reasonably price and the employees was really helpful in telling us all about the wines. One trick we learned was that if you owned a Visa Signature card most wine tastings are free which is a huge plus. Here we purchased our first bottle for the day the 2008 Vintage Gewurztraminer. Our next stop was Hook & Ladder. It was started by a retired firefighter. That was also the theme of the place. Firefighting memorabilia was all over the place. After the tasting we stopped at the old fire truck to take some fun photos. Our 3rd stop was at Korbel for some sparkling wine. This one was my favorite stop of the day. With huge redwood trees surrounding the brick building it was the perfect place to have a little picnic. We ate some food and enjoyed a bottle of bubbly. With time running out we had to packed up and continue to our 4th stop the Hop Kiln. This place was one of the fancier wineries with samples of mustard & vinegars to enjoy with the wines. After taking some quick photos of the pretty lake we took to the road again for our last stop at the Dutcher Crossing. The wine here was pretty good and the scenery was stunning. After doing our last tasting we had to head back to Oakland, but couldn’t resist stopping at the Dry Creek Pub just a block away first. The bar was so cute with loads of interesting décor everywhere. We enjoyed a beer there and headed home. Most wineries are open from 10am – 5pm so be sure to plan a route ahead so you can see everything. Our day ended enjoying some yummy steaks at a local restaurant in Oakland.