Sonoma Wineries: The Caves

Bella Vineyards offers wine tasting in a cave. It’s much farther north in Dry Creek valley than the vineyards I visited the day before and pretty well tucked away. I drove through gentle green slopes and crossed what seemed like countless vineyards on the way. Though the day high was supposed to be 87 F, the morning was cool.

I may be a convert to Zinfandels now. They are more robust than Pinot Noirs and seem to assault the tastebuds more quickly with their fruity flavors. They’re also sort of a paradox, because though the initial taste is heavy with fruit, the wine has a dry finish.

Dry Creek is one of the best valleys on the planet for growing Zinfandels. Some of the vines in the region are more than a century old.

One of my favorites at the tasting was the dessert Zinfandel (I didn’t know such a thing exists), so I bought a bottle. From what I understand (and sorry if I’m butchering winemaking 101, experts), a dessert “Zin” (this seems to be the lingo people use these days) is harvested relatively late and the grapes are then picked late in the season, which allows more of the sugar to process. Maybe I’m totally wrong on this; I’m going based on what my host said when I was more focused on my tastings.

Regardless of how it’s made, the dessert Zinfandel at Bella Vineyards is very good.

Next up for the day was Truett Hurst Winery, which is closer to the Dry Creek vineyards I visited the day before.

It was truly a Zinfandel kind of day, though I also tried an excellent Chardonnay at Truett Hurst. After finishing off the tasting I wandered through their farm; there were a few goats grazing in the area.

Sonoma Wineries: Dry Creek

Papapierto Perry winery sits on a hill overlooking Dry Creek Valley, which is a prime location for growing Zinfandels thanks to its scorching summers.

I sat within the winery’s patio shade and sipped Pinot Noirs on a cool and breezy afternoon. All of the Pinots were great but their 2019 Perry and 2019 Nunes bottles were standouts. As stated in a previous blog, I’m no connoisseur, but I definitely tasted hints of raspberry and oak in both bottles. These wines also paired excellently with dark chocolate.

Dry Creek Vineyards is about a mile from Papapierto and is better known for its Zinfandels (though I also tried an excellent Chardonnay here). We sat in their picnic area and absorbed a healthy dose of sunlight (enough to burn my arms in just one hour). I can’t say that I’m quite a Zinfandel convert, but I was impressed with the precision and care put forth in their winemaking.

After finishing off these wines I ate a good pizza in downtown Healdsburg at PizZando and took a long walk through downtown.

Northern California has a strong cycling community that never ceased to impress me. The infrastructure allows it; cycling can easily become a way of life out here.