Thursday, May 21, 2009
All our compatriots eventually arrived in Santa Rosa last night. Gael and I picked up Leah and Bill and met everyone else at the Hilton. We have a pretty full day (heck, all three days are going to be full!), so we hopped in the (now) two vans (guys in one, gals in the other; experience indicates this is the best way) and headed of for our first winery of today, Woodenhead.
Gael and I had visited Zina at Woodenhead at Christmas-time so we knew our folks would enjoy the wine. Wait! Are you people tasting wine at 10:30a?!? Of course!
Dale and Allie
Beverly and Newsom
Chaz and Gael
Fred and Fran
Bill and Leah
Group discusssions are not uncommon:
Continuing a tradition established a few HOB Tours ago, Fran joined the wine club. Well, they don't actually have one set up yet but when they do, Fran is already a charter member.
Why is there never a picture of just the guys??? well:
Then we were off to Moshin Vineyards, another winery we'd vetted in December. Moshin is a particular favorite now because of the great wines, the lovely tasting room and the great way we were treated by Janet (sister of the winemaker Rick Moshin) and Julia-behind-the-bar.
We weren't the first tasters to arrive that day; a group with a local wine tour company (Platypus Tours)..
.. were there when we arrived but we quickly took over the place. The young lady leading that tour had been the guide on a Platypus tour a few weeks ago when our friends Dave and Gayle Johnson (from Winder GA) were aboard. She remembered them so we took a photo to send their way. Small world.
It's only the second winery of the day and Bill's already apparently feeling the effects:
Yes, there are clowns everywhere..
One of the neat things at Moshin is the hummingbird theme in their logo:
They have a moving sculpture (made of "found objects") of a hummingbird outside the tasting room. Cool!
Yes, Fran joined the Wine Club; can't criticize her decision as Gael joined last December...
Two wineries under our belt (so to speak) so we headed into Windsor for lunch. Windsor has a charming town square with shops all along each side and a park in the center. We figured we could split up and each enjoy the kind of lunch we wanted. And so we did.
Putting aside the desire for a nap, we pressed on to Inman Family Wines in Windsor where we were hosted by the owner, Kathleen Inman. The tasting room is in a suite of low-rise office buildings; she was ready for us and was most gracious. She told us her history and it was fun to hear success from someone following her dream. Kathleen was the first of several owners that we met on HOB 2009.
That's Kathleen Inman standing behind Bill.
Off now to Healdsburg and our visit to Selby Winery. Their tasting room is smack in the middle of Healdsburg.
Turns out that the Future Farmers of America was having a parade right outside the tasting room door. Bill asked for a "to-go" cup (do they DO that at wine tastings? Yes, they apparently do..) and we watched the parade for a while. A couple from Iowa asked if it was OK to drink wine on the street; we assured them that it was (just look at Bill..). After all, every cop in Healdsburg was on parade duty..
Three blocks away was Willi's Seafood:
Yep, owned by the same folks as last night's dinner, Willi's Wine Bar. For this tour, it's all Willi's, all the time -- since tomorrow night we'll be dining at their steak restaurant, Stark's.
Good food and good times at Willi's Seafood:
And we ran into the couple from Iowa again dining there as we were leaving.
What a great day. Just a short drive back to Santa Rosa and all snug in our beds by 10:00p.. And it begins all over again tomorrow!
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