Napa/Sonoma wineries

[Louie Powell]

To those of you who are fortunate enough to live in the Bay Area - - -

My wife and I will be visiting our son in Mountain View this August, and will be spending a couple of days in Sonoma/Napa. We will be taking the Wine Train luncheon trip on the first day, but plan to spend the second day in casual winery visits/tastings, etc.

We've done this several times before. Some of the places we've visited in the past include Chateau St. Jean, Castello di Amorosa, Clos Pegase, Rutherford Hills, and Chateau Montelaine.

Two questions (we could ask our son, but he's not into wines, nor does he do historical sites - purely a computer geek):

First, we are looking for suggestions of unique/different wineries for this trip. My wife is not as enthusiastic about wine as I am and usually just watches while I do the tasting, but she is interested in scenic places. I will have the LF with me and would appreciate places that offer opportunities for pictures. What wineries do you suggest, and why?

Second, we are planning to drive from Glen Ellen to Tiburon to get the ferry to Angel Island. The internet research I've done indicates that this ferry is strictly first-come, first served and reservations are not possible. Is that true? How much time should we allow on Angel Island to do the tour of the immigration facility?


Thanks in advance - - -

[Peter Langham]

Hey Louie,

I live in Napa. Not a huge wine person, but...

Just worked an event at Artesa last night. It was a charity event and they were most generous. Beautiful setting, unique building and the wine seemed tasty to me. Hess Winery has a very unusual art collection that I am quite fond of, and in a beautiful setting on Mt Veeder. (those 2 are very close to my home) Mumm usually has a good photo exhibit, nice views of the valley and good sparkling wine. Turnbulll Winery also frequently has good photography. He is supposed to be quite a collector. I think the area with the best exhibits is open on weekends. Let me check with a friend who will be able to give better suggestions then me. Feel free to contact me as you make your plans to visit.

Peter

[J Ney]

I'm not from that area but have visited a few times... below are some suggestions for wineries that we enjoyed:

- Dutch Henry: Very small production off of Silverado Trail... pretty nice Bourdeaux blends; not ridiculously expensive; great folks working there

- Plumpjack: About in the middle of the valley... absolutely phenomenal merlot... expensive

- Prager Port: If you are into ports... very much an "old-Napa" institution with really nice ports

- Ladrea: Appointment required usually (which is nice b/c it keeps the crowds down). Great cab sauv... located in the Howell Mtn area which is a photogenic area.


If you're after pinot noir, you really should just head west to Sonoma (which is also a beautiful drive through the mountains) or check out the Carneros region in the south of the valley.

For food... we went to SolBar the last time we were there (up near Calistoga) and had a great time. It is fine dining but very casual... and I kid you not, but they had butter-popcorn flavored ice cream that was really good!!


Hope you get some good pics & wine!! Try to post some when you return.

[DavidFisk]

To those of you who are fortunate enough to live in the Bay Area - - -

My wife and I will be visiting our son in Mountain View this August, and will be spending a couple of days in Sonoma/Napa. We will be taking the Wine Train luncheon trip on the first day, but plan to spend the second day in casual winery visits/tastings, etc.

We've done this several times before. Some of the places we've visited in the past include Chateau St. Jean, Castello di Amorosa, Clos Pegase, Rutherford Hills, and Chateau Montelaine.

Two questions (we could ask our son, but he's not into wines, nor does he do historical sites - purely a computer geek):

First, we are looking for suggestions of unique/different wineries for this trip. My wife is not as enthusiastic about wine as I am and usually just watches while I do the tasting, but she is interested in scenic places. I will have the LF with me and would appreciate places that offer opportunities for pictures. What wineries do you suggest, and why?

Second, we are planning to drive from Glen Ellen to Tiburon to get the ferry to Angel Island. The internet research I've done indicates that this ferry is strictly first-come, first served and reservations are not possible. Is that true? How much time should we allow on Angel Island to do the tour of the immigration facility?


Thanks in advance - - -

Mumm Napa has some nice oaks. And they have a photo exhibit in a separate building. Tasting is a bit expensive, however.

[tgtaylor]

Hi Louie,

With respect to the Immigration Station on Angel Island, the Angel Island Ferry is first come first served. That said, arrive 30 minutes early and you won't have any problem.

As far as the Immigration Station, reservations are recommended if not required. We did a group tour consisting of about 30 photographers (DSLR's) a year or so ago and pre-paid the park in advance and I worked out a scheme with the Ferry where I pre-paid them and printed "boarding passes" to both guarantee and speed up boarding. Worked out fine.

The tour of the Immigration Station is guided and takes about 2 hours to complete. You're on the heals of another tour so are somewhat rushed for photographers. After the tour the park expressed interest in tours for photographers (after my complaining - I was working with a 6x7 film camera) and something could be worked out with them for LF. Several of us camped over night on the island (dynamite camp sites with views of San Francisco) for just $15/site and brought bicycles to tour the island the next day after the Immigration Station tour. You can also rent bicycles on the island.

Great tour - highly recommended when visiting San Francisco.