Anniversary in Sonoma

My wife and I just came back from a trip to Sonoma which was intended to celebrate our second wedding anniversary.....and celebrate we did for sure!  We started with a couple of days in Monterey and Carmel, then drove north to Healdsburg where we stayed for 3 nights.  On our second day in Healdsburg we had to go back to what was one of our favorite wineries, Gary Farrell.  This is a small tasting room full of some of the most amazing Russian River and Carneros Pinot Noir's I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing, overlooking the best view of the Russian River region of Northern Sonoma. 

We were promptly greeted by Steve, who's business card identified him only as "hospitality".  We were not particularly interested in trying all of the common wines they would be pouring for the average visitor, only a couple of the select Pinot's, so we asked if that was ok.  Steve not only accepted our proposal, but offered to raise the bar and show us some Pinot's that he thought were exceptional or different that were not on the menu.

After trying a bunch of wines and generally socializing with the staff, we decided to buy two new bottles for our cellar:  a 2008 Ramal Vineyard Carneros Pinot Noir and a 2009 Rochioli Vineyard Russian River Pinor Noir.  While we waited to check out we mentioned to Steve how we would be going to one of the best restaurants in the US for dinner on that Thursday, Cyrus (http://www.cyrusrestaurant.com/).  Steve told us he had to get the 2008 from the cellar and came back with 3 bottles in hand.  He put our 2008 in a bag and handed it over, put one other mystery bottle in a bag and then opened the 3rd and told us to try it.  This was the 2006 Hallberg Vineyard Pinot Noir and it was absolutely wonderful....smokey, minerally, lots of fruit and acid, really a great Pinot.  Once he saw our approval, he handed us the 3rd bag and said "happy anniversary".  Yes, Steve gave us a $60 bottle of wine to take to dinner with us as a gift.

Obviously this is a great story if we ended there, but its not over!

On Friday, the day after the magical dinner at Cyrus and the consumption of that  wonderful wine, we went back to Gary Farrell winery with a token of appreciation for Steve.  Cyrus prints out the menu of everything you consume on a fancy stationary after you complete your meal.  We had them print two, one of which we wrote a thank you note inside of and brought it back to Steve.  He was visible touched by the sentiment.  He then reciprocated by handing us back a menu.....

This menu was the Gary Farrell Library catalogue, containing 2005-2009 of many of the wines we have grown to love.  Steve simply said, "what are we trying today?" and off we went on yet another amazing journey.  Two and a half hours and countless great bottles later, again we found two bottles we really felt would compliment our collection and purchased them.  Steve again went to the cellar, again brought back more bottles than necessary and again gave us an anniversary gift.....this time, the 2007 Hallberg Pinot Noir, another $60 bottle.

Some may notice above that I said Gary Farrell WAS one of our favorite wineries.  What I mean by that is now it it not just one of, it truly is THE BEST winery we have ever visited and we are waiting on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to change the laws so we can join the club there.  Granted, this is not a winery for the stingy as we spent over $200 on the 4 bottles of wine we purchased.  However, when you factor in the experience, the quality, the view and the "hospitality", not to mention the $120 in free wine we were provided for our anniversary, I can confidently say this is money well spent.

Tip of the Cap to Local Wines

It has been a while since I posted to this blog and a realized that I was way overdue. I have had a lot of wine-based experiences since my last post. After a honeymoon spent Rome-ing through Tuscany and the Amalfi coast of Italy, I have traveled to and through the Oregon and Washington State wine terroirs, and even spent an anniversary in the footsteps of Thomas Jefferson in and around Monticello and the Virgina wine country. Obviously all of these would provide plenty of information worthy of entry into this blog, and eventually I will get there. However, today's post is going to be a tip of the cap to the local wines in the Massachusetts and Rhode Island area that we spend much of our free time visiting and much of our liquid assets supporting.

I will start with what may be one of the largest wineries in the state of Massachusetts, Nashoba Valley Winery in Bolton, MA. If we were to rewind the clock about 5 years I would tell you how I was sick of going to Nashoba and always tasting the same week grape varietals and a bunch of fruit wine that could have been served at my Bar Mitzvah....but that has certainly changed. The newer wines coming out of this place are great! Most of the fruit is local, with a portion of the more difficult to acquire grapes being shipped in. The body, color, diversity and every other possible characteristic I can use have all improved. The only negative is the pricing has increased to reflect the change, but they are worth it in many cases. Some of the best options here are their Dry Blueberry, Merlot and Cyser. For those that have a taste for something with a little more alcohol than the typical wine, I would also HIGHLY recommend the Nashoba Gin called "The Perfect 10". And as if you needed more reasons to travel to Bolton (about 45 minutes west of Boston), the restaurant at the winery, "J's", may be one of the best restaurants in New England for farm-to-table, elegant cuisine.

The next winery worth of mention is a favorite of ours... Just over the southern border of Massachusetts into Little Compton, RI is Sakonnet Vineyards. Sure, there are 3-4 other wineries in this general area of Rhode Island, but not a single one of the others deserves mention. Sakonnet is a family owned gem hidden down a road that paints a perfect picture of what New England used to be, dairy farms, fields of vegetables, older beach from homes, etc. The tasting room is large and the scene on the weekends tends to be very lively. All grapes are locally grown and no random fruit wines are here to spoil the party. The wines of note here are the Rhode Island Red (a 3 grape blend NV), the Unoaked Chardonnay and the Cock of the Walk White table wine. Keep an eye on their website at www.sakonnetwine.com for events as they have great barrel tastings and other special offers.

Another winery of note, and easily added to the trip to Sakonnet, is called Running Brook Vineyard in N. Dartmouth, MA. This is another winery that 5-6 years back I would have told you to hold off on visiting. They have certainly grown into a wonderful family run little place. "Little" may not be the best label to use as they are currently in full production of 10 standard wines and seems to always have at least 10 more past vintages or up-and-coming bottles to pour a taste of. Their wines range from strong dry wines to be included with a beef pot roast all the way to delicate whites worthy of the flakiest New England broiled Cod or Sushi. Excellent wines, fun tasting room, great family....and locally sourced grapes!!

Finally I am going to throw out one more winery that is worthy of acknowledging on this entry. Wineries, outside of the traditional "wine countries" are far too often located just west of nowhere and miles from civilization. In the rather dated and supposedly soon to be gentrified city of New Bedford, MA is a small city store front that one would never know masks a wonderful little winery. Travessia Urban Winery is a very small facility that solely focuses on making wines using local Massachusetts grapes. Though only 6-7 wines exist at any given time and are often in extremely limited supply, this winery is a gem producing complex, palette pleasing masterpieces. I wont highlight a specific wine, just tell you its worth the trip and let them do the rest!