---

It was a "Celebration of Winter" as the Grape Juice Plus Wine Tasting Group made their way up to northern Sonoma County to participate in the Russian River Wine Road's "Winter Wineland." The event involved wineries in the Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, and Russian River Valley. The event was held on Saturday and Sunday, January 20 and 21 (even though none of our attendees went up for Sunday). Tickets were $25 each if purchased before January 10, and $35 each there after. The event included winery tours, winemaker talks, and tastings of library and special release wines. Participating got you a commemorative logo glass and snazzy purple wrist band.

Our first stop on the Wine Road was to Clos du Bois, where "bark is flammable." Heating lamps, garlic penne pasta, and cheese greeted us along with some Chardonnay, Merlot, and Bordeux blend. Next we went around the corner to the Chateau Souverain. After receiving a small lesson (including a detailed diarama) in the different styles of wine vine trellises, we tasted two barrell samples of Chardonnay. Upstairs, we had our first of three mushroom soups on the day. The bottled reds and whites were quite well received. Heading south down the road again, the group found its way to Ridge. A verticle of '94, '96, and '98 Lytton Springs Zinfandel was sampled, along with a three other Zinfandels, including a Paso Robles. To follow that up, we trekked to the other side of Highway 101 to Highway 128, and the Hanna Winery. After discovering the second of our three mushroom soups, we tried a barrell sample of Zinfandel, and a quite good bottled Sauvignon Blanc. Walking over to the tasting bar, the group took on a variety of varietals with mixed results. Next the group headed next door to Alexander Valley Vineyards. The waitress serving the appetizers was the most sought out person in the tasting room. The appetizers were a hit, as well as their "Sin Zin" and "New Gewurz." For the last stop of the day, the group finally found some sparkling wine for Nicole at J Wine Company. Along with the sparkling wine, we sampled a Merlot and our third mushroom soup of the afternoon. With ten minutes left before the end of the program, the group walked to the building next door, Rodney Strong, where we were greeted by a crowed room, a band, and more cheese. Picking different varietals off their tasting list, Rodney Strong made a pretty good showing. Probably because of the cheese. To wrap-up the day, the group drove back down south to Marin Country and went to dinner at the Kamikaze Sushi Bar in San Rafael. Wasaaaaabi!

Mike, Adam, Nicole, Jill, & Marge enjoying some Zinfandel at Ridge/Lytton Springs.

Here's everybody's thoughts on the day:

• Marge S. - It was a very good experience for me, especially since it was my very first wine tasting event. I was able to try a variety of wines and my earlier ideas of what I liked and disliked were definitely challenged. My favorites were the New Gewurz from Alexander Valley and the Merlot from Chateau Souverain.
  
  
• Nicole N. - The Winter Wineland was awesome and my vote is to go every year. The atmosphere was very fun and laid back. I enjoyed most of the wines we tasted and really liked having food to pair them with. My favorite wines of the day were the Cab and Merlot at Chateau Souverain as well as the Sin Zin at Alexander Valley. Of course, I always like sparkling wine :-)
  
  
• Mike T. - Best of show, if you ask me: Clos du Bois - Calcaire Chardonnay; Chateau Souverain - mushroom soup; Alexander Valley Vineyards - "New Gewurz" Gewurztraminer; Ridge/Lytton Springs - '96 Zinfandel (much better than the '98, but I couldn't tell much difference between it and the '94).
  We need to look into renting a mini-van or something so we can evenly distribute the driving duties. You and I always bear the brunt of it.
  I also think we should get the Court of Port together and go taste Ports only (like the bubbly day we'll have soon). And after I've done the "proper research," we'll do an El Dorado Hills tour.
  
