Ralph & Lahni de Amicis, Napa, Sonoma, San Francisco
Buena Vista is Still a Marvel & Motorcycle Racing!
The other day I was touring with clients who were not ‘wine’ people so we toured both Napa and Sonoma so they could see the area. We were heading back to Sonoma and picked up lunch and needed a place to picnic at a good winery. Well of course we went to the Buena Vista winery. If downtown Sonoma is, as I often claim, the most historic town in the state, then Buena Vista is California’s most historic winery.
It was here that the first significant amounts of European varietals were planted. They supplied large amounts of wine and most importantly brandy to the growing population of San Francisco starting in 1856, 19 years before Beringer opened in Napa. On the second story of the old stone tasting room is a gallery of photos describing the history of the winery, and in many ways it is the history of winemaking in the state. We went to three wineries in the course of the day, two in Napa and one in Sonoma and I think this was their favorite for the richness of the experience. They picnicked in the cool grove of eucalyptus trees, explored the property, got to know the history and tasted the wine. From there we wound our way over Lovall Valley road past the Sebastiani Winery, with their Town Vineyards across the way. That was where the Franciscan Missionaries first planted grapes in Sonoma. Then we went around the Sonoma Plaza, the Mission, the Barracks, the Bear Flag Monument, The Carnegie Library and the Sebastiani theater. As we headed down Broadway towards the city I thought we were finished for the day, but no! My clients were big race fans and wanted to see the Infineon racetrack. We’ll I’ve been to the entrance area before with clients, but this time we went inside. They were having time trials for motorcycles and it was great; lines of pickup trucks, trailers and crews servicing the bikes. Around the track the brightly colored blurs leaned over into the corners and left trails of whining behind them. It is hard to run a tour company and spend so much time on the road and not become a bit of a car head; that most Californian of attitudes, so I’m definitely going back and bringing kids.
Call 707-235-2648 for Tours, Books & Seminars Copyright Ralph & Lahni de Amicis 2011 All tasting fees, hours, wine lists, etc are subject to change.