Although we are pretty familiar with Sonoma and the downtown square, we both noticed that signage was lacking for the event. Not sure where we had to pick up our badges we gravitated towards the first white pop up tent we saw only to find out it was an art show. After finally seeing our destination we began our journey. Each ticket gave us 12 wine tastings, 4 tickets for food tastings, a personalized wine glass, and a nifty velvet tote for our wine glass. It wasn’t until later that an event volunteer would explain why we needed the velvet tote. We had nine locations to choose from so we headed off to a familiar location* to begin our day...The Swiss Hotel (The venue for our wedding rehearsal lunch).
Each location had two wineries pouring as well as a local musician playing jazz and blues music. Pouring at The Swiss Hotel was Headbanger Wine and winemaker Paul Hoffman. I decided to use one of my 12 tastes to start off bold with the Rock-n-Red, a blend of Syrah and Zinfandel. Wanting to get in as much wine as possible, I ventured to the other winey pouring at the Swiss Hotel, Robledo Family Wines which are also currently being poured at the dinner table of President Obama. The wine was good so I started observing my surroundings to feel the vibe of Wine and Song.
I first noticed that there were a lot of families at the event. I always feel it a bit out of place to bring a small child wine tasting, but this felt different. There isn’t much to do in a tasting room for a young child but at Wine and Song there was great music playing, kids (and hippies) dancing, and it was in a secured off area so parents could remove the despicable backpack leash they had their kids on and let them run around a little.
Although each winery pouring punched our tickets for each taste, a few places like Roche Winery saw Wine and
Although difficult at some places because of the crowds, we found some time to talk with Angie from Moon Mountain Vineyards who specializes in 100% certified organic wines....watch out for a future post about them. Giving in to my temptations, I tried their Cabernet Franc which was much less bold than I expected it to be, but very smooth and still full of flavor.
Overall, the wine and music was a great pairing. It was a beautiful day outside and as my wife Katie noted “Even if you don’t like the wine you are going to enjoy yourself.” Wine
Wine and Song was not the only event going on that day. In the evening the concerts in the park began and on Day 1 it was Earth, Wind, and Fire. Katie and I actually didn’t stay for the full concert for a couple reasons. First, we were definitely the youngest people there, but more importantly we were exhausted from the day of walking and drinking earlier. We found it a big challenge to do both Wine and Song and then stay up for the concert as well. On Day 2 we planned much better and were able to enjoy the concert which I will write about later.
Stay tuned for coverage of Day 2 that provided new and different wines, a Patron Tequila tasting, and some infallible marriage advice from a divorced and more than slightly inebriated concert goer.
2 comments:
Sounds like a tiring and fun time! I look forward to part 2 :)
Jesse this California place sounds very nice. I think its a tough call for restaurants to really flex their muscles, and further spend real dough on the high end appetizers. Particularly at an event that is not industry specific. Looking forward to that Day 2 report.
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