The Wine Traveler in La Rioja

Rioja DO is the oldest and most famous of all the wine regions in Spain. We spent an entire day exploring the area. Too bad we did not have a week to spend here; it is such an interesting spot with so much to see. With the Iberian mountain range as the backdrop and the River Ebro meandering on the valley floor though beautiful vineyards, the vistas are stunning, Each small country road we travel leads to small La Rioja towns surrounded by vineyards and Bodegas. Most of the Bodegas we pass are very old, many built in the 19th century. But then, some are very new and modern ones like the two wineries we visit, the Bodegas Marques de Riscal and the Bodegas Ysios.

In the small town of Elciego, we visited the very bizarre winery of Marques de Riscal. This bodega is one of the oldest in Spain, established in 1860. This winery has been at the forefront of introducing modern wine making to this region. Marques de Riscal recently opened this new bodega complete with a hotel. It was designed by Frank Gehry and is a totally gaudy structure that is a wonder to behold in this small medieval town. It is a must see and very popular tourist spot. We missed the English tour so we missed out on seeing the inside of the winery. The bodega does have a tasting room and café and a store where you can purchase wine.

About 10 minutes away in the town of Laguardia and tucked against the mountains is the amazing Bodegas Ysios. It is closed to the public, but you can drive to the winery, park your car and wander through the vineyards. What a spectacular sight against the mountains.
Rioja wine region produces both red and white wines, but Tempranillo that produces vino tinto is the grape of choice. Harvesting is going on in much of the area on our visit but the following week will bring the peak of the harvest.

Our hotel is in Burgos, about an hour and half driving distance to La Rioja. Next time we visit Spain, and we certainly plan to do that again, we will stay in one of many grand hotels in one of the small La Rioja towns. This is truly a spectacular area with a beauty all of its own.

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The Wine Traveler in Madrid

At last, we have met up with our friends. Miraculously, we have managed to drive our car in Madrid and find the apartment we have rented in the center of the city. We have rented a three-room apartment on Calle de Estudios from an agency called Friendly Rentals. One of their reps meets us at the apartment to show us the place and give us the keys. The location is fantastic. The Plaza Mayor is about 5-minutes walking distance. There are tons of stores for shopping, restaurants, tapas, and wine bars within easy walking distance. The only glitch is the car. We have to park the car in the underground parking lot conveniently located nearby, but the cost is 25 Euros per day. Ouch!

Our two full days in Madrid are full of activity. Nearby is a market where we shop and stock up on the necessities. Café, leche, aqua, paper products, breakfast items, Manchego cheese, olives, and the like. We plan to eat breakfast in and have lunch and dinner out.. You can buy good wine at the wine bars or as we did at the El Corte Ingles, a wonderful department store somewhat like Bloomindale’s back home.

The Plaza Mayor is a must stop for anyone visiting Madrid. It is truly the ultimate people watching place and a gathering spot for tourists and locals. Our weather is perfect for sitting out on the Plaza Mayor and enjoying a glass of sherry or Verdejo.

The Prado is one of the greatest museums in the world. We take a casual walk to the Museum. We see the works of of Rembrandt, El Greco, Ruebens, Velasquez, Goya, Rafael, and Caravaggio to name a few. It is quite a remarkable museum. Just down the street is another fantastic museum, the Reina Sofia, devoted to 20th century artists. Here we see the works of Picasso, Salvardor Dali, and Joan Miro.

Another attraction to behold is the Royal Palace (photo). To tour this spectacular Palace takes about an hour and is within walking distance of the Plaza Mayor. The Palacio Royale reflects the glory of Spain as it grew into a world power by the 16th Century. The original Palace had been destroyed by fire in 1734 and was rebuilt by Philip V and his successors. An added feature is the medieval armoury on the left of the palace that houses various suits of armor and weapons. It is truly a wonder and something not to be missed if you are in Madrid.

