Santa Rosa to Sonoma Wine Country

Chateau St. Jean Winery
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After we arrived in Santa Rosa we just grabbed a quick bite and went to bed early - we were both recovering from allergies.  The next morning we drove from Santa Rosa down Route 12 into Sonoma Valley Wine Country for a day of wine tasting.  It was quite a hot day - probably about 90 degrees, but the Ghia kept us cool!

We hit the Blackstone Winery first and then went to Chateau St. Jean.  We met a retired man named Larry that worked at the winery.  He use to be a professor down in Orange County, so he spent sometime telling us stories about Newport back when he used to hunt where Fashion Island Mall is now.  He then hooked us up for a free sample of the Chateau St. Jean Reserve Chardonnay wine.  It was very good, but a $90 bottle of wine is still hard for Lars & I to decipher from the $20 bottle.... Needless to say, we did not purchase a bottle of the reserve!

Kellie & Lars at Bezinger Winery with Sonoma Mt in background - took a tour
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We then stopped at Benziger Winery, which is a family owned business and an organic one.  They provide a tram tour of the winery and the process.  That was really interesting!  They even take you into the caves they built for storing the wine. Then you get to taste some of their wines.

After leaving Benziger we went to the actual town of Sonoma and bought some crackers and cheese from the Sonoma Jack Cheese Shop in town (on the square).  We then drove to the Cline Winery where we met Joe who helped us select a wine to have with our cheese & crackers. They have a nice picnic area out back that was shaded, so we hung out there for awhile.

Grounds at Bezinger
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We then started driving south through San Fran and ended up in Half Moon Bay for the night.  I will have to upload some pics later - since the manager needed to go home.  We are now heading south towards San Diego.  We will then give Dad the Ghia for the summer and pick up the wagon for the "real" trip to the east coast.