Ly Bachelorette Extravaganza - Part Dos (aka Tasting the Wine)

Saturday morning I woke up and headed to the "gym." I got to the "gym" by means of a magical time-traveling elevator that took me back to the 1970s. There was a recumbent bike, a stairmaster and two elliptical machines that gave the user the feeling that they were headed downhill. It was less than ideal, but I do have to remind myself that I was back in 1970, and in 1970 this gym would have been considered "decked out." It's missing its disco ball though... that was sort of sad.

Being the group mom, I then headed to Walgreens to stock up on some snacks and sunscreen and went to Sbux to get my little chickies their morning Joe. Only one-half hour late, we were on our way in the PM to Sonoma. We arrived at Greystone Manor, a beautiful mansion to call our own at 10:45. Our first appointment was at 11, so mommy/drill sergeant/mini-Mussolini rallied the troops and got us on our way with Dan and other-driver, our designated drivers for the day.

First stop St. Francis. We tasted 6 wines here, a Sauvignon Blanc, a Viognier, a Cab Franc, a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Malbec and a Zinfandel. Our host (really a glorified bartender) was friendly, if not a bit salesman-y. He didn't let me rinse my glass or give me a new glass between tasting. This made the hobbit angry. Nonetheless, I did really like the cab and husband and I are going to enjoy some soon.

Second stop heaven-on-earth, aka Hanzell. We climbed a steep, single lane little path to get to Hanzell, which posted the most breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside. Our guide Ben, lead us around the facility, included the barrel room and let us see the fermenting tanks. They had this amazing chandelier made from the spokes (?) of old barrels where the light from the chandelier let you see the amount of toast that was on the various barrels from which it was made. Definitely a show piece, and definitely part of the wine-making process that I've not yet been able to see - as it's generally hard to see inside a barrel. I also learned how to read the "label" of a barrel to see where it was assembled, where the wood came from and the level of toast. We tasted wine (and ate chex mix and cupcakes (dignity, always dignity :)) in a gorgeous room with big wooden french doors at the end which opened up onto what can only be described as a majestic view. The wines were really lovely. We tasted their estate pinot noir which was extremely elegant and had a great earthy nose like old-world pinot. Their chardonnay was also great, and was really not oaky despite having spend 12 months in lightly toasted French oak.

Our third winery was Frog's Leap, which is a favorite of the bride-to-be. We sat at a great picnic table in the middle of a beautiful garden and tasted a Sauvignon Blanc, a Zinfandel, an oddly terrific Merlot, the Rutherford cab and other ones I can't remember now, because we were busy with some covert ops, and we had been drinking a lot already that day. I met a cat that looked like my old cat Graham Cracker.

Our fourth "bonus" winery was Domaine Carneros where we tasted a brut, a demi-sec and a rose sparkling wine. We basically had a sip of each and used it as a halfway point to stretch our legs, though the brut and rose were quite lovely. "Bonus" wineries sound much more practical when you are a bit toasted from drinking wine all day.

Next up: Game night at the house. The night of a case of wine for 11 women and one angry neighbor.