Russian River Getaway - June 6 to 9, 2003

We leave on a Friday for the Russian River wine country. Not only do we want to do some wine tasting but also want to take in the 5th Annual Healdsburg Jazz Festival. It is a busy weekend in Healdsburg. In addition to the jazz festival, the Alexander Valley Winegrowers are having their yearly special event called “Taste of the Valley.“ Because we decided to take this trip at the last minute, all the local lodging is booked. One Bed & Breakfast recommends we stay at a private house across the street. They have a room with its own entrance and bathroom. We take it.

Our first stop on Friday is the Simi Winery. We have been visiting this winery since 1966. At that time the tasting room was a huge wine barrel resting on its side and Isabelle Simi, granddaughter of one of the founders was there to greet visitors and sell wine. Ah, the good old days. To our surprise, we now find that Simi is charging $5 for tasting and $3 for their tours. Simi is part of a conglomerate know as Franciscan Estate Wines owned by Constellation Brands.

Our next stop is Trentadue Winery. The winery opened a new and beautiful tasting room in February of 2003. We have always liked their wines and their prices. The wines seem to taste even better in the new tasting room. We very much like the Viognier, the Sangiovese, and the Petit Syrah. The Sangiovese is heavier than most and the flavors are delicious. We buy some.

Our next stop is Meeker Vineyards. We taste the wines and decide to join the Meeker Wine Club. We enjoy their wines and they are not for sale, except at the winery or through the wine club. Cindy, our boisterous hostess, honks a horn and cheers to celebrate our joining of the wine club. Meeker’s tasting room is located in an old bank building in Geyserville.

We check into to our room which is located just a very short distance from the Healdsburg Plaza. After checking in, we take a walk to the central area of Healdsburg and visit the relatively new Gallo of Sonoma tasting room, located on the Plaza. They have done a nice job decorating the tasting room, We try only one wine, the Chardonnay that was highly rated in that day’s Wall Street Journal wine column.

We walk down the next block and visit the Rosenblum tasting room. The tasting room also acts as a gallery for photographer Andy Katz, who just happens to be in his gallery. Unfortunately, it is closing time and we miss talking to him. His photographs of the wine country are some of the best.

We eat dinner at Zin Restaurant. All we can say is excellent, excellent, excellent. We rate this dinner a 5 on our 5-point rating scale. The service, the food, and the setting are perfect.

For breakfast in Healdsburg, there are several good spots to grab coffee and a pastry around the Plaza. We first try the Flying Goat, but there is not a table to be had on this Saturday morning. We walk down to the next block and take a table at Johnny Java’s.

Before we head out to our main destination, Quivera Winery and the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, we make two stops. The first is to buy a deli lunch at the Oakville Grocery, the second stop is at Chateau Souverain. At Chateau Souverain they are having a big wine sale today and they are also part of the “Taste of the Valley” event. The winery is as beautiful as ever with its stunning views of the Alexander Valley. We end up buying a magnum of the 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon for $36.

Sad to say but this winery, which is owned by Beringer Blas, also recently began charging a fee for tasting. As in the case of Simi, the fee can be applied towards a purchase. We hope this is not a trend that will continue to make its way to the other wineries in this fantastic wine country.

The jazz festival is wonderful. Featured artist Mary Stallings is spectacular. The wine, the food, the grounds make this event a memorable one.

Dinner on Saturday night is at the Ravenous Café. Restaurants are booked solid and are trying to squeeze in customers. The Ravenous Café is running out of some of the menu items and the wait is long for dinner. We have eaten here before and have always enjoyed the meal very much. Tonight, however, we rate the dinner a 3.75 on our 5-point scale.

For breakfast the next morning, we choose the Center St. Café and Deli because they have a full breakfast menu. After our healthy breakfast we pack our bags and set out for some wine tasting. Our first stop is in the opposite direction of the wineries we want to visit. We always stop at the Jimtown Store at least once when we are up in this area. We stock up on our picnic items and some other delights to bring back home.

We visit the Armida Winery which gets our vote for the best view from a picnic area. The wine we would like to taste is not available for tasting. It is their Poizin Zinfandel, “the wine you love to die for.” The price tag is $50. The bottle is etched in red with a skull and crossbones and the bottle comes in a wooden box shaped like an old time coffin.

The next winery is a relatively new winery. The Roshambo Winery opened in March of 2002. It is our first visit to this winery. The tasting room is modern with a breathtaking view of their vineyards in the Russian River Valley. The tasting room also houses a gallery of rotating artwork. This is a very interesting winery and we will have to visit it again very soon.

Our final winery and stop of the day is Hop Kiln. We like the peace and tranquility of the picnic area at this winery. Although not as beautiful a view as the nearby Armida picnic area, we like the solitude here. The view is not bad either. We enjoy a glass of the Hop Kiln, non-oaky Chardonnay with our Jimtown deli lunch. We read our books for while, take in the scenery and then make our way back home. It has been a great weekend of jazz, wine, and food.