Eating in Madrid

Half the fun of being in Madrid is the food and wine. The most difficult task of dining out is selecting a restaurant. There are so many and they all look so good and inviting. Most restaurants in Madrid have a “Menu del dia.” This is the best deal and is usually posted outside the restaurant along with their regular menu. You may have to ask your waiter for it. This menu has a list of items for primo, segundo, and postre (dessert). Tapas bars are a little different than restaurants. The courses are small. You can make a meal out of it but it is a more casual dining experience. Desayuno is breakfast. Café con leche is the norm for Americans unless you want espresso.

After dinner on one of our nights in Madrid, I happened upon a group of Americans behaving badly. I decided to take their photo. This group is definitely having too much fun.

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The Wine Traveler in Ribera Del Duero

We traveled south on the A6 towards Madrid and stopped in Tordesillas and stayed at the same Parador we had lodged in on the way up to Galicia. This little town is centrally located in three wine regions, Toro, Rueda, and Ribera Del Duero. The Parador is very comfortable and has all the services we need.

Today, we set out to the Ribera Del Duero wine district, one of the oldest and most famous of the wine districts in Spain. The most easily accessible bodegas are located on what is known as the Spanish Golden Mile, Highway N-122. We headed from Tordesillas towards Valladolid and followed the signs toward Peñafiel, a small town about 40 minutes from Valladolid. All the wineries in this region require an appointment if you want to visit, tour or taste. Some have a fee while others do not. If the winery has a tienda (store) you can visit and buy wine without an appointment.

The vines look beautiful and are almost ready for harvest. The grape of the Ribera Del Duero is Tinto Fino, a type of Tempranillo grape. The wine is lush and rich, a bit stronger than wines from La Rioja.

The first bodega we spot is Bodega Abadia Retuerta. This winery has recently received raved reviews from the wine critics for their outstanding lineup of wines. The tienda was open so we meandered in and browsed the shop. We purchased a bottle of the Rivola 2004 Crianza for 8 Euros. Interestingly, the wineries sell to anyone for about the same amount they sell to a distributor. The bodega is where to get the best deal on Spanish wine. We also decided to buy an Abadia Retuerta logo shirt for each of us.

Later, we explored the wine town of Peñafiel, and found it to be rather ordinary and not much to do with wine except for the wine museum. Unfortunately, we are there on a Monday, and that is the only day of the week the museum is closed.

We headed back and stopped at one of the larger bodegas in the Ribera Del Duero, the Arzuaga Navarro Winery. This bodega has a hotel and fancy restaurant. We stopped and had a delicious lunch along with a fantastic half bottle of Arzuaga 2004 Crianza. What a delicious wine.

Tomorrow it is off to Madrid to meet up with our friends who will be traveling with us in Spain for the next two weeks.

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The Wine Traveler in Cambados, Spain

The tourist office in Santiago De Compostela recommended that if we had a chance, be sure to visit the town of Cambados, “It is the center of wine activity in the Rias Baixas.” We packed our bags and left our Parador in Pontevedra heading towards Cambados for a day trip before heading south towards Madrid. It turned out to be a great recommendation. Our day in Cambados was very fun and exciting. However, if you are not a wine lover, the trip might not be that much interesting.

Cambados is on the Altantic Coast and it is a beautiful ride as we followed the coastline from Pontevedra to Cambados. Everything is green in the area, the hills, the fields, and the vineyards; we are in Green Spain. As we approached the town, we took a couple of side roads and spotted workers harvesting the grapes. Picking grapes in the Rias Baixas is so different from that of the Napa Valley or anywhere in California wine country. First of all the pace is slow. In California the workers literally run with their cartons and toss the grapes into a one-ton bin and then rush back to fill their carton again and again. Here, the workers have one bin that they fill and then leave on the ground. The bins are picked up later, placed on palates, and brought to the winery on small trucks.

The grape harvesters in Abarino do not rush, but carefully cut each grape cluster. Here in Rias Baixas and as far as we know unique to this area, the grape pickers do not have to stoop. All the clusters are above them. All the vines are trained so that they are high off the ground. This is soggy and wet wine country and this trellis system protects the grapes from rot.

We drive by a winery, Bodega Martin Coax. The crush is at fever pitch at this winery. Trucks arrive with palettes of grapes that are then positioned on conveyer belts where the bins are dumped and sent to equipment for de-stemming and crushing.

