CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' - WINE COUNTRY

We started our California Dreamin' Trip 2010 with a drive from San Francisco to wine country.  The weather was perfect and the scenery was just lovely!  

Our first tasting/tour was at Silver Oak Winery in Oakville/Napa Valley.  We enjoyed a VIP tour (arranged for us by Jason's sister, Kelly) and left with a yet-to-be opened bottle of Cabernet.  

To see a bigger, better detailed version CLICK on picture collage.  Then ZOOM in on desired spot.

Our second VIP tour (arranged for us by Kelly again!) was at Korbel.  I think we tasted nearly 10 different champagnes and some sherry!  It was a fun tour and would recommend to anyone visiting the area.  We brought home more Korbel (the stuff you can't buy in Indiana) than any other wine! 

Korbel is the only maker of "champagne" outside of France due to a semi-generic provision under the US law.  From Wikipedia: Korbel primarily manufactures sparkling wine and sells the largest volume of premium traditional Méthode Champenoise sparkling wine in the United States.

 

We received a recommendation for a restaurant that was on the coast and supposedly overlooking an area where part of the movie "The Goonies" was filmed.  The drive to River's End was a bit long but the views, once we got there, were breathtaking and just what we needed after a long day in the car.  The restaurant only took reservations but we got there right at the start of dinner service so they were able to seat us without a prior reservation.  It was a great ending to the Wine Country leg of our trip.   

The restaurant sits on a bluff overlooking the delta of the Russian River and the Pacific Ocean.

Next leg of our California Dreaming trip: Wine Country Part 2 - Olive Oil Tasting