Sonoma

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Whew! Last week was a serious whirlwind of travel, from a weekend in Provincetown to the work week in Sonoma County. It was both tiring and incredible to be in two of my favorite places on earth in less than 24 hours. Travel never ceases to amaze me, how on a Monday morning I can start in rainy, gray Boston and then a few hours later be in Sonoma, blue skies and blazing sun. It’s pretty cool.

My trip to Sonoma County this time around was for work, so it involved a pre-planned, jam-packed itinerary of wineries, hotels, restaurants, meetings, and more. It was different than our past trips, but it was still great. I’ll have some posts on wine tasting coming up, but since today is Travel Tuesday wanted to share some snapshots I took along the way.

 

The Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort

My hotel, The Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort, was luxurious and comfortable, the perfect spot for relaxing after a busy day. The pool area was my favorite for catching the beautiful Sonoma sunset and having a glass of local wine before bed. I was on East Coast time the entire trip and thus exhausted by sunset, but how could you miss this?

Sonoma sunset

Our first dinner took place at a favorite of mine, The Girl & The Fig, where the patio sparkled and the food was all inspired and delicious, as always.

The Girl and the Fig    The Wild Flounder Meunière, one of their signature dishes, was flaky buttery perfection, atop smooth and creamy potatoes and my serving of greens for the day.

Flounder

My visit included a tour of the stunning Fairmont Sonoma Mission & Spa, which I look forward to visiting again soon. The spa is one of the prettiest I have ever seen, and the pools were very inviting, as the sun started to climb into the sky. Fairmont Sonoma

My chilaquiles breakfast at the hotel was hearty and indulgent with a perfect kick of spice.

chilaquiles

Another restaurant I had the pleasure of dining at was Willi’s Wine Bar, where I sampled just about everything, including truffle fries, goat cheese fritters, a variety of salads, and to-die-for filet mignon sliders with creamed spinach. This is an amazing, must-visit spot if you are ever in the Santa Rosa area. The owners also own Bravas, which I visited last summer on our Healdsburg food tour and really, really loved.

Willi's Wine Bar

The food and wine pairing we had at Kendall Jackson Vineyard Estates was something to savor.

I would not have thought to pair strawberries with radishes, but the spicy/crunchy sweet/soft went together so deliciously, paired with 2014 Grand Reserve Rosé  just tasted like summer. I’ll be recreating this at home for sure. It’s just asking for a hammock or patio seating and a midsummer night.

radish and strawberry salad

2012 Jackson Estate Outland Ridge Pinot Noir, paired with a cassoulet of very local ingredients, 2013 Jackson Estate Alisos Hills Syrah with pork belly in a red wine BBQ sauce, and meatballs made with lamb from next door, paired with a delicious Cab made up for the hearty portion of the tasting. It was heavenly.

Kendall Jackson wine and food pairing

 

 

Kendall Jackson gardens

Many of the ingredients in the food pairing came from the gardens right on the property, and Tucker Taylor, the Culinary Gardener, gave us a delightful tour of the gardens, which are seriously impressive and beautiful.

Kendall Jackson gardens

Sonoma County

In between each stop, I enjoyed dreamy views of vineyards, mountains, and perfect skies. It was blissful just riding in the car, and taking in the sights and sounds and smells around me.  Sonoma County is truly just a special place full of amazing people, delicious food and wine, and unparalleled scenery. In case you couldn’t tell, I love it.

Rodney Strong Vineyards Terrace

While much of what we saw was new to me, I did get to visit the terrace at Rodney Strong, where we got to spend some time last summer. Their terrace light is perfect in the early to late evening, and while we missed the main portion of the program learning about their sustainability efforts, we made it in time to see their new square tanks and to do some mingling while eating delicious pizza and other bites and sampling some of their available wines.

flatbread pizza

Rodney Strong Vineyards Terrace  Rodney Strong Vineyards Sonoma sunset

 

It was both beautiful and a little sad to see the sun set that evening from the Rodney Strong Vineyards terrace, knowing that we were heading home the next day. This time around it wasn’t too too bad since I will be returning for a big work event in early September. If you’re planning a vacation, Sonoma County might be the perfect place for you. For more blog posts on Sonoma as well as my other travel posts, please visit my Travel Page.

Tags: Food, Restaurants, Sonoma, Sonoma County, Travel, travel blog, travel blogger, wine, wine country, wine tasting, wineries

Gundlach Bundschu’s website calls this wine “A seriously red blend for everyday.  Seriously.” and we definitely found this to be true when we delved into a bottle on a very chilly winter weeknight.

Gundlach Bundschu was one of the first wineries we ever visited when we started many in a series of  trips to Sonoma County, and we tend to visit whenever we are near the town of Sonoma (not always the case because we love to center our trips around Healdsburg).

 

Gundlach Bundschu

As I sipped a glass of the 2012 Mountain Cuvee, all bundled up in a hoodie and slippers and fleece galore, I couldn’t help but think back to this beautiful day last September when we were almost too hot when we brought our tastes out to enjoy Gun Bun’s beautiful views. I said almost because too hot just doesn’t really happen to me.

