Healdsburg - May 2015

View from our Rental in Healdsburg

Following our week in Huntington Beach, we flew to Oakland and drove up to Healdsburg to meet Keith's parents for Memorial Day weekend.

Accommodation:

Shawna found a really cute VRBO in the Stanley Vineyard up Dry Creek Road from the Madrona Manor and only a couple of miles outside of Healdsburg.  The owner was a former head of HR from the Gap - they were actually in the UK when we arrived though we did chat with them on the Sunday.  The cottage is just down the hill from the main house. It had 2 large bedrooms, a kitchen, a nice living room seating area, and soft seating on the deck outside.  Because the cottage was a bit up the hill, it had a fantastic view of Sonoma Valley which was glorious at the end of each day. 

Our Rental

Activities:

Keith's parents had just completed a tour of the Oregon Coast with Jim and Maryann - they had been dropped at the cottage at 4 in the afternoon while we arrived at about midnight.  It took forever to leave the airport as the car rental line was rough - but once we got out it was less than a 90 minute drive.  The front door was open so we just dropped the luggage in our room and passed out for the night. 

Keith's dad had the coffee ready in the morning so we relaxed over a cup while waiting for the cable guy to come and fix the Wi-Fi.  We decided to do the traditional tasting tour the first day, with the idea that we'd beat the crowds that would be in wine country for Memorial Day.  The stops for the day were:

• Lambert Bridge - Nice tasting room that played cool, hip music in the background. The guy who poured for us was quite personable and funny.We really enjoyed the wine here, especially the Viognier, Chardonnay, Cab Franc, Merlot, and Cab. We bought a bottle of the Viognier and drank at house that night.
• Preston - This is an organic winery and farm with lamb on property. The wine was OK but not great. The best was the Viognier. We had a picnic lunch here with bread and cheeses from the Dry Creek General Store. 
• Unti - A small winery that was recommended by a friend of ours. We liked the Rose, Segromigo, and Montelpulciano and we bought a bottle of Rose which we drank at the house the nice after. 
• Ridge - Great winery with a modern building and a great view.  We sat outside on the deck overlooking the valley while we did the tasting. We really liked the wines, especially the Chardonnay, Zin, Lytton Springs, and Monte Bello. We ordered a bottle of the Lytton Springs and drank it there.  Peter and Jen had bought us a couple of large bottles from Ridge for our wedding to drink on our 5th and 10th anniversaries, so we reciprocated and ordered then a couple of '07 bottles to be sent to them - bottled on their 10th anniversary to be opened on their 20th.  

Picnic Lunch @ Preston

Ridge Winery

We had a nap after wine tasting (which we were able to have each day - score!) and then headed out to dinner.

On the Saturday, we had signed up for a walking tour of Healdsburg through Wine Country Walking Tours.  We grabbed a light breakfast at the Oakville Grocery on the square before meeting the other four people on the tour, along with our guide Rachel.  Along the tour, we stopped at the following places:  

• Cousteau French Bakery - A bakery that has been open since 1923.  We got a brief intro and then tasted a chocolate brownie.  They also gave us some bread samplings to take home.
• Russian River Tea Company - Tasted tea and chocolate. 
• Stark - Tasted wine and sausage from The Wurst. This winery has been open for 10 years. They source grapes from other vineyards and only produce 1k cases per year. We liked the Viognier, Grenache, and Primitivo. 
• Gustafson - Tasted wine and cheese. We liked the Rose and Riesling. They have an awesome vacation rental at the winery that we must try some time. 
• Noble Folk Ice Cream and Pie Bar - Located on the square.  We tasted ice cream - we all had the salted caramel which was very yummy!
• Sanglier - Tasted wine with Mexican food from El Farolito. We liked the Pinot and Syrah. However, we liked the Mexican food even better - we tasted queso fresco, pork barbacoa, chile verde, and pork mole.

Gustafson Tasting Room

After the tour, we took another nap and then enjoyed a great dinner.

Sunday was set to be the more active day.  We dropped by the Shed for breakfast as well as bread, cheeses, and pate before driving out to Armstrong Redwoods Park.  We left the lunch in the cooler in the car and headed up the east ridge trail - 2 miles out and then a lighter trail back.  It is a beautiful area and the trees magnificent.  We dropped by Rochioli for some wine tasting (recommended by Ron the cable guy who came to fix the wifi at the house) and a picnic lunch.  We really liked every wine we tasted which was the Chardonnay, Sav Blanc, Rose, and Pinot - we bought a bottle of the Chardonnay to drink with lunch.  Unfortunately all the picnic tables were packed so we just headed back to the cottage and had our picnic lunch on the cast iron table on the deck which was fantastic.  

Armstrong Redwoods Park

Lunch at the House

We had our final nap of the weekend and then got dressed for dinner.  Jim and Maryann met us at the cottage at 6pm for pre-dinner drinks.  As we had run out of wine, Keith's dad had walked over to Everett Ridge, the neighboring vineyard, for a couple of bottles of pre-dinner wine.

Pre-Dinner Drinks with Jim and MaryAnn @ the House

On the Monday, we headed out early to beat traffic back to the city.  We stopped by Starbucks in Corte Madera for a quick breakfast before stopping by Keith's luxury property in the area - Preserve at Marin.  We saw the infinity pool and the building 6 penthouse before heading down Paradise Drive to Tiburon where we walked around town for 15 minutes.  We then headed to the airport where Keith's parents were able to get an earlier flight to Dallas, with Shawna heading to Hartford and Keith heading to Denver.

View from Preserve at Marin

Dining:

Dry Creek General Store -  Bought a baguette, cheeses, and prosciutto for picnic lunch.

Madrona Manor - We had dinner here the first night.  It's a very formal house, though we were seated on the heated and enclosed patio.  We all had the tasting menu with wine pairing. The cheese course at the end was great, as was the ice cream made table side using liquid nitrogen. 

Madrona Manor

Baci - A great Italian restaurant in Healdsburg.  We shared the the crudo, a salad, and spaghetti bolognese.  We had a great surprise at the end - the manager came out to tell us that we will have wished we ate more because the Stanley's had bought our dinner due to the Wi-Fi issues we had through the last couple of days. 

The Shed - Grabbed a light breakfast and bought all the fixins for a picnic lunch. 

Dry Creek Kitchen - A Charlie Palmer restaurant located on the main town square of Healdsburg.  The food was tasty but the service was not the best.  We shared the tuna tartare, duck breast and mashed potatoes.