Visit Napa wine country while social distancing
Are you tired of your routine? Is your cabin fever heating up? Have you had it with let cat in, let cat out? Do you need a getaway but can’t? Set aside an hour daily and escape to wine country, online.
I mentioned disovercaliforniawines.com previously and that’s a good starting point. Now, pour a glass of your favorite wine, put on some smooth music, maybe like Chris Botti, and click yourself into Napa Valley.
Here are some sites to visit: VisitNapaValley.com, pasowine.com, SonomaWines.com, CalistogaWinegrowers.com, lodiwine.com, thepress.sfchronicle.com, calaveraswinealliance.com, maderawinetrail.com, slowines.com, amadorwines.com, lvwine.org and for the remote Anderson Valley, avwines.com.
You might want to take notes for a future wine vacation, hopefully sooner rather than later.
All About Wine
If you’re interested in learning more about wine, and I’m sure you have the time, click on the above websites. If you love Zinfandel, check out ZAP.org and become a card carrying member of Zinfandel for Advocates and Producers. Some really great sites for interesting and fun wine education are winefolly.com, vinepair.com, winesearcher.com, wine.com, and vivino.com. Vivino has a super app for your phone and currently has 42 million users worldwide.
Virtual Wine Tasting at Cakebread Cellars
I recently participated in the release of Cakebread Cellars’ 2019 Vin de Porche Rose from Anderson Valley. The event was hosted by co-owner Dennis Cakebread and Sales Director Jocelyn Hoar. The event was streamed on their Facebook page. The tasting was very casual with a few comments from Stephanie Jacobs, the winemaker and viticulturist Roy Oneto. The tasting also featured cooking demos and a cameo appearance by the winery dog. The Vin de Porche is 93% Pinot Noir and 7% Syrah. It’s a beautiful rose and with just 500 cases produced, it will sell out quickly. It’s available only through the winery. Cheers to Cakebread Cellars, well done!
What’s on our Table
The steal: The 2018 Bota Box Dry Rose is a SF Chronicle Gold Medal winner. The SRP is $22.99, a supermarket sale price is just $15.99, that’s $4 a bottle. Keep it cool in your garage fridge for all your pink wine-loving friends.
The Deal: The 2018 Matchbook Dunnigan Hills Petite Sirah won the SF Best of Class Award (up to $24.99). It’s only $16 and available in most supermarkets.
The Splurge: The Best of Class Sangiovese (up to $29.99) in the SF tasting went to the 2017 Jeff Runquist, The Hill Murrill Vineyard. The price is $28 and it is available through the winery.
Excuse me, it’s time to let the cat back in. Cheers!
Questions? Comments? Find me on Facebook or at rgwinton@yahoo.com.
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 11:42 AM.