Day 6 - August 3rd

We started off the day at Titus. We met with cool Christophe who is one of only 2 full time employees. Titus is a small family winery that was recommended by Angela at Hendry wines. We tasted wines in a 1910 ranch house - very relaxed, casual, low key, t-shirt and shorts environment. The Petite Syrah and Cab Franc were very good, and our group bought 2 bottles each of those.

Next was Burgess - another family winery. We'd all had a Burgess Cab before and enjoyed it, thus it was added to the list. Travis and I found a Merlot that we really enjoyed and amazingly enough purchased. Their Syrah and Cab were also very good. Travis enjoyed the 98 Cab Library (much! T...) release but I (..C) wasn't feeling it. Steve Burgess joined us and signed both our bottles (Merlot and 07 Cab).

Next was Neal. Neal was up on Howell Mountain and the views were amazing. We met with Gove, the wine maker and Alexios, 9 year old son of Frank Neal. Alexios was kind enough to show us his train set, which was up above the tasting room. He was very into police cars and Travis gave him his card and showed him his badge. Alexios continued to admire Travis's business card all through the tasting (very cute). We had some amazing cabs including some single vineyard cabs. We picked up a 2002 cab as well as a single vineyard 1540 cab.

Then came Revana. We were very excited to taste Heidi Barrett's wine and here we are. Revana has one cab and one pinot noir from their sister winery in Oregon - Alexana. The wine was very good, but at $40/tasting, I'm not sure this was worth the hype. However Travis disagrees. Travis made friends with the wine dog, a pure bread long haired Dachshund. Travis threw a ball in between sips so many times, the poor dog was tuckered out by the time we left.

Next was Chase. Interestingly enough they started us off with a Zinfandel Rose which was very dry and actually not too bad. Unfortunately the wine wasn't very impressive but really how can you follow Revana, Neal and Burgess. It wasn't a fair competition.

Finally we went to Prager Portworks. No notes taken here (perhaps due mass consumption) but I promise we did go here. We have a glass and a picture of Phil to prove it. ;-)

We were all a bit fatigued and emaciated but enjoyed a nice walk to the Oxbow market where we enjoyed a feast for two at the local Italian eatery. We finished off the day with a nice soak in the hot tub.

Current Total wineries 29, tastings 209

Day 5 - August 2nd

Ok so first day in Napa. We're really excited to start trying the big boys!

First stop - Hendry. Phil and Traci are wine club members and set us up here. As soon as we got there, they asked about any appointments we had afterwards because they wanted to invite us for lunch. They moved our appointment with Jessup back a 1/2 hour. Who knew that the original 2 1/2 hours wasn't enough time. We ended up spending over 3 hours here and it was time well spent. George Hendry (owner and winemaker) took us on a tour of the vineyards explaining anything and everything about how grapes are grown and wine is made. His family has been here since 1939 where it started as an orchard. Since 1992, he's been making wine. He has 11 varietals planted on 114 acres of the 200 acres he owns. The varietals help with diversification and he has a full time staff (rather than seasonal migrant workers) with an average of 25 years growing grapes and making wine.

The barrel fermented chardonnay was our favorite and we split a case with the other 2 couples. It was a tremendous experience and the catered lunch with discussion at length with George Hendry was unbelievable.

We moved on to Jessup. Jessup was nice with a platter of nuts, cheeses, olives and chocolates to share and taste with the wine. The cabs here were very good, but I think the fav were the 2 ports.

Then we moved to Sequoia Grove. Travis and I had the reserve tasting and the cab, which was amazing was a steal at 50% off. So of course we had to have one of those.

Finally we went to Elizabeth Spencer. Travis and I used to be wine club members here and they were nice enough to comp our tastings. It was the end of the day, so I'm not sure we gave Spencer's wines enough justice. My favorite was the Wente Chardonnay clones. We had a pinot that tasted amazingly like a Syrah - weird. Traci's favorite was the Syrah.