A woman probably in her 70’s pulled up in a small truck with a palette of grapes. I asked if I could take her picture. She was so proud of the grapes. Her faced filled with joy as she picked up the grapes to show us. “Here,” she said in Spanish, “taste them, they have no chemicals, they are sweet and delicious.”

The town is a wine town, not like St. Helena, etc., but one with its own character. There are many vinotecas, or wine shops, seemingly out of the same mold. Displays of wine, wine carrying cases, and much more, all the same, all about Albarino wine. If you happen to visit Santiago De Compostela, consider a side trip for a day or night in this wonderful area that loves wine.

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Wine Traveler visits Adegas Valmiñor

We had made an appointment for a tour and tasting at the Adegas Valmiñor, a winery in the wine region of Rias Baixas. The Bodega is located in a very small town called O Rosal located almost at the border of Portugal. The reason I chose to visit this winery is because this Albariño wine has been one of my favorites. My local wine shop sells Valmiñor at a great price of $12.99. The possibility of visiting this winery was mentioned on a list of wineries I was given at the tourist office in Santiago De Copostela. The Concierge at our hotel called and made the arrangements so we could visit the following day.

From our hotel in Pontevedra, we made it to the winery in about 50 minutes. The winery was full of activity when we arrived. All of Rias Baixas is in the middle of harvest. They had just finished de-stemming and crushing the grapes and were cleaning all the equipment, getting ready to process the next batch of grapes. The pumps were working, pouring the juice into the stainless steel fermenting tanks. These tanks in the photo are used for fermentation and aging the wine. The wine is only in stainless steel a few months before it is bottled. It never sees any oak.

Adegas Valmiñor is a relatively new winery having begun operation in 1998. They are now the third largest winery in the Rias Baixas wine region. They produce 400,000 bottles of Albariño per year and much of that is imported to the U.S.

Our tour guide Ledicia pointed out a unique characteristic of an Albariño grape cluster. Off the main branch, there is a smaller branch called the shoulder. You can see it clearly in the photo. The Albariño grape produces a wine with very clear characteristics. It is floral and acidic and a very refreshing wine. Some think it has a subtle effervescence. The wine folks say there is also a difference between the Albariños from north Rias Baixas and those from south Rias Baixas. The Albariño here in O Rosal in the south is said to be more floral, while in the north there is more of a lemon characteristic. Whatever the difference, we enjoy both and find them refreshingly different wines than the usual California fare of white wines.

Next time you are in your local wine shop pick up a bottle of Albariño and give it a try. Cost Plus carries an Albariño with the Nora label. It is also quite delicious and priced around the $12 range. Beverages and More and K&L wines both carry a few different Albariño wines.

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Wine Traveler in Pontevedra, Spain

Pontevedra is the one of the main towns in the area of Galicia known as Rias Baixas. The name has to do with water inlets on the coastline, baixas in this case meaning the lower inlets of water. In Pontevedra we are lodging at Parador Casa Del Baron, which served at one time as a palace for visiting royalty. It is in the old city center. Getting here took much longer than expected, even though it is a short drive from Santiago De Compostela. Once we got to the city center with Google Maps in hand, we drove around in circles for at least a very frustrating 45 minutes. The old parts of these medieval towns were certainly not meant for cars. It is common to find cars or trucks parked where they should not be, streets that suddenly become one way at the next intersection, and other crazy surprises. We saw the signs for the Parador but we just could not get there. Fortunately, the Spaniards are very helpful to tourists.

We have to relate this story of an elderly lady that came to our rescue. I spotted her returning from her morning at the market. I asked her for directions. She went on to a long description of how to get to the Parador, also telling us to consider less expensive hotels in Pontevedra. After some discussion, she determined it would be too difficult for us to find the Parador, so she hopped into the back seat of our car, with her small dog, and insisted she lead us to the Parador provided I drive her back, of course. Thank goodness; I know we would have eventually found our way but in how long a time? What a heartwarming act of kindness and trust!

