I have something to share with you.

There is a mom get together coming up and I need to bring a bottle of wine. Do I know a lot about wines? No. Can I use my Vivino app at Trader Joe’s?  Sure.  Or I can head to Total Wine and ask for help.  But I wanted to learn.

So when my daughter left for sleep away camp, we headed to Sonoma.  Here are the four wineries we visited- an easy day or two in wine country.

Day 1:

Schug Winery:  Hal was there to greet us and my husband and I shared a tasting since it was 10:30 in the morning.  I also shared that it was my first time in Sonoma and so he gave me some lessons on the best way to taste wine and what to look for on the label.

 

Gundlach Bundschu:  Also known as “Gun Bun”, we drove up to the tasting area and found ourselves in the middle of a picnic area.  They had a larger tasting room than Schug with a “concierge” at the front entrance.  We had the option to do the tasting inside or out or purchase a bottle of wine and sit and enjoy the scenery.  We did the standard tasting, actually shared it, and really enjoyed the Gewürztraminer and Chardonnay.

 

St. Francis Winery & Vineyards:  I was looking forward to this for weeks.  I read amazing reviews about their food and wine pairing and I got the last open reservation.  We had a late breakfast and skipped lunch.  When we arrived, we were given a glass of wine to start and told to walk around and enjoy the vineyard.  And then they lost power.  Unfortunately, we did not get to do the complete food tasting but the two dishes we had along with the wines were fantastic.  Plus it was complimentary due to the outage so we will definitely go back the next time we head to Sonoma.

 

Day 2:

Gloria Ferrer:  We met some friends in Sonoma and there was a request for sparkling wines.  And so we headed to Gloria Ferrer for a noon bubbles and bites tasting.  We had a chef explain the pairings and a wine concierge to tell us about each wine that was selected.  The property was beautiful and the company was fantastic.  My favorite:  the Royal Cuvée.

 

Check out my post on where we stayed and where we ate!