  
• Adam S. - Clothe the Boys: I was very impressed with this winery...having never tried their wine before, and after hearing many radio adverts for them, I figured that they were just a high volume, mid-quality wine maker like Meridian, but their wine was --across the board-- very drinkable, red or white. I especially enjoyed the first Chardonnay that they were tasting... very buttery. (The block of bleu cheese was also a very nice touch to sampling their wine.)
  Chateau Souverain: Probably my favorite wine of the day. It was nice to start off there with the barrel tasting of their Chardonnay, and move immediately to our first mushroom soup with a wonderful Merlot. The little frenzy of nuts and cheese (especially the blue Camonbert) went very well with the mild tannins in the Merlot. I generally am a Cabernet person, and their Cabernet was great, but the little mix of Cab Franc grapes into the Merlot took away the big dryness in the wine and made it my favorite wine of the day. I do have to say that the Russian girl in those crazy pants deteriorated from the pleasant atmosphere.
  Ridge/Lytton Springs: Jill and Chad raved about Ridge wine, and without the benefit of a good Ridge experience, I am going to be jaded against this particular wine. The thinking that a wine is not drinkable until after 10 years just goes against my philosophy on wines. I didn't enjoy anything that I tasted there, and my imagination isn't good enough to picture what the wine would taste like in another 10 years. The closest thing to drinkable was the '96 Zin that they were doing the vertical tasting with. Other than that, I'm going to have to find some 50-year-old Ridge to see if the wine actually ever gets good.
  Hanna: Waste of time! They, by far, had the most wines to sample, and the only one that even came close to being enjoyable was their Sauvignon Blanc. That's the review he gets for trying to kill Dana Carvey.
  Alexander Valley Vineyards: The only thing I remember about Alexander Valley is their Gewurztraminer -- outstanding! But they made the mistake of having the best food of the day and I completely dropped the task of tasting their wine, and tried to score as much of their food as possible. The Gewurz was good, though.
  J Wine Company: I'm glad that we went to a place that made Champagne... it was very good with the mushroom soup. I don't remember anything after the Champagne, though... I think that I was starting to get a bit loaded at that point. What can I say?
  Rodney Strong: By this time, I was starting to get a bit sleepy and slowing down on the wine drinking. I think that this was the winery that aided my deep sleep on the ride home in the car. They did have a good assortment of cheeses to taste, which took the majority of my attention... the live music was nice touch, too.
  Summary: Best winery of the day - Chateau Souverain; Best wine of the day - Chateau Souverain Merlot; Best food of the day - Alexander Valley Vineyards; Best mushroom soup of the day - J Wine Company.
  
  
• Chad N. - Clos du Bois was better this year than I remember it being last year when Jill and I went. It's hard for me to rate it though because it was the first stop of the day and I wasn't warmed up yet. Chateau Souverain was my favorite overall. The barrel Chardonnays, the mushroom soup, the wine growing lesson, the fruit and cheese platter, and even the spicy dipping oil that allowed me to not taste the rest of the Cabernet I was enjoying. Ridge was good for me. I would have liked some variety in the tasting, rather than six Zinfandels. I really liked the Jimsomare, but it seemed to catch everyone else off guard with its fruitiness. I also like the Barbera that the gentleman happened to have a bottle of open. Hanna was not quite the experience it was last year. Their mushroom soup was good when soaked in the bread, but kind of bland otherwise. I enjoyed the Sauvignon Blanc even though I'm not a big fan of grapefruit, and usually look for more of a grassy flavor in Sauvignon Blanc. They did have the best view of the day and I did think that one blue floor tile was the best in the room. Alexander Valley Vineyards had great appetizers. I could have eaten a whole meal of just them. Their "New Gewurz" and "Sin Zin" were good for the price, so I bought one of each (I'm still kind of leary of wineries that use sin and zin together though). J Wine Company was not quite the experience it is when you do their food-and-wine-pairing tasting, but they had sparkling wine, and we needed to get at least one of those in on the day. I liked the diced olives on the small toast too. Rodney Strong was crowed and loud. The cheese was good. None of the wine really stood out to me, probably because my tongue was burnt out by then. Overall the day was a success. Good food. Good wine. Good friends. Count me in for next year.
  
  

Grape Juice+ || Miscellaneous || Publications || Shopping || Wineries