More Wine Country! Sonoma and Healdsburg

We couldn't leave California without going back to Sonoma to visit some of our favorite wineries.  We pulled into the Petaluma San Francisco North KOA on Sunday April 12th, and on Monday started our wine tour with Valley of the Moon (which has recently changed its name to Medrone).  We bought a bottle of Sangiovese and a Barbera that are going home to be enjoyed on special occasions.

Since we love Cline Zinfandel, we stopped by their winery and enjoyed a compimentary tasting.  They had some great deals on Zins, so we picked up two bottles and two bottles of Pinot Noir. Then we stopped by Kenwood where we got a Jack London 2011 cab for $15 (normally $35.00). The next stop was nearby Vianessa Wineries that was recommended by Kenwood. We ended the day with Muscardini Cellars - one of our favorite wineries that we had discovered in 2010.  After a wonderful tasting we rejoined their wine club.  They have some of the best Sangiovese I've ever had, but all of their wine is really outstanding.

On Tuesday we fearlessly headed out again - this time to the Healdsburg section where a couple of our favorite wineries are located.  We stopped by Pedroncelli Winey first.  We had loved Pedroncelli when we visited them in 2010. They didn't ship to New Jersey back then, but now they do so we signed up for their wine club (and walked out with six great bottles as well!).

Next we headed to Rodney Strong.  Originally we had planned on joining Rodney Strong's wine club.  We did a wine tasting there, and asked about the club, but they don't ship to New Jersey.  Apparently it all depends on the size of the distributor in New Jersey - small wineries can ship, but the larger ones often can't.  The whole things seems ridiculous, and I think that New Jersey should really change their laws, but that's just how it is.

Rodney Strong Vinyards

Rodney Strong Cellars

We ended the day at Matrix winery because the pourer at Muscardini had recommended them.  What a find!  Their wine was magnificent so we joined their wine club too.  We now have too many wine clubs and will have to cancel at least two of them as soon as possible.  Usually you can cancel after two shipments.  Until then, we'll just be forced to put up with receiving way too much great California wine - damn!

We took the day off on Wednesday and enjoyed the hot tub and swimming pool at the campground.  We're leaving California with some great memories and absolutely superb wine.  We love you and will miss you California!