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.