Passport Wine Weekend of Dry Creek Valley

There comes a weekend every April that I longingly look  forward to.  A weekend like no other in Sonoma County.  I hope for nice weather, happy to have a driver and spend time with good friends as we clink our glasses through Passport Weekend in Dry Creek Valley.

Beginning our journey at 10 a.m., we head out to our first destination and to meet the rest of our group.

Selby Winery.  Where we check in, pick up our passports and begin a full day of tasting delicious wines, paired with fantastic bites.

Selby always does it right with their Mardi Gras themed party.  Alligator Stew, baby cake, Mardi Gras girls, beads, music, magicians and fortune tellers....just about everything Mardi Gras.  We were well on our way to a fun and tasty day.

Another favorite on the list of approximately 50 wineries is Mauritson Family Winery.  As the saying goes, "Know Your Farmer"....well we are friends with the grape growers for this winery and loved their Rockpile Zinfandel.

Chef Charlie Palmer cooked up some mighty fine cuisine...I could have eaten the shaved beef atop a parmesan crisp all day.  

Here's most of our group with wine maker, Clay Mauritson and chef, Charlie Palmer.

Onward we go.

More wine.  More food.  This is the largest vat of paiaya I have ever seen.

It's a good thing they stamp your passport at every winery because by the end of the day, they all sort of get blended together in my memory bank.

Until next year....

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Barrel Tasting along the Wine Road

It's the beginning of March, there's been a break in our rainy weather and it's the second weekend of Barrel Tasting in the Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys, which means great wines, good food and picnicking and phenomenal people watching.  Unfortunately, I am unable to attend this year's event but I thought you might like to, or at least take a peak into what it's all about. Tickets are still available at the door.....

The following photos are from Barrel Tasting 2012, when it was an unseasonably warm 70 plus degrees outside.  A beautiful and memorable day.....

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Our journey along the Wine Road began at Dutton Estate, where my friend, Debbie, was pouring....

We sampled some delicious wines right out of the barrel.....which will only get better with age.
We collected our samples directly from Terry, the wine maker.

Dutton wines were paired with very moist pulled pork and corn bread....so good.

There were 130 wineries participating in Barrel Tasting weekend this year.  We managed to visit four of them.  A. Rafanelli, in Healdsburg, was our second stop.

Rafanelli wines are not sold retail, only restaurants and on special wine event weekends....Barrel Tasting weekend is my opportunity to stock up on a few bottles.

There's is always a line to enter the tasting room at Rafenelli, but the people pleasers that they are, always have someone pouring down the line while you're waiting.......

Hello Big Bold Zin......

After our 15 minute wait to enter the tasting room, we were not disappointed.....we tasted, bought and tasted a little more.

 All the wineries have beautiful scenery with everything beginning to bloom which = great photos, but not so great for allergies.....but I didn't complain.....at least not til later...

We were on a mission.  We knew what wineries we wanted to hit, a list of top priorities.  Third stop, Bella Vineyards and Wine Caves.....

Bella has beautiful grounds that include a picnic area with shaded tables under majestic trees, a country shabby chic tasting room, and cool, dark wine caves...........

a fabulous pairing of bacon and grits with their wines.  

Bacon, I was in heaven.

We spent at least an hour at Bella, I don't think any of us wanted to leave. 

But we did.....finally.

On to Armida, our last stop of the day. 

For me, Armida is more about visual stimulation.   Armida has beautiful picnic grounds as well.  You can sit on their lawn, overlooking the pond and share a bottle of wine while eating from the picnic basket you've brought along.

For more info and a map to wineries participating in Barrel Tasting, click  on WineRoad.com

Enjoy!

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TT w/Linky: Smokin' Pig at the Crab Feed

This past weekend, Dominic and I were given tickets to attend the Mother of all crab feeds.  Sonoma County Farm Bureau's Crab Feed and fundraiser.  A whopping 1,300 people attend this huge event.  That's a whole lotta crab to crack.  This was our first time attending and I was totally awestruck by how organized and the scale of it all.

There's a lot going on at this crab feed.  Walking into the Grace Pavilion at the Sonoma County Fair Grounds, which is a gigantic room, we were completely overwhelmed with tables upon tables of local wineries pouring their 'juice', more booths of all types of yummy food.  My favorite was this smoked pig by Barbecue Smokehouse Bistro from Sebastopol. So tender and juicy.

Along with the food and wine, were rows of silent auction items to bid on along with some raffle items.  Something for everyone, for sure.

Surprise, surprise....we ran into our friend Mendy, her mom and friend... all decked out in Niner gear {this was Saturday....pre - Super Bowl}.

All the wine 'sampling' and food tasting is included with price of admission.  A favorite wine...Truett-Hurst.  Yum yum!

And if all that isn't enough to fill you up, you then sit down to dinner.  Crab is one of my favorite foods.  I love that you have to dig for it and it's so, so good on salad with a slice of buttered french bread.  I was in heaven!  I just wish they allowed doggy bags.

This 'Thankful Thursday' I am completely thankful for crab season.  I prefer crab over lobster any day of the week......Which do you prefer??

