Russian River Valley | Forestville Area - May 2004
For our two-night wine country getaway, we plan to visit wineries
near the town of Forestville. Forestville is a sleepy little river
town on Highway 116 West. It is one of the preferred routes to get
to the Russian River resort towns of Guerneville and Monte Rio.
Forestville is located in the heart of the Russian River Valley
wine appellation and its sub appellation, the Green Valley.
Day One
We exit Highway 101 and take Highway 116 West toward Forestville.
Our first stop is the Whole Foods market in Sebastopol. The market
has plenty of cheese and deli items for a delicious picnic lunch
in the vineyards.
We then set out to our first winery, the Martin
Ray Winery. It is about ten minutes from Sebastopol. It is hard
to find a winery in this area that has picnic facilities and Martin
Ray has one of the most beautiful spots in this region. This winery
was formerly the Martini Prati winery and was purchased in 2003.
The winery is one of the oldest and most historic wineries in California.
The winery produces wine under two distinct labels, the Martin Ray
label and the Angelina label. The wines are very reasonably priced
and the quality is good. We choose the Angelina Chardonnay for our
lunch and it is a bargain at $12 a bottle. Martin Ray is on Laguna
Road (View Map)
Following a relaxing picnic lunch at Martin Ray, we make our way
back to Highway 116 and continue towards the town of Forestville.
Our next stop is the Iron
Horse Vineyard, a winery known for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and
sparkling wine. Just before getting to Forestville we turn left
on Ross Station Road. We wind our way up the road for a couple of
miles along rows of vineyards. At the top of the road we are treated
to a spectacular view of the Green Valley. For a fee of $5.00 we
taste several of the wines. Most of the wines are produced from
their estate vineyards in the Green Valley. The sparkling wines
are standouts.
We head back to Highway 116 and decide to continue on 116 through
Forestville and visit the Russian River resort town of Guerneville.
We stroll along the streets of Guerneville and enjoy the diversity
of shops and the interesting people who live and vacation in Guerneville.
We take a stroll down to Johnson’s beach in Guerneville and
enjoy the beauty of the Russian River as it flows west to the Pacific
Ocean.
It’s time to head towards Healdsburg and check into our accommodations.
We are staying at the Dry Creek Inn, a Best Western inn located
at the north end of Healdsburg. It is not as fancy as some of the
local B & B’s but we figure it a good choice since we
won’t be spending much time there on this trip.
Dinner
at the Dry Creek Kitchen
This is one of Charlie Palmer’s restaurants. It is located
in the very classy Healdsburg Hotel. Since its opening two years
ago, critics have been raving about the Dry Creek Kitchen and its
outstanding cuisine. From the moment you enter the restaurant, you
feel that this is going be a special treat. A jazz trio plays softly
in background. Our party of four shares two appetizers and we each
order a different entree. Everything is fabulous. We have no trouble
giving the Dry Creek Kitchen a 5-Point rating on our Five Point
Rating scale. The critics' raves are well deserved.
Day Two
The next morning we are off early. We pass on the continental breakfast
offered by the Dry Creek Inn and head to one of our favorite breakfast
and coffee spots in Healdsburg, the Costeaux
French Bakery & Café. They offer a nice selection
of omelets as well as a variety of pastries. This is also a good
place to pick up lunch for a picnic at one of the local wineries.
After breakfast, it's time for a stroll around the Healdsburg Plaza
and surrounding streets to do some shopping. There are a wide variety
of stores ranging from your run-of-the-mill country store to some
very fashionable and upscale shops. A little bit of something for
everyone.
Our wine tasting plan for the day is to visit the Martinelli Winery,
the Joseph Swan Vineyards, and the Sunce Vineyards, all located
in the Green Valley Appellation. We also plan to have a light lunch
in the tiny town of Graton. From the Healdsburg Plaza we jump on
Highway 101, head south, and exit at River Road heading west. Within
a couple of miles we spot the signs for the Martinelli
Winery. This is also one of California’s oldest wineries,
founded in 1896. They own many acres of vineyards, selling off all
but 20 percent of their grapes to local wineries. They keep the
best for themselves and their famous winemaker Helen Turley does
the rest. We love the Pinot Noir wines, the Zinfandels, and the
Gewürztraminer.
Joseph Swan
is our next stop. We stay on River Road until we see Trenton Road.
We take a left and then veer left to stay on Trenton Road and spot
the sign for Joseph Swan Vineyards. The tasting room is open only
on the weekends. Today, winemaker Rod Berglund is working the tasting
room. It really is fortunate when you are able to have the winemaker
provide you with some first-hand information about the wines. Although
the winery is recognized for its Pinot Noir wines, we like their
Zinfandel from the Lone Redwood Ranch the best.
We head for lunch in Graton, a very tiny town just off Highway 116.
We have heard about a small restaurant called the Willow Wood Market
Café. It is a rustic, low-key restaurant offering up some
great sandwiches and salads. We rate our lunch a 4.5 on our Five
Point rating scale.
After lunch, we head for one more winery, Sunce
Vineyard & Winery. Sunce is a good example of the many small
and obscure wineries that you find in the Russian River Valley.
The winery produces 5000 cases of wine per year. Their philosophy
is to produce very small lots of wine so that they can concentrate
on the quality of the wine. On this visit, the winery has set up
a temporary tasting area while it does some remodeling. We are amazed
at the number of wines available for tasting. There are many goods
wines to choose from, but our favorite ends up being the Pinot Noir,
2002 Rodella Vineyard.
Dinner at Manzanita
The Manzanita restaurant opened about a year ago. They have a great
wood-burning stove and serve some outstanding pizzas and Mediterranean
delights. The food is very good but we got a little spoiled from
our dinner the previous night at the Dry Creek Kitchen. We rate
it a 4.0 on our Five Point Rating scale. We will be back again.
We like the décor and atmosphere.
The following morning, we head again for the Costeaux French Bakery
& Café for another delicious breakfast and cup of brew.
Unfortunately, we need to get back home by noon so there is no more
wine tasting on this outing.
Note: As of this posting, the Willow Wood Market Café and
the Manzanita restaurant do not have web sites. Contact information:
Willow Wood Market Café
Graton
(866) 647-8888 or (707) 823-0233
Manzanita Restaurant
336 Healdsburg Avenue
Healdsburg; (707) 433-8111
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