A Gay in the Vineyard
Hemingway once said, “Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world.” I have to agree with him, especially after my recent trip to Sonoma, California.
My adventure in wine country was part of my fabulous friend Terri’s milestone birthday celebration. Of course, milestone birthdays occur when your age has a zero behind it like 10, 20, 30, you get it. No need, tho, to say which milestone she has hit, because to me everyone is always young, no matter what the age.
Our journey began with a day of traveling, leaving New Orleans early after a few cocktails at one of my favorite airport bars, Emeril’s Table; their Bloody Marys are to die for.
We left on time on Southwest with a long layover in Vegas which is where we had a late lunch and margaritas at a lovely little place called Jose Cuervo Tequileria Grill. The food was good as were the margaritas.
We were off soon enough and landed in San Francisco. We picked up our multiple car rentals (there was a group of us) and we started our two hour drive to Sonoma. The drive to wine country is lovely. I know this is very touristy of me, but I always enjoy crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.
We arrived in Sonoma around 8 p.m. and checked into the quaint Sonoma Hotel located in a tree-lined town square in downtown Sonoma. They have 16 comfortable guest rooms; we took up more than half of them. Its structure was built in 1872 by German immigrant Henry Weyl who opened a dry goods store and a butcher shop on the street level and a community/social hall on the second floor.
There weren’t many places open for dinner at that late hour, so we had a quick bite (and a few glasses of wine) at the girl & the fig restaurant adjacent to the hotel and got ready to start fresh the following day.
I love traveling for a special occasion; everything was mapped out for our group and we had a full agenda. We were all given reusable tote bags upon check-in with “Terri’s Birthday Celebration” and the date, filled with all kinds of cool items such as hangover cures and wine protection travel bags.
The next morning, I was up early, had an iced coffee at Peet’s (a California based coffee house chain), explored the town square, and did a little window shopping, all before meeting up with the group for our first winery.
We rented a large van and SUV to transport the group around, which was very helpful. Our first winery was Buena Vista which ranked in my top three wineries visited this trip. Its Buena Vista tasting room dates back to 1857. We toured the Wine Tool Museum in the Champagne Cellar and relaxed in the Bubble Lounge, an amazing space for private events and just hanging out drinking wine.
Buena Vista has a storied history. Founded in 1857, and spanning from Sonoma and into Napa, Buena Vista is California’s first premium winery. The original winery is now a California Historic Landmark. This was one of the most interactive tours and our fabulous tour guide John even let us try some wines not on the tasting experience. Since this was our first tour, we did it up right with food and created a party out of it.
The winery has an amazing gift shop which the shopaholic in me took advantage of. They sold special fragrances and jewelry fashioned after their wines. I left properly bedazzled, shipping home a case of wine. In fact, I wound up shipping home so much wine, I could open my own wine cellar. The Bubble Lounge was my favorite bar of the tour, think speakeasy with interactive fabulousness like the fragrance wall and the fashion fabrics of wine.
Our next stop was Kunde Family Winery, where five generations of the Kunde Family have farmed their 1,850-acre estate. The founder, Louis Kunde acquired the Wildwood Vineyards ranch in 1904; the vineyards were first planted in 1879 by John Drummond with imported cuttings from Chateaux Margaux and Lafite Rothschild. Today, Kunde Family Winery is still family-owned and operated with a hands-on team of 4th and 5th generation family members at the helm; we met one of them. We had an incredible wine tasting followed by a cave tour. The winery boasts sweeping views of the valley which are just gorgeous. Great wines in a beautiful atmosphere is an amazing and relaxing sensory experience. This also falls in my top three.
When we were done, we returned to town and a few of us took a little stroll in the square and went to Happy Hour at this restaurant called Oso, which had delicious craft cocktails and small plates to nibble.
For dinner, we dined at El Dorado Kitchen, in the El Dorado Hotel on Sonoma Plaza. The food & service were wonderful, and they had a myriad of tasty craft cocktails.
After dinner, a few of the group did a quick change and went to a party I stumbled upon. One of the biggest annual events in Sonoma is their Film Festival; well, it was going on while we were in town and on this night, they were having a late night event called the GAYla Disco Party. It was a great scene that provided an open bar, food and an awesome DJ for the price of admission. And in a city that basically shuts down at 9 p.m., having a late night party that went till midnight was a welcome relief to New Orleanians.
There was a great vibe and we met so many LGBTQ+ locals and danced the night away. The DJ was the fabulous John Cameron Mitchell of Shortbus, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Rabbit Hole fame. And, funny note, he was coming to NOLA the following week to do a show at the AllWays Lounge, so we discussed that.
We also met several folks from wineries, but fell in love with the Larsen Family Winery, their staff and wine. We enjoyed hanging out with the guys manning their table most of the night. They even gave us some of their unopened wine to take home with us.
After the party, which we closed down, we stumbled back to the hotel stopping by a late night bar called Steiner’s Tavern, one of the oldest (since 1927) continuously operating businesses on Sonoma Plaza. With its classic swinging saloon doors and plethora of local memorabilia, it was a cool place with a rowdy, but fun crowd. After a few more “last call” cocktails, we walked the block back to the hotel and crashed.
The following day was filled with wine and song, so to speak. I began my morning with iced coffee from Peet’s and a walk around the town square. The eight-acre Sonoma Plaza was laid out in 1835, and is the largest plaza of its kind in California.
