Why We Picnic in Wine Country, a Sonoma Story
The other day I was touring with a lovely couple from Oklahoma that I picked up at the Grand Hyatt in the city. The first thing that they asked me as we stood there being whipped by the cool fog was, “Is it going to warmer up there in wine country?” I assured them that it would be, and we set off. It was warmer, even though we spent much of the day in the cooler parts of Napa and Sonoma, Los Carneros, because the wines they loved were Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and good sparkling wines (which of course is made from those two grapes).
The two hits of the day were Bouchaine in Napa and Benziger in Sonoma. Not surprising to me since these are favorites of mine as well. Of course Benziger is not known for their Pinot, but by that time of the day I thought stretching their palates with some Bordeaux varietals would be a good thing.
I always suggest to my clients, whenever possible during a wine tour, PICNIC! I love great restaurants, but a day in wine country is a day on the farm, a very elegant farm often with great architecture and wonderful hosts, but to have to come in from playing and wait on restaurant staff is not as much fun.
I so wish that my clients had heeded my advice on this tour. They were adamant that they wanted to go to a restaurant so we stopped at the Sonoma Plaza, home to many good places, and I suggested a couple to choose from. They had a horrible time, at a place with a well-earned, excellent reputation. The food experience was so bad that the restaurant wouldn’t charge them for the meal. They waited 45 minutes to get their food, and when it arrived one of the main dishes was burned on the outside and raw on the inside, in other words, inedible.
Their reports were so bad that I called up the restaurant to find out what happened. Only their willingness to comp the meal and abjectly apologize has kept their name out of today’s blog. The point of this is, that wouldn’t have happened if we had stopped by a market and then found a scenic spot for lunch among the vines. They wouldn’t have wasted more than an hour while I waited for them, on the clock.
Fortunately, after lunch we went up the Sonoma Valley and they had a great time, and by the time I got them back to the city the memory of lunch seemed to have been wiped away. So remember, when you come to wine country and tour the wineries, Picnic!
Ralph & Lahni de Amicis are the owners of Amicis Tours that takes people on tours of the wineries of Napa and Sonoma. They are authors of the Amicis Winery Guides (Find them on Amazon), and over twenty books on health, design, business and travel. Their iPhone Apps, The Napa Valley Wine Tour, and The Sonoma Winery Tour are a tour guides approach to these beautiful area, complete with 1000’s of photos and insights. Their articles and products can be found on the sites http://www.amicistours.com and http://www.spaceandtime.com
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