I love Rosé. I love everything it stands for, everything it reminds me of. I love how it tastes. I love how it pairs. I love how uncomplicated it makes things.
So it was with great anticipation that my husband and I took a Sunday drive to Healdsburg for their first annual Pink Party. (OK, the anticipation obviously wasn’t that great because I never got the hint to dress in pink. However, I was sporting some spring pastels on this unseasonably warm day.)
I love contemporary architecture and design. So on the approach up the winding driveway up to the Hamel family’s new winery, I was immediately won over by their sleek stone and slate buildings.
12 years ago, my husband and I moved to Sonoma not knowing a single soul. The moving van arrived in June and we left a week later for a trip to Italy that had been planned well before. We returned to Sonoma on July 2nd, jet-lagged and wondering what to do for our nation’s birthday.
As you can imagine, I visit A LOT of Napa and Sonoma wineries in California’s wine country and I get to go places most folks do not. I have met the friendliest hospitality directors . . .the most generous tasting room managers . . . and this past weekend, the most informative winemaker. Let me tell you about my day at Repris.
California Wine Country is as much about “country” as it is about wine. Today we set out to prove it. So with my husband, my father and my stepmom in tow, we headed down the hill in Sonoma to Stone Edge Farm.
Stone Edge Farm, as the name implies, is literally surrounded by stone. A magnificent block-long dry stack wall borders the property. I’ve walked my dogs past it for 10+ years but I never quite knew what was up on the inside. Holy cow! Read on…
One of the better wine regions in Napa Valley, CA that you’ve probably never heard of is Pritchard Hill. It’s not an official appellation but it is home to several wineries with long traditions and/or serious ambitions. We visited three of them to get the lay of the land and scout locations for a client’s bridal luncheon.
Thought I’d dial up the status factor and visit four of Napa Valley, CA top-tier wine producers – Staglin, Rudd, Quintessa and Corison. Needless to say, the quality of the wines at all of these wine country icons is beyond the beyond. But what make these wine country destinations interesting places to visit are the personal stories behind them. Read on…
Does anybody really need to hear my two cents about a bunch of Napa Valley wineries that are right along the highway and are open to the general public? Probably not. On the other hand, part of what Booker & Butler does is edit the universe of wine country experiences down to the handful of places you might want to see. So even though these Napa California wine destinations are easy to get access to, I’m writing to tell you that they are also very much worth the trip . . . Read on…
January can be a dreary time of year to visit wine country. The vines are all dormant, nothing for spring is in bloom yet and it can be down right rainy and cold. But when my best college girlfriends from Texas wanted to come to Wine Country for a visit, this particular weekend in January was what worked best for everyone. And the timing of this reunion couldn’t have come at a better time as I was just about to launch Booker & Butler. Read on…