A Wonderful Northern Sonoma Tour by Ralph de Amicis
This very
elegant tour was built around an 11:00 am
appointment at the Jordan Winery in Alexander
Valley, with a starting point in
downtown Sonoma. We left the Plaza
at 9:00 am and headed up valley by way of Arnold avenue (to avoid the endless
construction on route 12 in Boyes Hot Springs) and cut back to route 12 over
Madrone Rd. After enjoying a beautiful ride up the Valley of the Moon we
continued straight on 4th street,
taking a right on College and taking that to the Hwy 101 North entrance. We
exited at the downtown Healdsburg exit and took a little turn around the plaza,
before heading north on Healdsburg avenue,
turning right on Alexander Valley
road. We passed Jordan
since we were early and continued south on Route 128 south along the Alexander
Valley to the Hanna
Winery.
This has always been a favorite of mine, due to its great location and
views, beautifully charming architecture, and wonderful wines. It was
originally a recommendation from my friend and fellow wine tour guide Nick
Rosnov from Beau tours and Hanna has always done a great job for my clients.
Great Cabernets.
Half an hour later we were heading to Jordan, it helps to be early to their
appointments. I found the changes that they’ve made to their reception area
very enjoyable, and a nice place for people to spend a few minutes while the
other guests for the tour assemble. Jordan
is not an inexpensive tasting, and it’s a bit of a ride, but well worth the
effort. It reminds you of visiting a French chateau, and the wines are world
class. The tour and tasting takes an hour and a half and while I waited for my
clients I had enough time to go over the Alexander
Valley road to the great Jimtown
Store and get a double espresso and a fantastic carrot muffin. I also bought a
back scratcher for Lahni.
After two wineries my clients needed to eat so we back tracked to Healdsburg
avenue, went north to Lytton Springs road, and took that west over to the Dry
Creek Valley. There we turned right to the Dry Creek General store where we
picked some great sandwiches. From there we crossed over the Lambert
Bridge to West Dry Creek road and
headed south the Lambert BridgeLambert Bridge
is I know how spectacular their wines are, and they could stand up following a
tasting at a heavy hitter like Jordan. winery. They have some of the nicest
picnic areas anyplace. My clients did a tasting there, and part of my plan in
picking
The next stop was obligatory but it didn’t really fit in with the rest of
the tour, Ferrari Carano at the top of the Dry
Creek Road. The best way to get there is to back
track over the Lambert Bridge
and go up Dry Creek. That’s because the West Dry Creek road North of Lambert
Bridge is very winding. My clients loved the gardens but felt that the winery
was a little too commercial, which it is in comparison to the other gems they
were visiting that day. But this way they could tell friends who asked that had
in fact visited FC. We headed back south and turned left on Canyon road and
took that to the entrance to Highway 101 South.
Now we were heading to the Russian
River Valley.
We exited at Fulton and bore to the
right pass Kendall Jackson, and then turned right on River
Road, and in a couple of miles turned left on
Olivet road. Even though we were passing great wineries like Martinelli,
Hook and Ladder, Sunce and DeLoach,
we continued to Guerneville Road,
turned right and then left on Frei road. The Lymar
Estate is the left hand side and it is a gem of a winery tucked in a
beautiful hollow. The tasting is outside on the patio surrounded by beautiful
gardens. The Pinot Noirs are the best and the experience fit in beautifully
with the rest of these great wineries. I could tell my clients had a great day.
This is kind of tour you want someone to drive you on. We’re happy to do it,
just book us well in advance if you can. www.AmicisTours.com
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