I'm curious,
@mdf , did you guys hit any other wineries?
After faction we went to Brooklyn West also in Alemeda. Mostly forgettable, but an excellent Tempranillo. Nice people and a snazzy tasting room too. Finished at Dashe... not my favorite.
Monday in SF, no wineries. Tuesday Sonoma ... Merriam (good, but went mostly because we met the owner at wine store promo visit and he is a skier), Ferrari-Carrano (way too impressed with themselves), and Fritz (how do wineries with expensive mediocre wine find a following?)
Wednesday Sonoma again, Landmark for the Chardonney tasting (the cheapest one, Overlook, is my favorite but my wife liked one of the higher end ones), Hartford family winery (good Zin, pretty grounds), and Paradise Ridge for "Wines and Sunsets" with a band, food truck, and a boring and flabby $44 zin. Great event though ... excellent view, excellent band. Lnadmark was beautiful too, by the way.
Thursday in Napa, Robert Craig in Napa City while my brother in law visited old friends who own a B&B -- good cab. Then Stag's Leap (not s'). It was as unthrilled as I expected, but we wanted to try one famous place. I could find much better ways to spend $245 on a bottle of wine. Lovely tasting room, though, with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the vines and the hill behind them. Then Hess Collection out in the middle of nowhere on Mt Veeder. Quite good, we bought 3 bottles.
No wineries today.
We are one bottle over our logistical planning. We have two of the styrofoam in a box 3-bottle carriers. Bought a Rockwall, a Brooklyn West, a couple Merrians, a Robert Craig, a Hertford, a Landmark, and had 3 Hess shipped.