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Sonoma’s hidden gem was a little bit hard to find, but as we wound our way through the Dry Creek Valley, we had not a care in the world. Lambert Bridge was a recommendation from Erica, and it was an awesome one. I love getting winery recommendations from wine-loving friends; it’s the best way to plan your trip!

For some of my wine country experiences, please do visit my Travel Blog Posts page!

We visited Lambert Bridge on Labor Day, and it was the perfect start to a day of wine tasting. We left our little wine country home and headed to Dry Creek Valley, one of my favorite wine regions I have visited.

Dry Creek Valley

California was in a drought when we visited, so everything was dry. Aside from the water emergency, the landscape looked cool in its sun-baked state, with green grape vines taking up huge swaths of landscape. The earth and the vines and the harvest process, crush, all of that, filled the air and smelled so good.

Dry Creek Valley

Northern Sonoma Countywine country foliage

It took us a while to find Lambert Bridge as our GPS lost signal and we went the wrong way. We opened an old fashioned map and luckily didn’t give up. The journey was well worth it.

Lambert Bridge has a gorgeous winery tasting room, with lots of dark wood and stone. The tasting room reflects their wines, big, high quality, with a lot of attention to detail.

Lambert Bridge Winery

The tasting room staff was great; they were very informative about the wines, letting us know how winemaker Jennifer Higgins is incredibly hands on, spending lots of time with the grapes and on the land and doing a ton of the winemaking prep process by hand. Lambert Bridge makes small lots of wine that involves lots of hand-picking and sorting grapes berry-by-berry. There’s clearly a lot of love in the wines, and while that is also reflected in the cost, a few bottles for a special occasion are just the souvenir.

wine tasting at Lambert Bridge

We tasted a bit of this and that from each of the tasting options, starting off with the most refreshing 2013 Bevill Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, THE perfect wine for the hot dry Sonoma County day. With citrus and clover notes, this wine tasted like Northern California in a glass. Crisp acidity made it really enjoyable.

Zinfandel and Cab Franc were center stage in the tasting for us. Despite the heat, these reds were perfection.

2011 Sonoma County Cabernet Franc was a treat, with that characteristic Cab Franc spice, funk, and berry notes. Cab Franc is like a an autumn walk in the forest, smelling crunchy leaves and smoke from fireplaces, mixed with super ripe berries. It’s such an amazing grape, and I love tasting Cab Franc from coast to coast.

2011 Forchini Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel was another favorite, big and bursting with jammy raspberry and blueberry notes, along with vanilla and spice, balanced, with a long and lovely finish. I love Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, and this one is definitely top of the list.

Lambert Bridge Winery  Lambert Bridge has a lovely property, ideal for a wander or  a seat outside with a taste of wine. It is really a top-of-the-list winery, and if you will be in Northern Sonoma County, I recommend a visit.

Lambert Bridge

Will you be celebrating Wine Wednesday today?

Tags: Dry Creek Valley, Healdsburg, Sonoma, Sonoma County, Travel, wine, wine blog, wine lover, wine tasting, wine travel, winery

Happy Wine Wednesday! I’m in between not wanting to rush the summer but wanting to have the weekend back again, pretty much always. Add to that the trip to Sonoma that we booked back in May, and well, I have had a hard time concentrating whenever I am inside.

Luckily, work has been busy and fun, and I  have a lot of blog stuff happening, including a few tasty wine samples I get to share with friends and wine reviews to share with all of you.

Chateau Timberlay Bordeaux Blanc 2012

This Chateau Timberlay White Bordeaux is this week’s Wine of the Week because it is, like many of the wines I have featured, a perfect summer wine. I don’t drink Bordeaux wines enough, and I am always so glad when I receive an introduction such as this one.

Chateau Timberlay is one of the oldest chateau in Bordeaux produces estate grown Bordeaux wines with an ecological and terroir driven philosophy. This right bank property in Saint-Andre-du Cuzbac sits right at the 45th parallel, exactly equidistant between the equator and the North Pole in ideal vine growing terroir. (source)

I loved the yellow/green color of this wine; it reminded me of spring flowers. The wine is made of 60% Sauvignon Blanc and 40% Semillion grapes, giving it both floral notes as well as some citrus notes and a gentle acidity. We actually paired this with a dandelion green salad with a honey balsamic dressing, and the acidity and lemony flavors helped to balance out the bitterness of the greens. Delicious!

This wine was sent to me as a sample; all opinions are my own.

You may have also noticed a new widget on my left sidebar. I am excited to be helping The Wine Road of Northern Sonoma to help promote California Wine Month, which is the month of September. I’m excited to share events and information on California Wine Month and perhaps even to get you all to try new California wines.

Enjoy the day!

Tags: Bordeaux, Summer wine, white wine, wine, wine blog, wine lover, wine of the week, wine tasting, Wine Wednesday

Do you have a house wine? I always love having an old standby favorite on hand in a quantity that ensures we can serve it over and over again at a variety of occasions. We tend to change up our house wine based on what great wines at great values we find, but we usually have one.

This summer, our house white wine is Cline Cellars Viognier. We love Cline wines, and we were able to find this Viognier at Bin Ends for $8 a bottle. It’s definitely always worth looking at stores like this for wine bargains!

Cline Viognier

Cline Viognier has all that I love about Viognier, those ripe peach notes, hints of pineapple, vanilla, and a round and decadent mouthfeel. It goes well with all sorts of food, and since it has good body, it would make a great winter white as well.

In all of my trips to Sonoma, I have never visited Cline, but I am hoping to get there this month. The countdown to wine country is on!

If you had to choose a house white wine for your home, what would you choose?

Tags: Cline Viognier, house wine, Viognier, wine, wine lover, wine of the week, wine tasting, Wine Wednesday

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