Wineries we hit during the trip up the coast (free tasting unless otherwise indicated):

Windsor Vineyards The wine is just okay, but the personalized labels make great gifts...and what else are you going to do in Tiburon?

Ravenswood: Great zins as always. Still charging $5 to taste, no longer refunding said $5 with purchase. They were only pouring one single vineyard. It was also great...but like most of their single vineyards, you can do better for $32.

Benzinger...not to be confused with Beringer. Climbed the hill on the tandem. Bought a bottle of chardonnay.

Valley of the Moon: Think we bought a bottle of sangiovese. Good, cheap wine.

Bartholomew Park: Drink wine that was grown right out front. Sort of neat. $5 to taste, refunded with purchase.

Sausal: Good, old zins. Bought a bottle of Cellar Cat Red.

Murphy-Goode: Didn't taste anything we felt like carrying, and did not have time to return with the car.

Ridge: We did go back with the car...bought 4 bottles of superb zin.

Rosenblum: They do not stop pouring. We bought a bottle of zinfandel port. The 3 "Rs" of zinfandel are said to be Ravenswood, Rosenblum, and Ridge (Renwood sometimes replaces Ridge...maybe there are really 4 "Rs"). Ridge is by far the best, followed by Ravenswood, and then Rosenblum....I have not had much Renwood, so I cannot properly rank them.

Frank: A can't miss winery in Napa. Bought a few bottles of chardonnay, and a reserve cab.

Mumm: Took the tour. Bought a couple of bottles of sparkling wine...including a magnum. Here's me in the tasting room (I am really not drunk...I had just removed my sunglasses and my eyes had not yet adjusted...really, look at how full the glasses are...):


Bonny Doon: Always something fun at Bonny Doon. Picked up a bottle of Cardinal Zin, a bottle of Syrah, and a couple bottles of some obscure grape that I had never heard of.

Castoro: On the way home. Very busy tasting room; decent, cheap wine. Bought a couple of bottles of chardonnay, and a red meritage type blend that I can't remember the name of.

Nicole took some pictures of the poppies out front:


Looks like we bought a lot of white wine. It was quite hot in both Napa and Sonoma...