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23 March 2005
A California wine country primer
Learn and enjoy
By Terry Riley
 California's Sonoma County is one of the premier wine growing regions
of the world. Even if you are not a wine fancier, it is a portion of the
country worth seeing. But with nearly 200 wineries in the county and
almost 300 wineries over the hill in the Napa valley, how do you even
begin to get your arms around planning a trip there? This wine country
primer should help.
Plan your trip
Wineries in Sonoma have come a long way since the days when visitors
stood in converted storerooms tasting from a couple bottles of wine served
by a guy in rubber boots. Today wineries are going out of their way to make wine tasting a pleasant
and educational experience. In fact, many rely on tourism as a significant source of
revenue and spare no expense in creating elaborate visitors' centers. So prior to traveling to the wine country, do a little
research about the wineries you plan to visit. Most wineries have websites
with lots of information about their products and operations. A good place
to begin is at the
Sonoma
Valley Visitors Bureau and
Sonoma County Tourism Program
websites.
Go in off season
Spring brings green vineyards, crisp air and fewer tour buses than during
the crowded summer months. "Bud break" (when the first shoots emerge on a
grapevine after winter dormancy) begins around the spring equinox and
continues through Memorial Day. Wines for spring release are usually
available for tasting, some even before they're available to the public.
September and October tend to be busier than spring—though not nearly as
crowded as summer—and there is more going on at the wineries during these
harvest and crush months.
Regardless of the season, the best day to visit a winery is
one in the middle of the week and the best time is during the morning or midday hours. Tasting rooms are usually
less hectic and the pouring staffs will have more time to
spend with you.
Stay nearby
Reasonably priced accommodations in the Sonoma Valley are readily
available—if you make reservations well in advance. Try the modestly
priced The Sonoma Valley Inn
in Sonoma or
the Flamingo Resort Hotel in Santa Rosa.
If your budget is less constrained, the
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa in Sonoma is a good choice. There is also a
nice selection of B&B's located
throughout the Sonoma Valley.
Optimize your experience
Plan to visit no more than four wineries a day. With most
tasting rooms charging for tasting these days ($5 to $10 on average), wine
tasting can get pricy—and you'll will find yourself pooped and in need of
a mid-afternoon, wine-induced nap to boot.
Oh by the way, if you see tour buses standing in a parking lot at a winery, flip a U-ey and head off to the next
stop on your list.
Take a tour
Most wineries offer a tour of one sort or another. Generally they are pleasant enough;
it's just that, after
entertaining thousands of visitors, some tours can seem a little too mechanical.
A few
wineries even show a videotaped presentation as their "tour." One
exception is at Benziger winery where you can get what Wine Spectator
calls "maybe the most comprehensive vineyard visit in offered by any
winery in California." My wife concurs. Not bad testimonials.
Come off like an enophile
Intimidated about
wine because of a lack of familiarity with its terminology? You are far
from alone. Very few of us—me included—are prepared to discuss such
technicalities as the malolactic fermentation process. Nevertheless
if you arm yourself with just a few enological terms (you already know "bud break")
you will get much more out of your visit.
Here's a crib sheet to get you going:
 Appellation - A
protected name under which a wine may be sold, indicating that the grapes
used are of a specific kind from a specific district.
Aroma - simply
the scent
Nose -
The characteristic smell of a wine; its bouquet
Palate - The
sense of taste
Reserve - A
wine that a winery considers "special;" usually a higher quality—and
higher priced—product
Varietal - A
wine made principally from one variety of grape and carrying the name of
that grape.
Get your purchases home
If you choose to ship wine home, you may find a legal impediment—a vestige of Prohibition which is still
being played out in federal courts.
Most wineries will know where they can and can't ship their products, but you can also check
the shipping page on the
Wine Intro website to see where your state fits
in.
Take a break
Take an occasional break from doing the winery "thing." For instance,
pick up a deli sandwich at a local market and have a picnic along your
route.
Or take a stroll through historic downtown Sonoma—in 1846
Sonoma was capital of the Republic of California. There you will find the Mission San Francisco
Solano, the last of the California missions.
Or take a hike in the hidden treasure of
Jack London
State Historic Park
in Glen Ellen. Located about 20 minutes north of Sonoma, this 800-acre site was the
home of the writer for whom the park is named. He lived here from 1905 until he died in 1916. Following his death, London's wife, Charmian, lived here until her death in 1955. The
east-facing view from the park toward the Mayacamas mountain range (which
separates Napa from Sonoma) is both splendid and peaceful.
Skip
While I'm at it: if your cup of tea is getting up before the crack of dawn, being ever
alert to changing weather conditions, negotiation high-voltage power lines and forking out a bundle of dough, perhaps it is for you, but hot air
ballooning, one of the most "touristy" activities in wine country, is not
for me.
My favorite
Finally, as you may have guessed from my "winery tour" comment above,
The Benziger Winery is my favorite. It is casual, unfussy, fun and educational. Take the $10 tour.
You'll learn about winemaking and be treated to the tastes of some fine
reserve wines (hey, there's one of those terms already)—and it is a great spot for a picnic.
© 2005 Applied Psychology
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