Link up with anything you’re thankful for! And if you’re not a blogger, just let us know in the comment section what you happen to be thankful for on this day.
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Sips and Nibbles along the Wine Road

This past weekend I attended a wine and food event in the area.....A Wine & Food Affair held in the Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley and Russian River Valley areas.  With the purchase of your event ticket, you receive this fabulous cookbook....

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Tasting Out of the Barrel ~ Wine Tasting

It's the beginning of March, it's 70+ degrees, the first weekend of Barrel Tasting in the Dry Creek Valley, which means great wines, good food and phenomenal people watching.

What more can one ask for?!

Not much.

Our journey along the Wine Road began at Dutton Estate, where my friend, Debbie works....

We sampled some delicious wines right out of the barrel.....which will only get better with age. 
We collected our samples directly from Terry, the wine maker.

Dutton wines were paired with very moist pulled pork and corn bread....so good.

There were 130 wineries participating in Barrel Tasting weekend this year.  We managed to visit four of them.  A. Rafanelli, in Healdsburg, was our second stop. 

Rafanelli wines are not sold retail, only restaurants and on special wine event weekends....Barrel Tasting weekend is my opportunity to stock up on a few bottles.

There's is always a line to enter the tasting room at Rafenelli, but the people pleasers that they are, always have someone pouring down the line while you're waiting.......

Hello Big Bold Zin......

After our 15 minute wait to enter the tasting room, we were not disappointed.....we tasted, bought and tasted a little more.

 All the wineries have beautiful scenery with everything beginning to bloom which = great photos, but not so great for allergies.....but I didn't complain.....at least not til later...

We were on a mission.  We knew what wineries we wanted to hit, a list of top priorities.  Third stop, Bella Vineyards and Wine Caves.....

Bella has beautiful grounds that include a picnic area with shaded tables under majestic trees, a country shabby chic tasting room, and cool, dark wine caves...........

a fabulous pairing of bacon and grits with their wines.  

Bacon, I was in heaven.

We spent at least an hour at Bella, I don't think any of us wanted to leave. 

But we did.....finally.

On to Armida, our last stop of the day. 

For me, Armida is more about visual stimulation.  They have two tasting rooms; one where the Chardonnay is poured...."Heaven" and the second where all the reds are poured... "Hell".

"Hell" was the happening place.....for some.

Already looking forward to the next event.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to leave a comment. I love to hear from you! Have a fantastic day!

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Happenings On The Wine Road

Every year during the first two weekends in March, the Barrel Tasting event of the year occurs in the Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley and Russian River Valley areas of Sonoma County.



A. Rafanelli Cellar



We had 145 wineries to choose from for this event.  You can spread out your visits over the two days your ticket covers, but I am only going for the one day. 

If you've never been barrel tasting, the reason behind it at an event like this is, you have the chance to taste wines before they're bottled, meet the winemakers and have the opportunity to buy 'futures' {at a great discount} of the wine which will be bottled 6-18 months from now.

We began our day with some high expectations......we were going to try and visit five wineries.  I was designated driver, so I only tasted a little tiny bit and snapped a ton of photos. 

Our first stop was Dutton Estate Winery.  My friend, Kellie is having a taste and talking to the Winemaker, Terry.

We also had the chance to talk with Tracy Dutton {on left}, one of the owners who is super friendly and totally answered all our questions and even mapped out some other wineries she recommended for us. 

Tracy Dutton & Jeannie

Our good friend, Deb works at Dutton, so it was fun hanging out with her for a while while she was pouring.

I bought.  What can I say, I love Dutton Estate wine.



Dutton Estate Wines



Our next stop was quite a distance from where we started but well worth it because wine is only offered for purchase at A. Rafanelli Winery at events like this or by appointment. 

I bought again.

We talked with Dave Rafanelli, owner and his daughter, Shelley, winemaker.  Kellie and Shelley used to rope together so they had lots of catching up to do.

The first photo, above is taken at Rafanelli as well.

Kellie, Shelley Rafanelli-Fehlman & Dave Rafanelli

Okay, our last winery.  Armida. We only made it to three!  Kellie had never been to this winery and it's a must do if only for the entertainment factor and people watching.

The Armida Winery party has three tasting rooms for this event.  Kellie and Jody ready to enter 'Hell' tasting area.



Armida Winery 'Hell' Entrance



This is where all the red wines are presented.  And the feel of the room is very much like a Halloween party, fog machine, strobe lights and all.



Armida Winery 'Hell' Tasting Room



I like taking photos without the flash on so it gives a sense of the feel at the time, in my opinion anyway.

Here's one with the flash on....you don't see the red glow or the fog that was in the room and the photo is just blah.



Armida Winery 'Hell' Tasting Room



We then headed over to the 'Heaven' tasting room where the white wines are served from the barrel by an angel.



Armida Winery 'Heaven' Tasting Room







Armida Wine 'Poizin'



The view from Armida.  Rain is on its way.

After our three stops we headed into the town of Healdsburg for a snack.  I found some Sao Jorge Portuguese cheese....you know that cheese I LOVE with the nutty flavor, at the little market/deli so we bought some crackers and red pepper jelly and had the perfect snack to end a perfect day.

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