The Mountain Cuvee, while ripe, fruity Sonoma through and through, is a perfect wine for winter, with rich notes of cocoa and a bit of tobacco. It’s big and bold but balanced and elegant enough to pair with food like a beef stew or a roast wrapped in bacon or something as equally as hearty.

Gundlach Bundschu

We paired our Mountain Cuvee with a thick, veggie and spicy soy chorizo filled tomato sauce over whole wheat penne, a nod to both the weather and our resolution to eat better in the New Year.

Gundlach Bundschu

Have you found any new favorite wines yet in 2015?

Tags: Gundlach Bundschu, Sonoma, Sonoma County, wine, wine of the week, wine tasting, wine travel, Wine Wednesday, winesday

I sometimes think that if it wasn’t for this blog, I wouldn’t remember half of the things we do in a year. I love going back and being able to remember exactly what we did, ate, and saw during a certain time of year. It’s been the most consistent journal I have had in my adult life, and hopefully making it public has been entertaining and informative to others! As I sat down to start writing this post, I thought to myself that we didn’t do too much in 2014, but going back made me realize what a full year it was from the very start and just how much good happened.

2014 was an interesting year. We spent a large chunk of it legally chasing after a shady plumber who took lots and lots of money and did a hack job on our house. We hoped to leave that in 2014, but the legal system had other ideas. You can really get away with anything if you’re slimy enough, we’ve learned. If you’re looking for a plumber in the Boston area, feel free to contact me so you know who NOT to choose.

That situation has been tough, but this year has been about so much more. We saw our families a ton, with two visits to Ireland and multiple guests from Ireland, as well as a nice long visit from New Jersey family and lots of short trips there. We got to help out in our first Sonoma grape harvest, had many boat dates, and genuinely grew closer to many great people in our lives. It was a full, rich year, and we have so many memories to be thankful for.

Below are some of my Best of 2014 moments in food and travel. Please share one of yours in the comments!

 

Aniar –  My belated birthday dinner in Galway was definitely the best meal of the year. Service, ambiance, and local Irish ingredients make it easy to see why this restaurant has a Michelin star. How many ways can I tell you to get yourself to Galway, then go to Aniar?

Aniar Galway

 

Red Fish Grill, Coral Gables, Florida – We kicked off 2014 with a trip to Miami. With the winter we had, it turned out we needed every second of warm sunshine we soaked up while there. We stayed at the Sonesta in Coconut Grove (highly recommended, full disclosure, I work for Sonesta Hotels.)

Red Fish Grill

 

Owenmore Restaurant at Ballynahinch Castle – You know how I feel about the Irish countryside, if you’ve been reading for any amount of time. There is an indescribable beauty and sense of calm; it changes me in the best ways ever. We got to spend a day in the country, followed by a delicious dinner and overnight at Ballynahinch Castle, a place my husband’s family has been visiting for years. They knew so many people it felt like home, and I will always remember relaxing by the fire into the wee hours of St. Patrick’s Day morning.

Ballynahinch Castle

Ballynahinch Castle Owenmore Restaurant

 

Wine Country Weekend Lunch at Davis Family Vineyards – A year is not complete without a visit to Sonoma County. Through blogging about wine and travel, I have met some great people and had amazing opportunities, and this year was no different. We kicked off this wine country trip with a glorious wine lunch at Davis Family Vineyards. Sonoma Wine Country weekend has so many great events (including our starlit night of dancing at Rodney Strong), and I would definitely recommend checking one or two out if you happen to be there during the events.

Davis Family wine

 

Sonoma sunset

 

The Girl and the Fig and all the Sonoma County wine tasting – Okay, pretty much every moment of our Sonoma trip was my favorite. This post summed up some of the food and wine experiences we had in Napa and Sonoma. Our Flipkey wine country cottage is really worth checking out too.

Girl and the Fig, Sonoma

Travel to Long Island Wine Country – From tasting by the ocean in the beautiful Kontokosta Winery tasting room to chilling out at Noah’s in Greenport, having copious quantities of oysters and bubbly at the Blue Canoe, and feeling at home at Bedell Cellarsour getaway to the North Fork was one of my favorite weekends of 2014.  The North Fork is so easy to get to from Boston, and we are definitely planning a 2015 visit.

Kontokosta Winery, North Fork

As we look back at 2014, we are planning our 2015 travel, including the biggest trip of our lives. . . a 12 day safari in Tanzania! I have been to Africa once before (Tunisia during college), but this is going to be very different. Sleeping in a tent amongst lions and elephants and other animals? SO exciting and so very far out of my nerve-laden comfort zone! It will definitely be an adventure!

 

Your turn – what was your favorite food/travel moment of 2014? Do you have any 2015 travel plans or dreams?

Tags: best of, California, cocktails, Connemara, Dining out, Food, Ireland, North Fork, Sonoma, Travel, wine, wine country

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