I recently returned from our annual convention to Napa Valley. I stay at the Vino Bello Resort (fabulous resort by the way, highly recommend it). It was a great convention, and needless to say, much wine was enjoyed.
This was my second visit to Napa Valley, the first being last year at our annual convention. My initial impressions of Napa last year and this were that it doesn’t initially meet the vision that one has in their mind about wine country. The wineries are wonderful and plentiful, so don’t get me wrong there. It’s great to visit all the large and small wineries and sample so many terrific and varied wines (and on a side note, as someone who works in the wine industry, wine tastings are free, and discounts plentiful). I was, however, hoping to see the rolling hills and beauty of wine country that one imagines.
I was not disappointed. But, the beauty wasn’t found in Napa Valley. The true beauty of wine country is found in neighboring Sonoma. My friends Jennifer, Beverly and I headed over to Sonoma County on Monday afternoon, after a full weekend of wine. One would think that we’d be all “wined” out. After all, there’s only so much wine one can take, right? Well, yes and no.
We headed over to Schug winery just off Hwy 121 in Sonoma. It’s not an easy to find winery, and we had to turn around once. But it was well worth it! The views on the way met every expectation I had of wine country. Hills, and vineyards as far as you could see. It was as if we were taking a trip back in time (well, except for the road construction).
Once we arrived, at Schug Carneros Estate Winery, we were not disappointed. A small tasting room, we were the only ones there, but we loved it! It was truly a personalized experience. Schug specializes in Pinot Noir and if you’re a Pinot Noir fan, you know that a good one can be hard to find. Schug’s Pinot was quite delicious, as was their oaked Chardonnay (harder and harder to come by). Jennifer fell in love with the Chardonnay as she is a huge, full-bodied oak-filled fan. Schug had the cutest little demi bottles, and we each purchased a couple of them, as well as “Vinifera” cards cataloging many of the well-known and some not-so-well known grape varietals. Their tasting room is small, which made it even more special. We were treated with great service, and will definitely be visiting Schug again next year!
I invite all of you to come next year!
Visit my website and contact me to find out how: greatWineSource.com