Our reason for choosing to stay in Pontevedre was to visit the coastal waters and towns of the area, and to visit some Bodegas in the wine D.O. of Rias Baixas. Pontevedr is an easy driving distance to these locations. Tomorrow we plan to visit one of these Bodegas, Adegas Valmiñor. Adegas, not to be confusing, is the Galician word for Bodega.

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The Wine Traveler in Santiago De Compostela

We are in the city of Santiago De Compostela, in the region of Galicia, sometimes called Green Spain. It is directly north of Portugal, very near the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the major cities in Spain and a very popular tourist attraction year round.

The main attraction is the Cathedral of Saint James, where pilgrims who walk to Santiago from various starting points, are welcomed and blessed. It is believed that St. James is buried in the Cathedral. People from all over the world flock to the area for the walk, seeking redemption for their sins. Those who complete at least 100 kilometers receive a special certificate at a mass in the Cathedral. Our friend Karen did this walk in April of 2007. She told us the experience was quite moving and spiritual. We also met a nice couple, John and Ann, from Dublin who had walked 75 kilometers and vowed to walk at least 100 next year.

We are staying in a fabulous hotel, the San Francisco Monumento, formally a convent and in the center of the old town. We were fortunate to be able to find a room here when we arrived late in the day. It is a very popular hotel. The old city center is full of activity with many pilgrims (walkers) and other tourists. You can easily spend two days just getting to know the area and discovering wonderful side streets, restaurants and bars. Every street corner offers some exciting treats. While walking back to our hotel after dinner, we were lucky to come upon the musical group called Tunas, dressed in traditional capes and leggings and playing ancient instruments.

Seafood is the norm here. There is octopus, squid, mussels, lobster, crayfish, you name it and they have it and cook it in so many styles. Another specialty of Santiago de Cosmpostela is Pimentos Padron, my favorite. These are little green mild chili peppers about 2 inches or less in length. There are sautéed in olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt. You get about 25 of these on a plate for about 5 Euros. These are addictive little chilis and they seem to disappear almost as soon as they arrive at your table. We saw them at the farmers’ market and wish we could find these at home.

The most popular wine in Santiago is Albariño, a white wine from the D.O. Rias Baixas in Galicia. It is a very distinctive wine, nothing that I can compare to any of our California white wines. It is a very floral wine with a slight lemon characteristic. It is a great food wine yet wonderful just to sip as a cocktail. There are a few other wines here from other wine regions in Galicia but none matches the interest of Albariño. There are several bodegas in the Rias Baixas making this enjoyable white wine from the Albariño grape. We love it and luckily it is readily available at most good wine shops in California for under $20. In Galicia, we are paying about 10 Euros for a bottle.

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Wine Traveler in Astorga and Ponferrada

We drove north on the A6, one of the main routes to Santiago De Compostela in Galicia. We stopped for lunch in the charming town of Astorga. As in the case of most very old cities in Spain, they are divided into the old section, El Centro, and the newer residential areas, and finally the industrial areas. We always follow the signs for the old section of town.

We stumbled on El Capricho, a busy restaurant crowded with Spaniards. We had a leisurely lunch, as is the custom in Spain. The gambas al ajillo and ensalada de la casa were just what we needed. The gambas (shrimp) were served steaming in a bowl of olive oil and roasted garlic. The salad was a chef’s salad large enough for two.

After lunch we strolled past the Bishop’s Palace, which was begun but not completed by Gaudi. We then toured the Cathedral and adjoining museum and were glad we did. The Cathedral has a magnificent altar designed and created by Gaspar Becerra, a pupil of Michelangelo’s. In photo above, I was able to capture only the lower portion of this magnificent altar that extends all the way to the high ceiling of the cathedral. What a fabulous altar, the best we have seen so far.

Later, we settled in for the night in Ponferrada, a small town famous for its twelfth century templar castle and for the grand Plaza Ayuntamiento. We found a room at a small hotel, the Hostal La Encina. In many of these small towns, the wine list is not very extensive. One of the wines we see most of is one we see at home, Marques De Caceres Crianza. It is from the La Rioja D.O. It is made from the Tempranillo grape and is very good and very reasonable in price. We can’t go wrong ordering this wine and this was the best they had to offer in vino tinto, but we would rather be more adventurous.

