Liquid souvenirs (by way of Paso Robles, Napa, Sonoma/Russian River Valley) from 10 days in California.
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Liquid souvenirs (by way of Paso Robles, Napa, Sonoma/Russian River Valley) from 10 days in California.
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MGD. Really not my favourite but a 24 was $26? in Quebec. It was really cheap anyways, so can't complain.
One of my souvenirs from Erie Pa. Millcreek Brewing Company's Break a Leg Honey Hefeweizen. Very smooth sweet and light. Went great with my rotisserie chicken.
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“Help me Jesus! Help me Jewish God! Help me Allah! Help me Tom Cruise! Tom Cruise use your witchcraft on me to get the fire off me! Help me Oprah Winfrey!” — Ricky Bobby
which wineries in Napa and Sonoma did you like best?Originally Posted by 92redragtop
heading there soon
Are you heading there on a wine related vacation or is the area a stop-over while you're there? There are so many wineries out there it's hard to pick and my stops, while enjoyable, doesn't capture all the top ones. Also depends on whether you're there for the wine only or combo of wine/setting.
Most of the Napa wineries have tasting fees between US$25 to US$150 (some are wine tasting only or combo wine tasting/tour) and many of the "smaller" wineries require reservations ahead of time (even for a tasting). Stag's Leap in Napa had a US$45 tasting fee for an estate flight of wines including from $200 to $300 bottles. Luna had a nice patio for tasting/enjoying a glass as well. Sterling is worth a visit also with good wines. Other notables included Joseph Phelps, Duckhorn, Irony, and Black Stallion wineries. Castello di Amorosa was a cool spot with a re-created Italian castle and great views although the wine is just ok. The Napa wineries seemed to have a 2 bottle purchase for them to waive the tasting fee.
We actually preferred the Sonoma and Paso Robles wineries since they are smaller, more intimate, many are family-owned, and less feeling of a "production environment" for tastings. Tastings were either free or in the $10 to $25 range and the ones we went to only had a 1 bottle purchase to have the tasting fee waived. Ridge winery was a nice spot and they took their time, so did Alexander Valley which offered a free tour with barrel tasting in their large wine cave. Woodenhead in Sonoma has a nice spot overlooking the Russian River Valley area although their wines were not as nice as Ridge or Alexander. Next time we will focus more time in Sonoma and Paso Robles and skip Napa (Napa wines are generally "bigger" and require longer cellaring for maturing anyway).
We only intended to bring back 2 bottles each (in our suitcases using 4 inch mailing tubes) but you can see we did not stick to that and had to purchase a Wine Check bag to bring our purchases back on the plane (as checked luggage).
Make sure you book your wine tasting reservations at the Napa wineries in advance (where reservations are required) since we did not and could not get last minute reservations at some wineries.
did you pay tax and duty on wine coming back
No, we lucked out with a generous customs officer who let us through. Thought we'd be in for a big bill with a 7-bottle overage but we got waived through. We ended up buying one of these at Mohsin Vineyards to bring everything back safely.
http://www.thewinecheck.com/
What? No patio beers?
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“Help me Jesus! Help me Jewish God! Help me Allah! Help me Tom Cruise! Tom Cruise use your witchcraft on me to get the fire off me! Help me Oprah Winfrey!” — Ricky Bobby
Sorry man - skipped out of work early to do a CBI pickup run across the border and had to get back to the GTA early so popped in there quickly to see what they had in stock to go. Next time - we're booking our NOTL and Twenty Valley wine/food weekend soon (not sure it'll be patio weather then though :-(What? No patio beers?
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