We had heard from some people that Black Stallion wines weren't really that great, but we loved them! We had a really nice pourer, and our tasting fees here were complimentary, so I'm definitely glad we went.
We went to the next place, Darioush, on a few recommendations. We heard the winery was absolutely stunning, because it's a Persian palace!
We visited here and took pictures, but decided not to taste the wines this time. For one thing, it was a $25 fee for 5 wines, which was pricey, but also you were seated and served huge glasses! It definitely looked like a luxury experience, but unfortunately we didn't have the time to do all that.
We tried to go to Signorello but it was closed except by appointment... ugh.
So our next stop was Clos du Val.
We had a really laid back server here, who I think had indulged in a bit of wine lol. He was really fun, and was telling us about how this winery is "vindependent" and does wine the way they think it should be done and doesn't aspire to Wine Spectator's esteemed list. Very cool! He also noticed my rating system and gave me a taste of a $125 cabernet to see if it would get an elusive A... sadly it was just ok... it got a B+ lol.
Here we are signing the declaration of vindependence...
I had wanted to stop in at the next winery, Pine Ridge, because I have had a delicious wine there, the chenin blanc/viognier.
We stopped in and they had high tasting fees and I wasn't too into their wine selecion list ($15 for 4 reds), so we decided to move on.
So we went to Baldacci.
Baldacci was cool, we had a great person working with us, and met a really fun couple who were buying tons of wine there (a case of this, half a case of that...). From what I remember, we had pretty good wines - very bold - but they were a bit pricey.
The next place was super cool, and was in like a barn. It was Prager Portworks. We had asked around for a good place that made ports, since we haven't seen very many on our trip, and were recommended to go here.
When you went into the barn, the entire place was covered with dollar bills with writing on them. Very interesting!
It was a $15 tasting fee for 3 ports and 2 wines but totally worth it. We had a petite syrah wine which was pretty good, and some VERY good ports. They had a ruby, tawny, white port, and a dessert riesling, all of which was amazing. Then, I asked about another one on their list, not on the tasting sheet and they let me try it! It was a $35 petite syrah port and fantastic as well. I would have bought it if they refunded the tasting fee, but they didnt :(. Oh, we got the glass for free though.
The next place was just for fun... we had to go.
As was expected, the wines were not very good. They were overly sweet and too drinkable. My wine snob came out though when we overheard other customers saying how they "usually dont like merlots, but love this!" when drinking white merlot and other ridiculously sweet wines. The tasting was free though and they had copious amounts of free pretzels and mustard, so yay to Sutter Home!
Back to our new bed and breakfast, Lavender Inn, where we had a fantastic hostess who was hilarious. The snack was amazing... deviled eggs and artichoke brushetta along with cheese, crackers, and wine again.
We got a recommendation to a local wine tasting room in town, Girard, which was open late so decided to go there for a bit.
It was very nice inside! The wines here were pretty good, but nothing too memorable. Also, we were nearing the end of the day, so my tastebuds were getting a little tired and nothing would taste that great anyway.
We also tried to go to one last place, but I was exhausted and we got there a little late so missed out on a lot of their tastings. Apparently they are not allowed by law to pour past 7pm. Let me also take a moment to emphasize that we are POURING OUT our tastings. We do not drink all this wine! We would either end up in the hospital or completely drunk out on the streets. Most places will pour a generous glass for each tasting, but professionals like us (lol) will taste about 1/5 of it in small sips and pour out the rest. Most places totally understand and are not offended at all.
On to dinner! We went to a nearby place called Hurleys, which was very nice and delicious.
Stephen got a barrel glass of zinfandel... which I think was alright. We had an appetizer of DELICIOUS tempura squash blossoms filled with goat cheese... oh... my... gosh they were delicious.
And then I wasn't very hungry so just ordered the potato and leek soup, and Stephen got the roasted wild boar, which he was excited about. I tried it and it was actually not bad.
That was it for our adventures. Our room has it's own outdoor hot tub so we tried that out, which was fun, and then that was all!
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