Early, and I mean early in the morning on the second day of the Wine Blogger Conference, we were ushered away from our cozy beds and coffee and off into the vineyards for hikes hosted by Zephyr Adventures. You could choose from any of about 6 hikes, ranging from the “easy” to the strenuous. I put “easy” in quotations because I thought I was going on the hike for non-hikers. Well, um, I’m glad I wasn’t wearing flip flops like one of the women on my hike because we went up and down some hills that were so steep you need to go down sideways so you wouldn’t slip. I chose to go on the Saralee Vineyard hike, which I believe was about 2 miles or so through the vineyards.
Upon arrival, Saralee herself greeted us and gave us a lesson on her vineyards, what is grown there, who buys the grapes, the various types of soil and such. After our hike we were treated to lunch on top of one of the hills in the vineyard, complete with homemade mustard and mayo made by Saralee’s husband! Following are some images from our hike and then tasting notes for the wines served at lunch!
View from the hill
Old railroad car in the vineyard
Almost raisins
What is now my blog header, though cropped oddly up there
Lunch, finally!
2006 Joeseph Swan Pinot Gris: I think this wine was unfiltered/unfined as it was a bit cloudy. Lemon, light melon, crisp, very tasty after our hike!
2006 Rollarcoaster Pinot Noir: Red cherries, leather, baking spice, earth, strawberries, tannic, structure, very light vanilla, tight.
2004 Joseph Swan Zinfandel Lion Ridge Vineyards: Smoke, cracked pepper, cherry, raspberries, licorice, quite light.
2005 Holdredge Syrah: Smoke, meat, dark fruit, plum, tannic, slight red fruit, smoothed out quickly.
All in all, wonderful hike and there is nothing quite like drinking wine in the vineyards where it came from. Now if only I had remembered sunscreen as I was a bit roasted, toasted, and burnt to a crisp by the time I got back to the hotel.
Filed under: California, Pinot Noir, Red, Syrah, Vineyards, WBC, White, Wine, Zinfandel |
Wannabe Wino Wine Blog 
Oh, Sonadora … you mean early in the morning like noon Eastern Standard Time / 9 am Pacific Standard Time? 🙂
Is early inversely proportional to the amount of wine consumed the night before?
Jeff
Oh, Sonadora … you mean early in the morning like noon Eastern Standard Time / 9 am Pacific Standard Time? 🙂
Is early inversely proportional to the amount of wine consumed the night before?
Jeff
Hey now Jeff! I actually barely had 2 glasses of wine total the first day. I spit everything.
I thought I was on the bus by 8am ish….or maybe it just seemed super early since we stayed out late the night before.
What gorgeous photos! And what an exceedingly fun day. Every wine I’ve tasted from Saralee’s Vineyard has pretty much knocked my socks off.
Great shots Sonadora!
I really like the outdoor shots of the wine in the glass with a short description.
It was a pleasure walking with you through Saralee’s vineyards. I had sunscreen in my backpack and should have offered to share it.
As a guide for Sonoma Vineyard Walks, I’ve been on that particular walk or variations of it several times now and each time I learn more from Saralee, Richard and of course Rod Berglund of Joseph Swan Vineyards http://www.swanwinery.com . They are all so passionate about what they do and how they do it.
Thanks for getting out of bed to make the walk!
Cheers – Reno
Great post.
Thanks everyone…it was a great hike, great wine, and an excellent opportunity for photos!