You always hear people rave about Sonoma or Napa and I have always wondered, is it the place or is it the fact that there is wine flowing regularly and really good wine at that. I’m not a wine expert but after a visit to the “wine country” I feel savy enough to at least talk about wines with some form of understanding be it limited. Even just saying the phrase wine country makes me feel like I should be a bit snobbish but I returned not only wiser but still quite humble-wine is a lot more complex than one would think.

My suggestion, go out there with an open mind-it’s amazing how wonderful things happen without having set expectations. We went with the needs of a dog in mind-sounds kind of odd but as open and animal friendly as California is, there are places that don’t allow dogs. So we found top places that were kind to our four legged brethren.

The First place we went was Bartholomew Park winery-it is a boutique winery which means several things when looking it up on google, but the basic idea is hand-made, micro-lot, single vineyard wines available exclusively from the vineyard-that’s from the vineyard text. When we first arrived, I was in awe about how my heart rate seemed to slow and the intoxication of the surroundings seemed to naturally relax me. There are golden grape vines with vivid leaves, some harvested and others with great juicy clusters bursting from the vines. You are surrounded by mountains on either side, soft rolling mounds of green that build a feeling of calm and contentment. There were fountains and flowers and the light was amazing making an early afternoon look more like the electric hour as everything just seemed to glow in warm green and gold. In every direction I could just get lost in the open, natural beauty and imagine hundreds of years of wine harvest that enriched the area and more than pleased its patrons.

We had a food plate to complement the wine- everything on the black slate tablet was amazing from the incredible olives to the delicious crustini with a dip of goat cheese pesto. Our wine expert was well versed in her craft and I learned so much about wine names, wine locations-the Europeans describe their wines by the region we Americans tend to describe them by the species of grape. I have never had a more pleasing taste of zinfandel or realized before why some wines are white, red or rose. I also learned about tannins and sulfites, and how crisp whites come from stainless steel fermenting and some of the chardonays and the heavier reds come from oak barrels. I even voiced some buzzwords out and we laughed at my obvious lack of being a connoisseur but I feel I left the vineyard quite a bit more knowlegable and loving wine even more than previous. So why do I love wine so much-personally it is the soothing high that you get from drinking it. It is almost like the earth giving you a feeling of calm and contentment with a wonderful flavor that changes and evolves as you slowly savor it-and yes a good wine needs to be savored-okay now I’m sounding snobby.

Next we went to a local whole foods market and got gnosh-okay now I’m really getting into this whole language. We decided to have a picnic at the next winery-Kunde. I got to enjoy a cave tour where the sweet smell of oak barrels filled with assorted varieties of amazing wine filled the room at a cool 57%-I was in heaven. I learned that not all barrels are created equal, some are burned inside, others burn the top or bottom, some are from France, some from Germany with varying prices and intent as prescribed by the wine maker. We even got to taste the swollen ripe grapes that were so sweet and like no other grapes I have tasted-I became not only a bigger fan of wine but I now have more appreciation for the wonders of the grape.

The picnic was just wonderful as the wine-I really fell in love with the sauvignon blanc- very crisp and delicious with a fruity finish. Wow I am really learning the whole dialogue. But enough about my wine prowess or lack there-of, I promised I wouldn’t become a snob. So what’s so wonderful about Sonoma?-for me, it’s just the feeling of passion that these wine growers and manufacturers exude that seems a breath of fresh air in this fast paced, packaged society we live in. It is the true quality of what they make and how everything they do is purposeful and steeped and tradition and quality. I tasted the best grapes I’ve ever tried from one hundred plus year old zinfandel vines-these old vine zinfandels are quite a sight to see. I imagined generations of wine growers and their families living off and giving back to the ground. And just as much as the amazing wine and interesting people it is the peaceful calm of the haven that is Sonoma that you could not help becoming intoxicated with its charm and beauty. I will be back and not just for the wine.