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The Wine Traveler Vists Bodgegas Dos Victorias (Winery)

While staying in the wine region of Toro, we set out to see if we could visit a Bodega (winery). In Spain, you just can’t drive up to a winery and find a lavish tasting room as you would in the Napa Valley. You have to call a day or two ahead and make an appointment. With the help of the hotel clerk we started calling wineries from our Spanish wine guide and got lucky on the third try. Dos Victorias, a winery about 20 km away from Tordesillas said we could visit.
In the Toro D.O. there are 55 wineries, most of them clustered around the town of Toro. If you think California has a wine boom, get this: Ten years ago in Toro there were 15 wineries, today there are 55.

The Dos Victorias winery is one of those new wineries. The first vintage was 2000. The main story of this winery though is the two women owners, both Victorias, thus the name of the winery. In addition to owning the winery, both are also the winemakers. This is not very common in Spain’s wine scene. Both Victorias were working in the winery when we arrived and were very gracious and happy that we could visit.

The grape grown in all of Toro is Tinto Del Toro. It is a clone of the most widely grown grape in Spain, Tempranillo. There is a microclimate in Toro that is said to suit this grape just fine. The winemakers call Tinto Del Toro, the “wild horse,” It is a grape that produces big wines, can be alcoholic, and very tannic. The wild horse needs to be “tamed,” by vineyard management practices and wine making techniques. At Los Victorias they produce 150.000 bottles of wine per year, that is how they express their production. This makes Dos Victorias a small winery.

About 75% of the production is to wine made into their everyday wine called Vinas Elias Mora. It is aged in American oak barrels for 6 months and then just a few months in the bottle before it is released. Their Crianza wine is aged a year, half of it in American oak and half in French oak. Then it’s blended, bottled, and aged for one year before being released. Only 10% of the production goes to the top wine, Gran Elias Mora. Only the finest grapes are used for this wine. It is aged in French oak only. This is the only wine we did not taste but, It must be great stuff, because the famous Robert Parker gave a recent vintage 94 points.

The two women also own a second winery in the Rueda D.O. That winery is devoted to the production of Verdejo and 250,000 bottles are made of that wine. This is a white wine similar to Sauvignon Blanc but, with a bit more acidity. It’s great wine with or without food.

Next time you are in the Spanish section of your wine shop, look for a Toro wine. You will know a few things about the wine. It is made from the Tinto Del Toro grape, it’s a big dark wine, with plenty of tannins. Open it up, let it breathe and have with a meaty meal and enjoy.

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The Wine Traveler in Tordesillas, Spain

So what brought us to this small town of Tordesillas? Well, many things, one being that it is not a tourist town. Rick Steves doesn’t even mention it in his Spain guidebook. We wanted to experience a small-town Spanish atmosphere. We also wanted a short drive and a chance to recoup from our Salamanca party atmosphere. Tordesillas is only 80 kilometers from Salamanca. Another draw to this town is the modern Parador where we found a room. This parador is first class, very tastefully decorated, and there are many Spaniards staying here. This Parador has everything you need for comfort. The rooms are great, there is a workout room, enormous piscina (swimming pool), sauna, and several other amenities. This is also wine country, the D.O. of Toro. and there are many wineries in the area, mostly between the town of Toro and Zamora.

We explored the town and found that all roads lead to the Tordesillas Plaza Mayor. The plaza is about 1/20 the size of the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca and none of the Salamanca festive atmosphere. We had lunch here, a popular café called Viky. There was one waiter for the entire outdoor café of 20 or so tables. This is very typical of Spain; not to worry, take life slow, and eventually things will happen. This is a good thing.

After lunch, to our surprise in this small town, we found a tasting room. The winery is Bodega Muelas de Tordesillas. They make a couple of reds and one white, a Verdejo that we thoroughly enjoyed.

