WineInk: California dreaming
When is the best time to visit wine country?
Harvest season is tough to beat, as one can feel the energy in the vineyards when the grapes are picked and rushed to the wineries where the magic of making wine begins. And the beauty of the vines awakening in early spring when the mustard turns the Napa Valley vineyards to a bright yellow is stunning. Then there are the sunny summer vibes when visitors sit on the porches and decks of the tasting rooms for hours enjoying wines from the surrounding vines.
But as incongruous as it may sound, for me the best time to visit wine country, especially California wine country, is right now — late fall — when the harvest season winds down. The crowds are smaller, the pace is slower, and the locals are a little more mellow. Oh, and the prices are a bit lower, as well. This is the wine country’s equivalent to our off-season.
Unfortunately, I have other duties that keep me from taking a sojourn to wine country currently, but a fellow can dream. So it was the other day, while enjoying a glass of Bouchaine Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay from the Carneros appellation, that I conjured a short dream trip itinerary in my head: What would I do if I had a couple of free days to take a California wine trip?
I’d begin by taking an early flight to SFO (Unfortunately, United does not have a direct flight this time of year), renting a car, and heading north, taking the long way to Sonoma. Highway 1 through Tomales Bay to Marshall is one of my favorite roads, and I would make my first stop at Nick’s Cove for a platter full of oysters and a bottle of Longboard, Rosé of Grenache, “Watergirl,” Russian River Valley, 2023, made by winemaker (and surfer) Oded Shakked.
Welcome to the West Coast.
Since this is a dream venture and money is not a consideration (No, The Aspen Times will not pay my expenses), I would spend my Sonoma night at the uber-luxury Montage Healdsburg resort, where my king room with a vineyard view would set me back $1,250 for this upcoming week in October. That would be for each night. The experience, though, would be worth the price of admission.
The sloping vineyards just outside the door of the rooms at Montage are overseen by Jesse Katz, who is well known to Aspenites for his frequent visits during the Food & Wine Classic, where he brings his wines from Aperture Cellars. The vineyards on the Montage property are planted with a selection of Bordeaux varieties.
As I am a huge fan of the StudioBarn Diva in downtown Healdsburg, I would spend my Monday evening at the welcoming bar, eating, and drinking … well, whatever is fresh and in season, as one does at the farm-to-table Michelin-recommended bar, restaurant, and event space.
Tuesday would begin with a short trip down the Old Redwood Highway, where I would make my first winery visit of the trip to the aforementioned Jesse Katz at his Aperture Estate. The goal would be to taste the new Collage Series of wines that he launched this past May. The series includes two wines, a 2021 Proprietary Red Wine, and a 2022 Proprietary White Wine. The white is made from 100% sauvignon blanc grapes, while the red wine is led by Cabernet Sauvignon and is augmented by a few other varieties.
Both were sourced by Katz, who evaluated over 300 individual lots across five separate Sonoma County AVAs, and interestingly, both spend six months of aging time in concrete vessels. The labels feature a “collage” of photos taken by Katz’s father Andy that are molded into the shape of the aperture of a camera lens. The motif is similar to the roof of the winery, which features metal plates in the same shape. I sense a trend.
After visiting Aperture, I would head across the valley to visit some of the pioneering premier chardonnay and pinot noir producers on the planet who make their home on Westside Road, the Rodeo Drive of Sonoma pinot noir.
I’d begin with a visit to the family-owned and operated Bacigalupi Vineyards. Since the 1950s, four generations of the family have been growing some of the most sought-after pinot noir and chardonnay in the county. They first gained fame when their estate-grown chardonnay fruit was used in the 1973 Chateau Montelena wine that won the “1976 Judgement of Paris.”
Just up Westside Road is the beautiful MacRostie Winery Estate House. Steve MacRostie has been making pinot noir and chardonnay in Sonoma since 1974 and has crafted a reputation as one of the most respected practitioners in the county. The tasting room, overlooking MacRostie’s Thales Estate with a view of the surrounding valley, serves the wines produced under the auspices of Steve and winemaker Heidi Bridenhagen.
My final stop of the day would be the state-of-the-art winery and tasting room that is home to Williams Selyem. The winery is only open to those who are on their allocation list, so again — as this is a dream — I would hope I could get into the confines of the winery. Founded in 1979 by Burt Williams and Edward Selyem, the winery set the standard for the region as a producer of premier pinot noir. From a garage where the pair produced their first wines to the sustainable winery and tasting facility where the wines are made today, they have proved that it is all about the journey.
And this is the perfect time for a wine country journey of your own.