The house we rented has a hot tub and a very nice area to relax in the back yard. We ended our day with a bottle of wine while soaking in the hot tub. Then the boys cooked up some steaks/salmon. By this point, we were pretty tired and we hit the bed.

Current Total wineries 23, tastings 175

Day 4 - August 1st

Day 4, We packed up our stuff and headed on to Russian River Valley. Tonight we'll stay in downtown Napa.

First stop - Merry Edwards. Our appointment was at 9:30 but somehow I got it mixed up and thought it was at 9am, so we were a bit early. Good thing, knowing what happens later. While we were waiting, we took a look at the bottle truck which was there bottling some Chardonnay for Merry. They only do a Chardonnay every other year if that, so this was definitely unique. Merry Edwards was very special with some of the best Pinot Noirs I have ever had. Two bottles will be had today. We asked if Merry could sign them, which she did. We thought she'd be too busy to come down and sign them, so they took them up to her. After she signed them, she actually came to the room and signed our shirts. Take a look at Travis with his biggest grin. He was sooo happy.

Next was Dutton Goldfield. Most of their Pinot Noirs were sold out, so we got to taste some other varietals. Their Rued Chardonnay was amazing, tasting of strong carmel. We bought this last year and it rated a 96 from Wine Enthusiast. This vintage is not yet rated but I'm sure it will be a good one. Susie picked one up too.

After that we went up to Dutton Estate. (Dutton Estate and Dutton Goldfield are owned by 2 Dutton brothers who own a lot of acres in the valley.) Dutton Estate also makes some Sauvignon Blanc for Merry Edwards. They own the same vineyards but they make their wine their own way. From years past, we remember their Pinot Noirs are to die for. This is still true this year. Things got busy in the tasting room and we were greeted by Tracy Dutton, wife of the owner. We were told later that Tracy hadn't been in the tasting room for over a year and a half. She opened several wines that weren't on the tasting menu (with larger pours) saying jokingly that "I keep trying to get fired but no one will fire me". Anyway, she was more than gracious and the wines were amazing. We had a hard time choosing as did Phil and Traci who decided to join their wine club (doh!). We picked up 2 bottles of different vintages of Thomas Pinots and went on our way. By this time, we were now running late for our next appointment despite showing up more than 30 minutes early. Oh well, we had a great time!

Next was Williams Selyem. Travis and I are wine club members and were excited to see their brand new tasting room for the first time. We tried 4 wines from prior releases that they had held back and took a tour of the vineyard. The wines were good but as we were wine club members we didn't pick up any as we already owned what we were tasting.

Next was Gary Farrell. We were very late at this point, but Brian was very gracious. We started with some Sauv Blanc and took a tour of the vineyard. The Pinots were amazing, which is why we joined the club, but as it was the end of the day I think our palettes were a bit tired. Travis picked up a bottle from the library and we were on our way to Napa - 90 minute drive.

It was late in the day so we stopped by a pizza place and had some pie and called it a night.

Total Current Wineries 19, Tastings: 145

Day 3 - July 31st

Day 3 is Mendocino county. We've never been up here, but we've heard good things. So we drove 70 minutes up here. What we didn't know was how windy the road would be and how sick we would all feel just getting there. Poor Susie. She was in the third row by herself. When we got to the first winery, she couldn't drink anything just yet. Poor thing.

First stop - Navarro. Now we've never been to the winery but we've had their wines and loved it. We had a tour of the vineyard, which also included meeting their Alpaca and a llama, named Fred. As thought, we bought their Gewurtziminer, which as usual was amazing.

Next was Lazy Creek. Lazy Creek was back a windy road (again with the windy roads) and had amazing pinots.

Next was Toulouse. Toulouse had a sign which said Too Tense? Toulouse! with a duck on it. Wine, not so good. We moved on.

Next was Roederer. After all, we couldn't go up here without trying the sparkling. It was ok. Again, we moved on and this time booked it back closer to home to try some "better" wines. Again, we didn't know anything about the area so we had to try it. So we came, we saw and we booked it home. But oh the windy road back, ugh!