The wines of Toro are mostly from a variation of the Tempranillo grape, and called Tinto Del Toro. The wine is big, robust, and definitely one to have with red meats. We had a Toro wine, Liberalia Cuatro, with our dinner at the Parador. The wine was very good but definitely one to have only with big red meaty dishes. Best of all this delicious, quality wine was only 23 Euros in the restaurant.

Tordesillas is famous for the Treaty of Demarcation of 1494, among other things declaring that all Latin America belonged to Spain, except Brazil which went to Portugal.

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Wine Traveler in Salamanca, Spain

We are here for two nights, staying at the Salamanca Hotel de Mercado, one block from the Plaza Mayor, the Plaza that Rick Steves says is the best Plaza in Spain. The Plaza Mayor is the center of activity in Salamanca.

Our first night in Salamanca we ate at Casa Paca Cafe. This restaurant has a wine cellar of 300 Spanish wines. We are just beginning to learn the fine points of Spanish wines. In Spain, wine appellations are called. D.O.’s. (Denominacion of Origin). Although there are some 60 D.O.’s in Spain, the Casa Paca wine list is made up of mostly two traditional D.O’s, the Ribera Del Duero and La Rioja. We had an Lopez Cristobal, Crianza 2003. Crianza means the wine must be aged for two years, between 6–12 months in barrels and the rest in the bottle. A Reserva wine must be aged for 3 years, with a least one year in the barrel. A Gran Reserva wine must be aged five years, with 24 months in the barrel.

Popular dishes in Salamanca are all types of fish, suckling pig, and lamb. Tapas favorites are Piquillo peppers stuffed in various ways, Bocadillos (sandwiches on a sour roll), and Tortilla Espanola, a dish almost like a quiche.

Saturday, we walked and walked throughout the central area. First stop was an indoor farmers’ market, where vendor stands consisted of vegetables, meats, and fish. It was remarkable. We have nothing remotely similar here in the S.F. Bay Area.

At the Cathedral Vieja, we witness a traditional Spanish wedding, including ancient Andalucian music. Later, a street fair much like our Renaissance fair. There are Tapas bars everywhere and it is hard to choose one; they all look so good and inviting. We found a spot on Rue de Mayor, a street that leads between the Plaza Mayor and the Plaza Anaya. Joe gorged himself on a cerveza and bocadillo chirozo. Janelle settled in for a hamon y queso, a grilled ham and cheese. This spot was great for people watching.
Another great eating and drinking spot is one of the many outdoor cafes at the Plaza Mayor. You can sit and order a drink and stay for hours. The Plaza is constantly a bevy of activity along with any of the side streets that lead to the Plaza. Friday and Saturday it is a fiesta in the Plaza and side streets. The Spanish party until the sun rises. We know this for a fact because our hotel room window was on one of these narrow streets. The crowds kept us awake until the wee hours of the morning.

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The Wine Traveler in Spain

Hello from Segovia. We are in Segovia for one night and hoping to recoup from our long trip from San Francisco to Madrid. We now know on future trips never to lay over at JFK airport in New York. Segovia is about a 75 - minute drive from the Madrid airport.

We are in Spain for a four-week adventure in food, wine, and discovery. Spain has always been known for its food and wine but today even more so than ever before. The world famous El Bulli restaurant in the Costa Bravo with its 22-course meal has brought attention to Spanish cuisine; and there are a slew of great young chefs making waves in the food centers of San Sebastian and Bilbao. There are a batch of new ‘”Wine Spectator” type wineries in the wine regions of Somontano and Priorat. Then, there are the many old family wineries in La Rioja, Ribera Del Duero, and elsewhere that are reinventing themselves, abandoning old wine making methods and revamping their wineries with modern winemaking ideas and equipment. Spanish wines are “in.”

We are setting out to explore the northern half of Spain. We hope to use the Wine Traveler to tell you about tapas, wine, and other discoveries we find in Spain.

In Segovia, we are staying at the Parador de Segovia. It is not all that great for the 120 Euros we paid. It is about three miles from the city center, so too far to walk. Next time in Segovia, we will stay at one of the many small hotels that are either in or close to the center.

