Sonoma California Wine Tours For Zinfandel Lovers

When it comes to Zinfandel, Americans are just plain crazy about both the red and white versions, making it the third most crushed grape varietal in the U.S., right behind Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. When it comes to growing and bottling zins, California is king, so whether you love a nice refreshing glass of slightly sweet White Zinfandel on a hot summer day, or you prefer the intensely fruity, spicy red versions there’s something for everyone in California. With good weather all year long, anytime of the year is a good time to tour some of the best places in the world for growing this American favorite.

Originally an obscure Croatian grape varietal, Zinfandel came to America early in the 19th century. It’s grown in many of California’s grape growing regions from the Cucamonga Valley in the far south to the northern border with Oregon. From any major California city, you can be enjoying a Zinfandel experience in wine country in no time.

Although the Zinfandel grape has been around for a long time, White Zinfandel didn’t come into existence until the 1970s. Sutter Home Family Vineyard in Napa Valley is widely credited with creating what became known as “blush wine” when they made a rosé of Zinfandel but stopped fermentation a bit early to ensure it had a touch of residual sugar. Today, inexpensive white zin far outsells its pricier red counterparts and tends to be produced by large wineries like Beringer and Sutter Home.

When it comes to red zins, there are a wide range of styles, quality and price. They tend to have high alcohol content and when very ripe, make good desert wines with a flavor profile somewhat like Port. Three of the top California regions for red zins are Amador County in the Sierra Foothills, Sonoma County and Paso Robles.

Amador County is the ideal spot to spend a few days checking out California Gold Rush country and sipping hearty red zins, while still only an hour away from the city of Sacramento. Tasting rooms here are mostly small family businesses where you can often talk to the winemaker, pet the family dog and enjoy a picnic lunch. And yes, you can still pan for gold and see traces of the rustic Wild West atmosphere that inspired writers like Mark Twain.

In Sonoma County there are many good micro-climates for Zinfandel including the Dry Creek Valley and Rockpile areas. Make the town of Healdsburg your starting point for a driving tour of numerous outstanding zin producers. If fine-dining is on your agenda this is also the perfect destination to experience some of northern California’s best cuisine.

If your California vacation plans take you to the Central Coast region, be sure to stop in Paso Robles to taste Zinfandels and Zinfandel-based red blends that will knock your socks off. Although wine has been made in the area for a long time, the winemaking focus began to shift away from inexpensive wines to high-quality boutique wines in the 1980′s and today some of the most exciting wines in California are made in Paso Robles.

When you head for sunny California, a good Zinfandel wine tasting tour is never very far away. Sample a few on your next visit and you’ll know why the American love affair with Zinfandel is likely to remain a lasting one.

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The Ultimate Wine Experience in Northern California

California has become a dominant wine region in the world. The quality of wine produced by the vineyards is simply outstanding. The Napa Valley and Sonoma County areas are where the action is at. Fortunately, there is an inexpensive, tremendous way to experience them.

The Napa and Sonoma wine regions consists of two long valleys with branches extending off of them. The valleys are jam packed with vineyards as you might imagine. These valleys reek of money, but are actually a conflicted destination. Yes, there are some unholy expensive resorts that are tucked back into the area. If you want to break the bank, you can certainly stay at any of the places advertised online. If money is tight like with most of us, there is a cheaper approach that is actually better.

Napa and Sonoma are both pretty quiet areas. The nightlife is very limited, which seems odd until you realize something. Both valleys are full of little towns where people live their normal lives. The valley is not really oriented towards massive tourism. It is more subtle. One of the subtleties is the weekend housing rental market.

You can use Craigslist and other sites to find weekend rentals in Napa and particularly in Sonoma. These homes are cheap, but incredible. A few years back, I stayed in a 3 bedroom home with a one bedroom guest house for a wedding. There were 3 couples splitting the rental and it ran us about each a day. Oh, the home was situated on the top of a hill overlooking the valley and had its own vineyard as well as a huge hot tub. It was a tremendous experience.

Now a word about transportation should be mentioned. Visiting vineyards entails a certain amount of alcohol consumption. You can get a DUI in either of these areas just like you can anywhere. To avoid this, you can get a cab or retain the services of a wine tour limo. Either is worth the cost and money well spent. There is little reason to ruin an otherwise perfect weekend by getting a DUI!

Napa Valley and the Sonoma region are both excellent places to visit. The vineyards have quality offerings and the locations are simply beautiful. If you are considering a trip, try checking for short term vacation rentals to get the most for your money and a great experience to boot.

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ok, so i’m getting married at the end of september, with a moderately small ceremony (30 people) at an Inn in new hampshire…
we’re trying to keep it casual, but still classy and english-garden like…I’m wearing a flowey-sparkley ivory floorlength wedding dress; brides maids have a flowey-knee length wine colored sleavless dress, the groom is wearing black dresspants, a white european collar shirt and a handmade huntergreen/ivory/black silk vest. I had ties made for the groomsmen with the bridesmaid dress material…my question is…what should the groomsmen wear? here are the options I’m thinking of
1) black dress pants, white shirt unbuttoned at the top
2) suit w/ jacket, with no tie, white shirt unbuttoned at the top
3) black dress pants, no jacket, tie

keep in mind they’re going to have a single pink-ish rose boutonniere
what do you think? any other ideas? Thanks!

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I have been looking for this wine in the shops for ages and cant find it anywhere..

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I am planning a trip to celebrate my hubbys bday – he likes to surf & we had originally planned to visit N.Cal a few years back…then I got preggie – now we have have 2 little ones & want to take our first family vacation. Want to see Napa (for the scenery – not so much for wine tasting,etc), SF, & any hot surf spots in the area. we are into art, architecture, surfing & beautiful scenery..and fun. AND all this on a budget….can it be done?? I know we cant see it ALL…but a sampling will have to do for now. ANY suggestions are much appreciated – things we MUST see….cool local stuff…..cheap but nice places to stay…and should we stay centrally (SF?) and do daytrips? OR stay in SF for 2 days or so…then somewhere else?
Any ideas….thanks alot!!

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I bought wine in Italy on vacation and I want to send it home. Are there any restrictions I should know about?

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