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The Grape Juice Plus Wine Tasting Group began another year with a trip up north to Sonoma County for the Russian River Wine Road's "Winter Wineland." The event is a bright, fun weekend of wine tasting, information, talks by winemakers, wine & food pairings, and vineyard and winery tours involving wineries in the Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, and Russian River Valley. The event is held on Saturday and Sunday, January 19 and 20 (even though none of our attendees went up for Sunday). Tickets were $30 each if purchased before January 11, and $40 each there after. Participating in this event got you a commemorative logo glass and classy purple wrist band (except for the designated drivers, who got a chic orange one).

The morning started off with a long drive up towards Geyserville to check-in at the Ferrari-Carano Vineyards & Winery. The sun was shining, but a chill was in the air as the group made their way past the large, salivating boar to receive their glasses and plastic bracelets. This being the first stop, the group got right to it. Some began with the 1999 Chardonnay and 2000 Fume Blanc. Others went straight to the 1998 Sangiovese, 'Siena,' and Merlot. Most, eventually, reached the 1999 Zinfandel, and 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon. Before the group left, they took a stroll through the meandering winery garden. Unfortunately, it wasn't in bloom. Next, Grape Juice Plus headed south down Highway 128 to the Murphy-Goode Estate Winery, even though they were 'closed for a special event.' The group was greeted with brie and bleu, crackers and bread, and salmon and tuna pates. The wines were on special, and consisted of the 1998 Chardonnay, Merlot, and Fume Blanc called 'The Deuce,' the 1999 Gerwurztraminer, and 'Goode & Ready' Cabernet Sauvignon. Amazingly, the Port that was being tasted inside was not well accepted. After getting their fill of cheese and bread, the group drove around in circles before making their way further south down Highway 128. They pulled up at Sausal. Then they left. Following the whirlwind tour, the group turned into Alexander Valley Vineyards. The home of last year's best food, it was once again serving up some great appetizers. A barrel tasting of Sangiovese and 'Cyrus' Bordeaux-style blend was a magnet as the tasters walked through the door. The fireplace was warm, but the bar was serving up Chardonnay, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, 'Sin Zin,' Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, and 'New Gewurz' to warm the belly. After hanging out for a bit, the Vineyard Cats revved up the convoy and backtracked to Highway 101 to drive through the towering gateway of another of last year's favorites, Chateau Souverain. Upon entering the chateau, GJ+ stole a barrel sample of 2000 Syrah from the wine thief. Upstairs, the group found 2000 Sauvignon Blanc, 1999 Chardonnay, 1999 Syrah, and 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon, accompanied by cheese, nuts, and dried fruit. After enjoying the comfy chairs for awhile, the group hopped back in their cars and headed towards home, but not before stopping in Windsor to check of the La Crema Winery. Stand-outs included the 1999 Russian River Valley Chardonnay, 1999 Carneros Pinot Noir, 1999 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, 1999 Sonoma County Syrah, and 1997 Reserve Zinfandel. Finally, it was time to actually go home. The group planned on going to the Flat Iron Grill in San Rafael to watch the Oakland Raiders' playoff game, but ended up at the Nimmo household to witness the 'snowjob in New England.'

Grape Juice Plus arrives in Wineland.

Nicole, Mike, Marge, Adam, Jill, Jennifer, Dave, Matt, & Andrew in the gardens of Ferrari-Carano.

Marge, Dave, Mike, Jennifer, Adam, Nicole, Matt, Jill, & Andrew at the scenic Chateau Souverain.

Here's everybody's thoughts on the day:

• Margaret T. - As a designated driver this year, I was unable to do any 'real' tasting, but to comment on the things that I did get a chance to try: a little disappointed at the lack of mushroom soup this year, but Alexander Valley Vineyards was once again the top of the food chain (mmmm... crab cakes). I also had a great Sonoma Cider Mill non-alcoholic sparkling apple cider at Chateau Souverain; think cider using candy apples! Overall, even being the DD, I had a great time. Looking forward to doing it again next year.
  
  
• Nicole S. - Once again, the Winter Wineland was a hit with me. My favorite winery of the day was Chateau Souverain. I enjoyed the Cab and Merlot they served and the cheese they paired them with. I also enjoyed Ferrari-Carano, our first stop of the day. Their site is beautiful and the wines were pretty good. I enjoyed the 'Siena' Sangiovese they served. Of course, Alexander Valley was a favorite with all of us. The food they serve is the best of the festival. Of their wines, I enjoyed the 'Sin Zin' and the Cab most. The other two wineries, Sausal and La Crema, didn't impress me much. I'm looking forward to next year's event!
  
