Winter Wine Road 2018

We're checking in and claiming our wine glasses

It's Winter Wineland time again, coinciding as always with my birthday week. This intoxicating event, spanning two weekend days, invites ticket holders to visit as many of the 112 participating wineries as they want. The wineries meander through three stunning valleys in Northern Sonoma county---Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley and Dry Creek. We always go Sunday only.

Right off the bat we bought three bottles of chardonnay from Taft Street. 25% off event special---how could we resist?

We picked up chardonnay # 4 from Hook and Ladder. Then onto La Crema. Though they produce one of our favorite chardonnays, we hadn't been there since they moved to their spacious new location in 2012.

                              This old truck decorated the hillside as we drove into the winery

We  found our glasses once again and entered the winery for more fun. They didn't disappoint. As well as delicious chardonnay and pinot noir, they were serving farrow salad with roasted squash and duck confit. I had three servings.

      Dean stepped out into the damp winter day for a breath of fresh air and a view of the vineyards.

We enjoyed this bottle on Thanksgiving

We needed another taste of great chard, so we headed up Slusser Road to Sonoma-Cutrer. They had closed the winery to the public so Wine Road people could have the grounds to themselves. We wandered around the light-filled rooms tasting wines, sampling small plates and trying our hand at the croquet contest. Dean looked like a pro but  failed to hit the goal to win a bottle of wine. I came in way short, so we left without our fifth bottle of chardonnay.

La Crema is my kind of winery

Amador County Big Crush 2017

           Saturday October 7th we headed to Amador County for this year's Big Crush celebration

We had no real plans, so when we reached Plymouth we took Shenandoah Road and after passing a few familiar wineries, we stopped at Vino Noceto for the first time.

Amador county is known for its zinfandels, but the staff was also pouring a delicious moscato blend from a jug. Both wines complemented the pizzas they were serving.

Dean relaxed after the long drive while I took took photos of the signpost which gave directions and distances to Noceto, Italy (5,921 miles), Walnut Creek (110 miles) and Vino Noceto (49 feet.)

Next we drove up the road to Andis where I bought a rosé, tasted the curried squash soup and enjoyed the view from the ultra modern hilltop winery.

On to one of our favorites, Amador Cellars, which has excellent reds and a small scale crush every year-check it out

We always visit Helwig with its beautiful amphitheatre overlooking a hive of activity: people drinking and eating, playing cornhole, listening to live music and enjoying the beautiful weekend.

the happy couple leaving the winery with wineglasses in hand

Our last winery was one I had never heard of, but the Hungarian name and the chicken paprikash were appealing, so we headed up the long and winding one lane drive to Dobra Zemlja.

The setting was idyllic. We sat at tables on a huge green lawn with our wine, and gazed at the pond full of splashing ducks and a beautiful snowy egret hunting for his dinner.

By now it was late afternoon and the event was over for the day. We collected our souvenir big crush glasses and headed home.

The Big Crush

The postcard arrived, I chose Saturday Oct. 6th, and off we went to Amador county for the annual Big
Crush. The  deep-purple grapes were lusciously ripe and heavy on the vines as we drove into Plymouth.

We picked up our tickets at Storey Winery, tasted a red Mission varietal we had never seen before (grown historically at the missions in the area), snacked on spanakopita, and with the help of a friendly local couple, mapped out our itinerary. Next stop, Amador Cellars just down the road.

Here the festivities included a live band, plenty of wine tasting and, out back, employees were crushing red grapes. While Dean was busy buying a case of 2011 Zinfandel futures, I started snapping pictures of the crush.

Grapes are transferred from a bin to the wooden press and lovingly patted down before crushing

                          
While two men operated the wine press, an onlooker was sure the scene was enacted only for this event. He was quickly informed that this is the procedure and equipment the winery uses to crush and cellar all its grapes. After crushing, the crimson juice was carefully carried to the nearby wooden barrels and poured in through a funnel.

It takes many pails of juice to fill one barrel. This is how it's done

We then visited, picnicked, and tasted wines at Driven Cellars, Wilderotter and Helwig Vinyards. But the wines and the grape crush at Amador Cellars were the highlight of our fun-filled day in Amador County.

Allie inspects a bottle of Amador Cellars Bunkhouse Red and its bag when we arrive home