Segovia sits up on a hill is a very beautiful city and a great walking city. The main attractions in Segovia are the amazing aqueduct, the beautiful and very massive cathedral, the Plaza Mayor, and the Alcazar, an old Castillian fortress. The Alcazar is fascinating and a “must see” if you visit Segovia. The Plaza Mayor is small but very lively and fun during the evening hours. The entire area is filled with restaurants and tapas bars. The small and narrow streets leading to the Plaza are very lively and fun.

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Wine Traveler Bottles at Inspiration Vineyards

We stumbled on Inspiration Vineyards about two years ago when visiting Inspiration’s neighbor, the Harvest Moon Winery on Olivet Road near Sebastopol. Randy Pitts at Harvest Moon told us “you have to visit Inspiration Vineyards, the guy makes great wine.” One problem however, Inspiration owner and winemaker Jon Phillips holds down a full time job for the county of Sonoma. Randy calls Jon on his cell and convinces Jon to take a break, pour us some wine in his garage-sized winery. We were quite impressed with the wines and have been in touch ever since.

A few weeks back, Jon called and asked if we would help him on the bottling line. We did and it was great fun. We bottled Viognier and Chardonnay, and a little Pinot Noir. Jon and his wife Barbara own a small number of acres of Old vine Zinfandel and Chardonnay. He buys fruit from vineyards in Carneros and the Alexander Valley for his Pinot Noir, Viognier, and Sonoma Zinfandel.

For the bottling, Jon uses one of the many mobile bottling systems that most small to medium size wineries use today. These mobile bottling lines are a huge money and storage space saver. Matt is the owner of the bottling trailer and has come in the day before to set up the line. Bottling is one of the most stressful times for a winery owner. The wine has been siphoned off into storage tanks and waits to be bottled. If anything goes wrong, it could be an unpleasant situation for the wine.

We begin bottling the Viognier and after about 10 cases are boxed, the labeler is causing problems. The labels just won’t line up correctly. We box them anyway and Jon will have to use a hand labeler at later time. We are now on to the Chardonnay and Matt has fixed the label problem. Everything goes smoothly and we finish our job just in time for a wonderful catered lunch. Another crew takes our place after lunch, thank goodness, because this job is harder than it looks and we are tired.

Jon produces about 800 cases of wine per year and hopes to increase the amount each year until he reaches about 2000 cases, enough to perhaps quit his day job. Jon makes great wines and we think the price is right for his wines. We really like all of the Inspiration wines very much. A bottle of wine always seems to taste so much better when there is a story behind the wine.

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The Wine Traveler Visits Russian Hill Estate Winery

After having a leisurely picnic lunch at the Martin Ray Winery, we head out to find the Russian Hill Estate Winery. To get there, we head north on Laguna Road, a left on Trenton Road to River Road. At River Road we take a right turn and make our way to Slusser Road, a couple of miles away. Slusser Road comes in on the left and we head north on Slusser to Russian Hill. All of these roads in this area are just full of hidden treasures, and Russian Hill Winery is one of those teasures. I think this just might be the best view in the Russian River Valley. Had we known about the view and the picnic area earlier, we would have picnicked here rather than the Martin Ray Winery. The view is just too good to pass up.

The Russia Hill Estate Winery is a family run operation. Ed Gomez and his wife Ellen Mack own and run the winery and Ed and Ellen's nephew, Patrick Melley, is the winemaker. While we were in the tasting room, Ed Comez happened to be there and we end up having a great conservation with him while doing our wine tasting. The wines at Russian Hill are really very good. Eveyone we tasted was delicious. The Pinot Noir wines are from different estate vineyards and they all have distinctive characteristics about them . The Syrah we tasted was just delciious. The only problem is the wines are not cheap. Most of the wines are over $30 and, unfortunately, that is over the price we like to pay for a bottle of wine. But we did treat ourselves to a bottle of the Syrah which sells for $30. We will defintely be back to this winery so we can enjoy the view with a picnic lunch. Oh, by the way, they have a perfect wine for a picnic. It is called Patio Pink, a zesty dry Rose, priced at $14 a bottle.

Russian Hill Estate Winery rates a 4.75 on our 5-point winery meter scale. It has one of the best views of any winery around.

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