Travelogue, day 3 – Wine country

Today was our jaunt to wine country. The weather was really crappy, which sucked, but we managed to have a good time nonetheless. A shuttle bus picked us up and we were off to Sonoma Valley. Our tour driver was amusing, and was pointing out little details along the way. The golden gate bridge can sway 27 feet in gale-force winds, but can't stand an earthquake bigger than 8. A quote: “The cushion underneath you isn't a flotation device. If you feel water underneath you, kiss it goodbye, you're history. The good news is that our insurance is paid up and your heirs will be well off.” Other fun facts: a room with a view on the bayfront costs 500$ per sq. foot. A houseboat on the bay can go up to 1 million dollars!

The first winery we went to was the San Sebastiani Viansa. It looked quite promising from the outside, as the pictures on my webpage will attest to. The wine was very bleh though. The white was good, but the cab, merlot and zinfandel were dishwater-caliber. The atmosphere was also bad, as we went from a mock-up showpiece aging cellar to their gift shop. Very ordinary.

The second estate was the Cline winery. The people were much more relaxed in their commercial attempts, and the wine was quite good. I bought a very refreshing rose and a full-bodied, peppery syrah. At that point, it wasn't even noon and we were both tipsy. A nice way to spend a rainy day.

On our way to out lunch stop, we saw road flooding, and the driver had to improvise another route. It's never a good sign when your tour guide tells you “ladies and gentlemen, we're officially lost”. We got there nonetheless. An old estate that had been converted to a retail center, with decent shops and a good restaurant.

Out last stop was in Napa Valley, the Sattui winery. I bought a superb rose, and a top-notch riesling. I'm going to have to invite someone special to try that one. strychnyn, as I'm already bringing two more bottles than I can legally bring, you're first on the list :) I won't be able to bring you back any wine.

After a brief stint of “retail therapy”, as the driver repeatedly put it, we were headed back to the city. It took us forever to get to our hotel, at which point we were both fed up of the bus, the driver, and the FDA crowd.

One thing that came out of this trip is that Mg and I spend way too much time together. It's now at the point where we're synchronized in the idiocies we say. And we can answer each others questions BEFORE they're asked. That's scary…

Another thing that's coming out of it is that my wireless sucks.