Lots of photos and very few words today: it's snowing here and I'm missing gorgeous wine country and San Francisco like crazy! The good ones are by Em and the crappy ones are by me :)
We started our trip off with a stop at Gloria Ferrer. The men enjoyed red wine, while Jodes, Em, and I sipped champagne flights...
"Yes, utterly delighted to be here in the homeland of California sparkling wine."
Meems doesn't eff around - wine and chocolate pairing. So fun!
La Crema is a family favorite, and their new tasting room in an old hops barn at Saralee's Vineyard is stunning.
"Hey look kids! I bought us a vineyard for Christmas!"
We headed deep into the Alexander Valley and stumbled on the cutest roadside market I've ever seen. Their Mexican hot chocolate was the perfect palate cleanser between wine stops!
Hanna Vineyards, high on top of a ridge in Alexander Valley, had some of the prettiest views of the trip...and we were the only ones there, which added so much to the experience.
A few quick snaps of San Fran for the day...we checked out the Painted Ladies...
...strolled Fisherman's Wharf and scoped out the sea lions (this iconoclast loner was our favorite)...
...and consumed like four baskets of sourdough bread, an obscene amount of crab cakes, and an undisclosed number of cocktails and glasses of wine at Fog Harbor.
We made a late-in-the-day stop at Domaine Chandon for sparkling, mostly for Em's benefit - she designed their Summer 2017 special edition bottles and packaging, and we cannot WAIT to see them hit stores soon!
After dropping Em at the airport, Dad, Mom, Jonny and I hit up a few other vineyards, including Merry Edwards, home of the first female grad of the UC Davis Vinology program.
...and Iron Horse, my favorite of the trip! A sparkling winery with open-air tastings at the top of a giant rolling hill...they bottled the champagne that Reagan and Gorbachev drank to end the Cold War, and have had a sparkling wine served at every state dinner since then. I adored it!
^^Isn't that just quintessential Christmas in Cali? I loved the weird juxtaposition of gorgeous weather and celebrating the holidays!
Also noteworthy: our final stop of the trip at Merryvale, another old Schwegfam fave, for a cask room tour and tasting. So fun!
