Napa and Sonoma
Exploring the wine country from San Francisco
It is one of the best-known wine regions of the world and only 1.5 hours drive from San Francisco: Napa Valley. Charlie visited this part of California as part of a guided day trip. It started from Fisherman’s Wharf and stopped for a short break in Sausalito before heading towards Napa Valley.
Madonna Estate
The first stop was at a winery and vineyard called Madonna Estate. It was only 10 a.m. and certainly already wine o’clock when the guide Jim greeted the group with a glass of Chardonnay in his hand. He did not only share the story of the estate over four generations but also spoke in great detail about the wine making process and the different types before pouring the next glass.
At Madonna Estate all grapes are organically grown and there is no irrigation system. The grapes are only watered by rain or by the humidity that sits in the valley as fog.
The end of September was the perfect time of the year to visit Napa as the grapes are ready to be harvested. At Madonna Estate, the group was offered a taste of the fresh grapes too. Charlie found them very sweet, although the skin required a bit of chewing. Certainly, a different experience than the grapes that can be bought in supermarkets.
Sonoma square
After this first wine tasting, the group drove into Sonoma to have lunch at the square. Charlie enjoyed a sandwich at a place specialized in cheese and took a stroll around the square. The buildings of the Spanish mission that was once in this place are still there and can be visited. Charlie’s mission however was to buy a postcard for her collection.
She went further along the square and into some passages. There were mostly restaurants and cafés, art galleries and small shops. The mission to find a postcard however turned out to be challenging. Charlie found one shop that sold tourist items and the rack that would hold postcards was entirely empty. She ended up finding exactly one in a store for household goods. Hidden between greeting cards was one postcard. At least, she wouldn’t have to choose.
Sutter Homes and Napa Cellars
The last two stops were at the wineries of Sutter Homes and Napa Cellars, both still family owned, however a lot bigger and more commercialized than Madonna Estate. Charlie enjoyed the wines and sat down in the rose garden as the Napa Wine Train passed by.
It has to be noted that the families behind the wine tradition in all three wineries came originally from Italy. Another estate across the road was decorated in statues, fountains and pottery as you usually find in Italy. Lavender plants could easily transfer the visitor to the South of France. The wine industry in the US, however, is a lot less regulated than in France, for example.
Another difference that Charlie noticed in comparison to wine tastings in Europe is that wine does not seem to be meant for enjoyment. A wine tasting Charlie attended in Tenerife earlier that same year was a lot more detailed as to how to smell and taste the wine properly. In Napa, flavours seemed to only exist on paper, and the wine just went quickly down the throat.
Surrounded by vineyards
Charlie certainly enjoyed the drive along and through vineyards. Throughout the whole day they were surrounded by them wherever they were. What Charlie was missing a bit during the tour was time to stroll through the vineyards.
She enjoyed the visit at the first winery, Madonna Estate, the most as she could feel the small, family-owned business that gets its charm from the characters whose pictures are hanging on the wall in the tasting room. The guides there too created a familiar atmosphere and took the time to speak about their wines in much more detail than at the other wineries where the guides were simply employees that pass on the information they were told to pass on.
