Wine Trip (April 2018)

Hi Everyone!!!

A little while ago, some friends and I decided that heading to wine country on the weekend would be a fun thing to do. So, we planned a lovely little wine getaway just as spring hit sto celebrate the warming weather. Josh and I were very excited. We’re always looking for opportunities to explore California. However, this did not start exactly the way we planned. For starters, the weather was terrible.

Driving up to wine country on a Friday evening, we did not feel like going. It was pouring rain and the thought of trekking around in the wet was not appealing. Then, we entered what seemed to be some dirt track and took the darkest longest windiest road to our Airbnb. Josh and I nearly tripped down stairs to get to the Airbnb and felt like going on this trip was a bad decision. But thankfully, we were very wrong!

The next day, after the sun had risen and we could actually SEE where we were staying, we realised it was totally worth it.

So the place we stayed at was called the Treehouse and it was an excellent description. The house had a couple of nice seating areas outside.

The inside was also ridiculously cute with wood detailing everywhere.

Right, well this was all really nice but we couldn’t stay and enjoy the Treehouse all day. There was drinking to be done. But first, we needed to line our stomachs so we piled into our cars and headed to a French bakery  called Costeaux in Healdsburg.

And then, it began. Wine tasting, first stop? Hawley’s Tasting Room which very conveniently was located within eyesight of our breakfast place.

This place actually had a great sauvignon blanc and Josh and I ended buying two bottles to take home. From there, we decided to head out of town to an actual winery so we could try and enjoy the weather which was starting to fine up. Our first stop: Foppiano.

While there, we were served by a lovely lady who also gave us a lowdown on all the best wineries in the area.

This winery has been around since 1896. And they have this really cool picture from the time of prohibition.

During Prohibition, the winery was required to dump all their wine into the river that runs along the vineyard. Instead of letting all the alcohol go to waste though, the workers consumed all the wine before throwing the empty bottles into the river. In the picture, you can see all the guys are drinking. Taking a leaf out of their book, we decided we also wouldn’t let any wine go to waste.

You can tell this winery is old from how gnarly their grape vines are.

We loved Foppiano so much, we decided to bring a lot of it back with us.

From there, we lightened the mood by heading to Korbel who are known for their sparkling wines.

Josh and I aren’t much into bubbles so we didn’t take anything away from here. Deciding it was time to head back, we made a pit-stop at a local brewery.

After that, we got back to the Treehouse and went our separate ways for a while to recharge before the evening. Josh and I (surprise surprise) decided to enjoy the outside with a couple of drinks.

This is where I truly appreciated where we were staying. It was so quiet and picturesque. In particular, I enjoyed looking up at the sky and seeing it framed by the trees.

When it got dark, we decided it was time to get serious. It was time… to make pizza!

Kels and David are pizza pros so they brought with them sourdough…dough. I have no experience with stretching pizza dough and Kels used to work in a pizza shop so I stood back and let the pros do their thing.

And since there were a bunch of friends mucking around in a kitchen, shenanigans were bound to happen.

When the pizzas finally came out, they were Ah-Ma-Zing!

You may wonder what Josh and I contributed on this night? Well in true Delaney fashion, we brought the entertainment…. GAMES!

And that was it. A great wine trip away with a bunch of awesome friends. It only took Josh and I about 90 mins to drive to the wine region. Realising its so close, I think we might start making it a regular thing.

We have Aussie visitors next weekend who we’ll be showing around. I’ll let you know what we get up to!

Talk soon,

Sim & Josh