Days 3 and 4 Sonoma Valley the days we had enough wine

I've been trying to think about how to write about wine tastings and keep it interesting for the readers, I don't think it's possible. So maybe I'll tell you where we went and a little bit about the atmosphere and if we liked it, loved it, or were indifferent..

On day one of Sonoma we had a really great ride from San Francisco, and got to drive over the GGB which was pretty amazing. That is a marvel. Humans, although pretty disgusting and destructive, a la Gulf coast, have accomplished so much in a short span. That bridge

is proof that we can get a crazy idea, run with it and some how make it happen. It's massive and humbling and makes me want to leave a mark some how. Naw... screw that, I'll have a glass of wine, soak in the sun and appreciate other accomplishments. Allison took some great pictures on the ride to Sonoma, you can really tell how the environment changes in such a short drive. I'm really going to miss all the different trees, plants, and flowers that grow naturally that our landscapers have to work really hard to map out back home.

We arrived in Sonoma and decided to start with some

sparkling wine at Gloria Ferrer to toast to our trip. Great stuff you can get everywhere for a good price, who doesn't like bubbles?? Check out our views!

After that we decided to get in some lunch and a tasting before we check in to The Windhaven Farm cottage. We ate at A taste of Himalaya, we had lamb momo (dumplings), a chicken curry dish and lamb tandori, all really amazing. www.Yelp.com is the best travel guide for food anyone can use, I suggest if you don't use it, you start.

We found a tasting room called Highway 12 winery. We really love all their wines, and the tasting room is right off the Sonoma Plaza. Christina was the server and after all the wines she poured us, she grabbed a travel guide and basically mapped out our entire trip for tasting in sonoma and napa.. go here go here, screw that place the dude is a cuss, go here, this place has a great feel but the wine is ok....etc. She gave us her card and told us to check out St Francis, and talk to Mike and he'll set us up with a great tasting and treat us really well.. We loved Christina!

After that we went to Gundlach Bundschu pronounced gun-lock-bun-shoe. OMG<-- I know 15 year old girl talk. This place had it all, great wine, great tasting room, excellent service and I thought this would be hard to ever compete with, try their Pinot Noir, Chardonnay... Well everything try everything each wine better than the last.. We became club members.. I had it shipped to work, don't get any funny ideas Jen!!

It was time to go check into our cottage, we pick up steak, shrimp, fresh veggies and a bottle of Merlot from highway 12 which we really liked, and decided we would hang in and enjoy the cottage, grill some food, drink some wine and sparkling wine, then enjoy the hot tub which over looks miles of vineyards and farmland. So that's exactly what we did.

The following day we hit:

Ridge vineyards - Amazing zins, loved the facility, server, views

Seghesio - Great Italian varietals, great facility, server, landscaping was stunning, very Italian feel

Simi - Good wine. A few really good ones were Pinot Gris and Zin. A little corporate and owned by a conglomerate, but worth the stop. We bought the late harvest Riesling. The service was great and they had amazing landscaping.

Stryker - We loved Stryker!! Amazing boutique winery. They had the best views and tasting room so far. The wine is very good and they've been winning some awards in the area. Definitely an up and coming winery we'll be seeing in the future. Great zin, merlot, malbec, and cab. Overall a great place!

St. Francis - My personal favorite Zin of the trip.. We really got the hookup here. Free tasting of anything we wanted, 20% off all purchases, and a really knowledgeable star server, thanks to Christina and Mike. Great atmosphere, like an old Italian monastery.

Enkidu- Small boutique 2 or 3 good wines, The pinot was really unique and special so I bought a bottle.

For dinner we had oysters at Meritage Oyster Bar and then ate at The Girl And The Fig, which was another A+++++ meal. We then headed back to the cottage to hang out in the hot tub, star gaze and unwind.

That's all the time I have for now, heading to Napa.. I feel pickled! I'll write more tomorrow, in the mean time check out the new photos.