posted 05-29-2012 01:11 PM         

1. Round Pond Olive Mill tour. Thought was a nice change of pace to tour the Olive Mill and learn of the process from tree to bottle. Very informative. About 1 ½ hrs long. After the process was explained, inside for a “judges tasting” of olive oils and vinegars. Interesting. The best part was after the tasting and time for the oil pairings. She brought out different breads, cheeses, and garden vegetables for us to experiment with using the various oils & vinegars. When possible, the vegetables are from their own gardens. Mixed greens, tomatoes, & carrots to include white carrots. There is a wine tasting that you can do along with as well. We thought was well worth the visit.

2. Merryvale. Tasted their whites…..1 SB and 3 Chards. The one to mention is their 2009 Silhouette Chardonnay. Quite possibly the best Chard I have ever tasted. Lots of fruit tastes and buttery smooth. 17 months of fermenting and aging in French Oak. Didn’t quite understand the pourer’s statement, “to not have so much oak taste you age in oak.” I don’t know about that, but I do know that the MLF this goes through smooths out the acidity and mellows out the oak moving into a very smooth and buttery taste. I highly recommend tasting on your next visit. $65 a bottle on the very high end for me when it comes to Chard, but did it anyway! So good. Special occasions only.

3. ZD. Really crowded, so I didn’t make it through the complete 6 wine tasting. Tried the “Rosa Lee’s” 2011 Grenache Rose. Was pleasant, but fairly sweet. Too sweet for us. Next, was the 2010 Chardonnay, California. Fruit from several regions selected for this wine. Chards are what they are supposed to be known for. When I said I wasn’t interested in tasting, you would have thought I just slapped the guy! I tasted and passed. It was good…. a little acidic….barrel fermented, but I had already bought several Chards. Next was what had introduced us to ZD in the first place: 2010 Pinot Noir, Carneros. Very, very good. Heavier dark berry fruit taste with a little spice on the end. Thought was one of the nicest PN we picked up this trip. Stopped after this one, so passed on their Cabs.

4. Cakebread. We are club members here and had our first club member’s tasting since joining last September. Enjoyed all of the wines, but the time & tasting spent here was really made by the couple that we had join our table. Chad & Amy had come over for the day to pick up their recent club shipment…..they live just outside of Sacramento…..and we really had a great time just talking about things to do, food, wines, other areas to visit, their experiences that they have had, etc. It was great! Picked up a few things to remember for next trip. Now for the wines…..I will only talk about two: 2008 Dancing Bear Ranch, Howell Mountain. Really, really good and we don’t usually like Cabs. I am not going to attempt to give my take on this wine, just say again glad that it was being poured for our tasting! $106 a bottle. Even a bigger surprise for us who also say that we don’t do Syrah, was their 2009 Syrah, Napa Valley. Almost purple in color, this wine has a big nose and a very balanced taste. Yes, some tannins & oak, but not overpowering for us. Will make this part of my next shipment from Cakebread.

Dinner on Saturday night was Bistro Jeanty. Great meal, wonderful service. Scott…..I did go with the beef stew as well, and can see why it is your favorite. Wife says the steak was up there with the tops that she has ever had!

Dinner on Sunday was Bottega. Simply great…..everything! From appetizer through dessert was terrific.

That’s it. Look forward to our next trip and reading about yours!