In addition to shopping, I took a tour of San Francisco Solano: California’s Last Mission, the last of the 21 Franciscan missions in California. It was founded in 1823 and marked the northern end of “The King’s Highway,” El Camino Real, and was the only Californian mission to be established under Mexican rule, independent of Spain. The padres’ quarters are the oldest structure in Sonoma, dating back to approximately 1825. The mission was rescued from disintegration in 1903, when the Historic Landmarks League purchased it and a full restoration began in 1911.
After my square time, I met up with my friends at the Jacuzzi Winery which in addition to wines, produces olive oil. They had some beautiful wines but the specialty olive oils and balsamic vinegars were fabulous.
The next winery we went to was Anaba Wines. This family owned winery has sweeping views of the Sonoma Valley. It is a gorgeous spot that allows guests to enjoy wines as they relax or even play games such as pickleball (they have a great court).
Our final stop of the day was at Mayo Vineyard with a wine pairing dinner. We had a divine seven-course meal, with each course paired with one of their top wines. After each dish was presented the chef, in conjunction with a winemaker, gave a description of the food as well as the wine. It was an informative dining experience. Wine dinners are the best in Sonoma. After dinner, we came back to the hotel and had several nightcaps at Steiner’s before crashing.
The following day featured more wineries. I may not be a connoisseur of wine after this trip, but I am an avid and willing learner. Keep the wine coming.
For breakfast that morning, I went to Sausage Emporium which was pretty astounding. Their menu was inspired and everything was scrumptious. As you can imagine, lots of meat were being served. I also had a few champagnes for breakfast just to get the day started.
Our first winery was another one of my favorites, the Larsen Family Winery, the owner and winemaker we had met at the GAYla. They rolled out the red carpet for us and it was an incredibly memorable experience. Our special VIP tour through the winery included a special metal vat tasting of wine as well as tapping one of the oak barrels and sampling the wine directly from the cask.
Afterwards, we sat at one of the covered cabana areas and enjoyed petting their lovable three puppies that playfully roam the area. Hence the name of one of their more famous wines, Three Lab Cab. Being the shopaholic I am, I left with lots of souvenirs, a case of wine, and a membership in their wine club.
On the way to our next winery, we stopped at the Loe Dispensary which is a wonderland for cannabis products and, after everything I bought, I may be visiting “Wonderland with Mary Jane (not Alice)” a lot. Family owned and operated, it’s located near many of the wineries. They have a highly curated selection and their staff was phenomenal in helping us, especially since I knew little to nothing about what I needed. They provided a laidback and fun atmosphere, and I left with so much stuff. I am set for months.
The final winery of the day was Deerfield Ranch Winery. Owners PJ and Robert Rex met at Berkeley in 1968. Robert, a backyard mechanic, kept PJ’s Italian sports cars running–takes an Italian to do that. As a thank you, PJ gave Robert, who was already interested in fine wine, a winemaking kit. Robert made his first wine in his garage in Berkeley in 1972. He entered it in the California State Fair and took home the Best of Show Award. Robert found his passion and continued making wine in his garage-turned-winery for family and friends.
Ten years later, PJ and Robert “left their good jobs in the city” to pursue their dream of owning a winery. In 1982, they bought the Deerfield Ranch where they got married, and turned the horse barn into their first winery; they still live there today. Their wines are barrel-aged in the 23,000 sq. ft. cave, where we did our tasting which was fabulous fun, and the wines were lovely. They also had an impressive collection of Star Wars art hanging on the walls. I am not sure if it was the wine, but I definitely felt “The Force” at this winery.
Next up on our packed agenda was the Artisan Cheese Festival in Sebastopol. The event we attended was the “Cheese Crawl at the Barlow”. Sebastopol was once primarily a plum- and apple-growing region; today, wine grapes are the predominant agriculture crop. The creation of The Barlow, a $23.5 million mall on the edge of town, converted old agriculture warehouses into a marketplace for fine dining, tasting rooms, & art.
The festival was packed but fun, and we got to try some amazing cheeses by local producers such as Achadinha Cheese Company, Bohemian Creamery, and Cowgirl Creamery. We strolled through The Barlow to see various businesses where cheesemakers offered samples, accompanied by featured food or beverage tastings. This is a definite stop on any trip to the region and the food & beverage offerings were topnotch.
Our last night in Sonoma, we went for Terri’s birthday dinner to the girl & the fig, right next to our hotel. The girl & the fig features a wonderful antique bar that serves French aperitifs, unique and traditional cocktails, an award-winning Rhône-Alone wine list, a seasonal menu, cheese & charcuterie platters, outdoor garden patio seating & outdoor parklet seating. “Country Food with a French Passion” is how they describe their menu. It was an incredible dining experience and we closed the place down having had many cocktails and bottles of wine. The French 75 and the Sonoma Sour were my favorite cocktails.
The next day was our long travel day back to NOLA. After the two hour drive back to San Francisco and dropping the rental cars off, we settled in at the airport. While we waited for our flight, I enjoyed the different art gallery installations and the sweet shopping they have. I love the San Francisco airport.
We were on time on our way back on Southwest, with a layover in Las Vegas, where we dined at Sammy’s Beach Bar & Grill, owned by rocker Sammy Hagar. The food was pretty good.
We arrived back in NOLA unscathed. Another memorable Ambush on the Road adventure for the books.
Below are some photos of Tony’s adventure.