  
• Adam S. - Ferrari-Carano Vineyards & Winery: This vineyard, by far, had the nicest kept grounds of any winery that we have visited in the past. Unfortunately, the wine was far from the best that we had sampled. The Chardonnay and Fume were forgettable (at best), and the Cabernet had a very skunky nose. The one bright spot of the group was the 'Siena', which was very drinkable. I have to send my props out to the Marinara Nazi... the 'Siena' went very well with the 8000 calorie marinara sauce... respect!
  Murphy-Goode Estate Winery: Someone please explain to me why you would cover your winery's sign with a 'closed for a special event' banner! Huh? Anyhow, as I was the designated driver, I decided to pace myself at this particular winery and chose to pick a few of my favorites. Wines to note here: the Gewurztraminer was very nice... light and fruity. On the red side of things, neither of thier reds (Cab and Reserve Merlot) were much to note. The bonus at this particular winery was a chocolate and Port tasting, although the Port was over-sweet. I would have to say that the Port went better with the bleu cheese than the chocolate because of the sweetness of the wine. I would be willing to go back to this winery.
  Sausal: I am still trying to remove the nightmare of this winery from the crevices of my pallate. They started us off with a reserve Zin, and it tasted as if it were turning -- turning into battery acid. Most of the smarter people of our group immediately decided to quit while the nerves in their tongues still functioned, but I decided to forge ahead and try the next Zin. After I was revived, we left. I hope that the skid marks and dust cloud left behind as we were leaving lingered as long as that nasty-ass Zin in my mouth. Bo!
  Alexander Valley Vineyards: Oh! What a tasty adventure this always is. Again, props to Alexander Valley for their fine selection of appetizers... definitely the highlight of the day's food. Unfortunately (or fortunately for my passengers), I was striving to keep sharp and not sample too much wine here. But, I did get to sample both of the barrel tastings, with the Sangiovese barrel looking like it might be a favorite for next year's festival. Besides that, I had to try the 'New Gewurz,' which won several awards -- it was tasty, but not rave-about-it tasty. The last tasting that I did here was the 'Sin Zin,' which so many people raved about... I have to say that I did not like it, and I do like my Zins very sinful. This was just too skunky and didn't do anything for me. Anyhow, Alexander Valley has to be on the list for next year... Booyakasha!
  Chateau Souverain: Another beautifully landscaped vineyard, and favorite from last year. They did not disappoint this year. Although I tasted very little of the offerings, I was very happy with the way that they put out differnet food at each station to pair with the wine... so take that Marinara Nazi! I do have to say, though, that the highlight of this experience was the mutant space rabbit that stood about 12 hands high.
  La Crema Winery: As we wound down our day to La Crema, I think that we barely made it in before they were shutting down. I had heard some food rumors about some lobster tasty, but alas there was no food to be had. Because it was getting time to start the drive home, I only sampled one of their Pinot Noirs... didn't do anything for me. But, they did have some rather tasty coffee available, and I had two cups of that. Respect! As far as I'm concerned, there is no need to revisit this winery.
  After the tasting, I had to taste the horrid flavor of Raider defeat. It's a conspiracy, I tell you!
  
  
• Andrew B. - I'm in an SUV going north on 101 through the green California countryside. I'm with a few people that I know - we're heading to wine country. Matt is going back and forth between his blackberry and cell phone because something has gone wrong with a web publishing process somewhere and he needs to fix it.
  This is the most stereotypical California moment ever.
  Allow me to take this moment to explain what I know about wine:
  Okay, I'm done.
  Four of us in the car: Jill, Chad, Matt, and I. Jill's giving a little crash course on wine tasting. None of it sticks. I feel like a spy - like I've got a fake "I should be at a wine tasting ID" shoved in one of my pockets that I'm just itching to try out. It's early. I've woken up early and gone to San Rafael and points northward for the express purpose of seeing how much booze I can "taste" before someone stumbles onto my deception. Ha.
  Yeah, you're not supposed to refer to wine as booze. People scowl out you when you do that.
  Anyhow, it's bright and sunny and it's apparently snowing in Charlottesville. A fine day for being a fake wine connoisseur. We drive past vineyards and vineyards and eventually end up at a modest little vineyard that looks like Ceasar's summer home. It's a big tour, so there's a small crowd, milling in and out. Out front, we meet up with a few friends of Jill's. I think they all taste wine together on a regular basis. They're all pros. I am not.
  People come prepared to these events. Matt spies someone with a wine glass holder that you wear around your neck. I see a few people with special trays for holding wine glasses and snacks (yeah, you probably shouldn't call hors d'oeuvres "snacks" either, but there you go).
  The facade holds up pretty well at the first place. Ferrari-Something-Or-Other. The first wine is "grassy" and the second wine has a "vanillin" taste to it. They have a little store where they sell what I label as "ostentatious rich people junk" like $180 pseudo-impressionist paintings of vineyards that are the size of your thumb. There are some rather horrible hats and ties for sale as well. I'm thinking if I want an ugly tie, I could probably get one at Salvation Army for a whole shiny quarter, but then again, I'm hardly their target demographic.
  We taste all the wines there. I guess there's about six. Out front, there is a fountain in the shape of a boar that appears to be salivating all over itself, like it has bronze lockjaw or something. There's a garden, and I end up in a group photo with Jill's friends. In years to come, someone will look at that picture and say "Who was that guy again?"
  On the road. Second winery. This is an outdoor-type affair. More modest. It's here that I notice the limos in the parking lot. More wine is sampled, as is a variety of snacks. Jill announces that the salmon tastes like cat food. I disagree, but I think the time for tact is slipping away. This vineyard had port, which I've never had before. Port is kind of like drinking a glass of jam. I'm not really into the whole "preserves" thing, so it's not quite my bag. However, if you like drinking jam, I suggest port. I think there's some old Smucker's in the fridge I could sell you. All in all, several glasses - er, tastes - of wine are dispensed with.
  Moving on! The third place. The third place kind of sucks. It's too crowded. The wine isn't that great, and you don't get to pick what you drink. I think the only thing notable about this place was the blonde with the tattoo on her back. My ruse is starting to wear thin, though. Dangerous. I'm trying to make sure I enunciate things like "GewŸrztraminer" and speak in my professional-tone whenever I ask for more wine. Matt and I have taken to trying to smoke on the walk between SUV and winery, which fails miserably again. We're the Virginia people. The smokers. Back on the road.
  Next place. There's this thing called a barrel tasting here, which means that they've got a big barrel of wine and a turkey baster-like thing, and they pour you drinks out of it. That's kind of neat. There's a lot of green goin on - it's kind of a theme. People all dressed in green. Girl with green eyes and a matching sweater pouring wine. The sell green fleeces to those who would wear a green fleece. There are discussions of mercurial eye colors. The food's pretty tasty here, too. Matt and I go outside to smoke, and we're able to intercept the snack tray on its way back indoors. It's around this time that every time Matt and I go get more wine, we do the same thing:
  