Next was Stryker. Interestingly enough they had a Monte Rosso Zin and a Rockpile Cab. Both were good but it seemed backward. We've always had Monte Rosso Cabs and Rockpile zins, but whatever.

We could fit just one more in and Mazzocco was it. 9 tastings here heavy in zins. We were close to splitting a case of the cab Inheritance but they wouldn't work with us on shipping so we moved on.

By this point, we weren't up for cooking so we picked up some burritos and ate at home.

Total Current Count 14 Wineries, 111 tastings

Day Two

Our First stop - Silver Oak. Silver Oak is high end cabs and they only have 2 - Napa and Alexander Valley Cabs. Interestingly Silver Oak is not named for the tree but named for Silverado Trail and Oakville (both in Napa). The Silver Oak winery was originally between these 2 areas.

Next Stop - Dry Creek Vineyard. None of us had been here before and we didn't know what to expect. However the winery really got into our Tshirts and wanted to compete in the "Battle of the Wine Clubs". They gave us a tour of the winery and 10 tastings. The zins were good but the cabs were amazing. We loved the Endeavor at $60 but the regular cab at $25 was a super good deal so we picked it up. The hospitality we received here was amazing and although we aren't club members they definitely are in the running for the Battle of the Wine Clubs.

Next was Kokomo. Traci and Phil are wine club members here. We had a special table in the back in their barrel room and were able to taste anything we wanted. Check out the pics on their Facebook page.

Next was Peterson. We thought this was Peters, big mistake. Let's just say this winery is best remembered by the 2 cats that were in the tasting room - PASS !

Next was Papapietro Perry. They have amazing Pinots and a very good Chardonnay. Let's just say this was soooo good, we joined the wine club. What were we thinking? It was late in the day, what can I say?

Next was Sbragia. This wasn't as good as I remembered. We didn't buy anything there.

Next and last was Longboard. We remembered having a great time here last year. This year, however we had a great time, but I had a headache caused by too many tannins. Dinner at home was wonderful - filets, asparagus and squash - very nice.

Day One, Arrival and AVV

We arrived at SFO and drove straight to Alexander Valley Vineyards where we stayed in a three-bedroom house, guests of the Wetzel Family. This estate is built upon the grounds of the original settler to the valley, Cyrus Alexander.

After settling in, we enjoyed a tour of the wine caves and tastings of all the offerings including the Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier, and Cyrus Bordeaux-style blend. We shipped a case of Viognier home and purchased a few other bottles for later. Good stuff!

Alexander Valley's cave is the largest in Napa/Sonoma at 25,000 sq ft and currently holds 8,800 barrels but has capacity for 12,000 barrels. Our tasting included a record 13 tastings. But their graciousness caused us to buy 2 cases of wine (split between 3 couples). The viognier was a steal at $21 (buy 1 get 1 for $1) which equates to $11/bottle. The viognier tasted like honey and was a supervalue. The 2009 Reserve Chardonnay at $20 tasted of pear and honey.

Prep

So what do three couples who share a passion with wine do besides drink more wine? We plan a trip of course. You might ask yourself where did we get the theme for our trip - Battle of the Wine Clubs? Well, we're a competitive bunch. Phil/Traci belong to three wine clubs (Hendry, St Francis, and Kokomo). Travis/I belong to Alpha Omega, William Selyem and Gary Farrell. Wil/Susie don't belong to any, but we'll see what happens by the end of the trip. The thought behind it is, who has the best wine clubs? We're still working on our rating criteria. More on that later.

So the time has almost arrived. T-minus 4 days until flight time. Did I say the itinerary was 12 pages. . . yep 12 pages. In a nutshell, we will visit the following areas:

• Napa
• Sonoma
• Healdsburg/Russian River
• Mendocino

Did I mention we even put together matching T-shirts for our trip? Our current estimate is 47 wineries in 9 days. We'll have to see where we end up and how/if the itinerary is changed.