sonoma (day 2)
On our second day we drove into Sonoma proper for a full day of wine tasting. We started off with breakfast at the much loved Fremont Diner, which more than lived up to its reputation (on Chowhound).
With so many delicious low country menu items to choose from, we had to be strategic in our ordering.
[The "Kitchen Sink", with biscuit, ham, fried chicken, sausage gravy & a fried egg.]
[Shrimp 'n grits with bacon, sausage, spring onions, and sunny side up eggs.]
[I lost this lipstick and it makes me sad.]
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Our first winery of the day was Keller Estate.
We met a lovely woman who taught us the difference between stainless steel and oak aged whites.
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Next was Gundlach Bundschu, where the ageism was ample but the pours were not.
I ended up getting a 100% Cab Franc and my tasting fee was not waived upon purchase.
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Gundlach is a five minute drive from Sonoma square, where we had a light lunch at The Girl + the Fig.
Our lunch consisted of fig royales, heirloom radishes with anchovy butter, a cheese tasting, and a BLT with green tomatoes.
[Icicle, flambeau and easter radishes -- who knew there were so many different kinds?]
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Our final winery of the day was Scribe, which does tastings by appointment only. This was by far our best tasting experience of the day.
We decided to explore this rundown hacienda.
It was time for our tasting appointment so we drove to the end of the trail, where this idyllic scene awaited us.
[Heh heh.]
The wines were pricey but I couldn’t leave without a bottle. I chose a Syrah.
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After Scribe we went back to Sonoma square to split a bottle of rose on the grass and bask in the sun. Once the sun went down we had a quick dinner at La Salette. We were pretty haggard at this point so had to cut it a little short. The food was definitely tasty, but the place was practically empty and had a washed up kind of feel. It didn’t help that their menu was typed in Comic Sans MS.
[Tripe with white beans & chicken -- bueno.]
[Mussels with tomato-lobster fumet -- how bad can that be?]