  1. Swirl wine in glass.
  2. Sniff glass.
  3. "Oh, it's got a good nose."
  4. "Look at the residual sugars."
  5. Try not to laugh.
  I realize now that Jill could have told me that wine was made by trolls that live in stucco spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit over northern California, and I would have just accepted this as fact. This was the best of the wineries, and I would heartily endorse them and their product if only I could remember their name.
  Another winery - this one build like a giant ski-lodge. There's another barrel tasting here. They also have some kind of regular tourist trade that coming through, so we get shuffled off to an upstairs area by a giant John Cleese-ish guy with an impeccable moustache. I think he knows. I think he's on to me. I hide upstairs and try not to knock the cheese off of the table as I attempt to avail myself of more snacks. I'm not sure if there's an unwritten rule about going back for refills on wines you have previously sampled. If there is, this is where I broke it. You know, had there been a written rule, in letters ten feet high, I might have missed that, too.
  It's bright out. Painfully bright. Moving on.
  The last place is in a former office building. There's some Australians at the door. Inside, there's a bunch of wine. I think they had nine different varieties, of which I think I had twelve. The only thing they really had for sale (in addition to wine) was a secret wine decoder wheel, which not only tells you what type of wine goes with what type of meal, but it also gives you the secrets of the Enigma machine. Six turns out to be the perfect number of wineries for the day. Whatever is left of my charming disguise has gone away. I think the wine pourers have figured me out, so my only real defense is to try to hit them out of sequence. Somehow, wine varieties have gone from to "Cabernet Sauvignon" to "that one."
  Out front, I argued politics with someone. It was pretty clearly time to go. Wine tastings shouldn't lead to debates over the distribution of wealth and education reform. Know when to say when.
  
  
• Jennifer O. - Favorite Wines: Ferrari-Carano & Chateau Souverain ~ the Chateau Souverain 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon was my favorite of the day.
  Favorite Food: Alexander Valley Vineyards ~ Wow! The food was so good we watched the cook through the window in anticipation of which door the server would come out of. Then we pounced!
  Favorite Spot: standing by the fire at Alexander Valley Vineyards.
  Best Entertainment: Murphy-Goode ~ the 'Closed for Special Event' sign & circles in the parking lot.
  
  
• Chad N. - Having been to Ferrari-Carano two years earlier at this event, I was disappointed with their lack of banquet this time around. The grounds were as awsome as ever, but the barrel room was closed other than to viewing through the gates and the only food they offered was bread to dip in a marinara sauce that they were trying to get you to buy. This, along with the limited tasting menu just makes me not want to go back for a third visit. I mean, who in the hell is your marketing manager? This is a special event; let the people taste your wine! I would like to go back to Murphy-Goode though. I'll probably pass it though, because I'll actually be able to see the sign. This was my favorite food spot. Even though I do agree that Alexander Valley did have the best food. It was tough to get a taste sometimes. At Murphy-Goode, you just stood by the table and served your self. The wines were good, but I would have to taste them again to make a more confident decision. The port was not my favorite, but was very authentic. It needed to be served with one of the cheeses rather than the chocolate though. Alexander Valley is consistently one of the best wineries in this event. The barrel was cool, and I dug the Sangiovese. The trip here was being recognized by the ex-girlfriend of one of my flatmates from Cal Poly. Seems that her husband is the vineyard manager at the winery. Wish I had been better friends with her now. Chateau Souverain is another winery that is consistently good during this event. I wish this year they had done the barrel tasting in the room with the trestle models. I like learning about them. Good food, good wine, beautiful grounds. La Crema's top tier wines were pretty good, but the lack of food and the office building look of the place were a bit of a let down and I probably wouldn't go back anytime soon. As for the football game that ended the day: the Raiders were robbed! That's all I have to say about that. Respect.
  
  

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