In September, I headed out to the Bay Area for a memorial service in San Francisco for a beloved friend who passed in 2020, and then a trip to Sonoma County for a few days with friends and family. We rented a mid-century modular rancher in Kenwood, located down a hilly road, among llama, goat, and horse farms, with sweeping views of trees recovering from fire, and their resident woodpeckers.

Our first stop was Holdredge Wines in Healdsburg. Holdredge is a small family winery, making less than 2,000 cases of Pinot Noir, very well. We were greeted warmly and had a special bottle opened for us, to toast our friend/uncle, Jim.

From there, we headed to J Vineyards & Winery. Their winemaker, Nicole Hitchcock, was awarded the 2022 Winemaker of the Year Wine Star Award by Wine Enthusiast magazine. I opted for the Legacy Bubbles wine flight, and my brother Chris tasted five still wines, all Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Their sparkling wines are similar in style to Champagne, with brioche aromas and yeasty/fruity palates.

We finished the day at Saini Winery, known for their Zinfandel wines. One of their wines, Angelo’s Paintbrush, a blend of red grapes (varying from year to year), of Zinfandel, Merlot, Grenache, Carignan, and Sangiovese, was a favorite.

Monday, after a delicious breakfast at Garden Court Cafe in Glen Ellen, we headed to Jack London State Park in the Valley of the Moon. We spent a lot more time there than planned, making a short hike to Jack’s grave, and then to the remains of Wolf House (destroyed by fire a week before they were to move in) in a redwood grove. The House of Happy Walls, the house that his widow, Charmian London, built after Jack’s passing, is now a museum filled with memorabilia from their careers and world-wide travels. The Jack London Cottage and Beauty Ranch, where they lived and entertained numerous guests, came alive with the docent’s stories. I would love to go back for a horseback ride there one day.

From Jack London State Park, we drove about two minutes up the road to Benzinger Winery, which specializes in biodynamic wines and sustainable farming. This was a much more commercial wine tasting room located in a shop. We enjoyed their Oonapais wine, a blend of Bordeaux grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot).

After grabbing some sandwiches at the Glen Ellen Village Market for lunch, we headed out to Benovia in Santa Rosa. Our group had a private wine tasting on the second floor, although we spent most of our time on the deck overlooking the vineyards, and got a couple bottles of their Tilton Hill Pinot Noirs from two vintages to share, before heading to Bravas Bar de Tapas in Healdsburg for dinner.

Tuesday, after driving above the clouds on the treacherous pass between Sonoma and Napa, we had a private tour and wine tasting with Juliana at Seven Apart, a relatively new winery just north of the town of Napa. Founded by Don Dady in 2018 to be a cult Napa cab winery, we tried their 2018, 2019, and 2020 offerings. They brought winemaker Andy Erickson onboard in 2019, and that year’s bottle was drinking the best the day we visited. Their wines are exceptional, but at $195 a bottle, I didn’t leave with any.

We made a quick stop at New Frontier Wine Lounge in the town of Napa, before heading to lunch at Don Giovanni’s. New Frontier Wine Company, was founded by Alejandro Bulgheroni, an Argentinian-Italian businessman, farmer, vintner, and entrepreneur. He has vineyards all over the globe, and hires top winemakers specializing in those regions to make his wines. They have an excellent (and affordable for Napa) Cabernet Sauvignon called “Pursuit”. My favorite was their 2018 Otronia 45° Rugientes white blend of Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris from the southernmost winery in the world, located in Patagonia, on the southern 45 degree latitude.

One note about wine tastings in Sonoma and Napa: we had appointments for all but one tasting (Benzinger), the wineries having decided to keep this process required during the pandemic that works well for them. Also, I do not book more than three tastings a day; any more than that are lost on my tired palate.