wine book club

Fetzer Vineyards

If you fancy fine wines, are delighted to spend an overnight or more in a cozy bed and breakfast, enjoy walking through acres of flowering and fruiting plants, and find joy in browsing displays of tantalizing foodstuffs or racks of unique gift selections, you will find any or all of the above when you visit the Fetzer Vineyards Tasting Room and Visitors Center at Valley Oaks just east of Hopland. And, lest you fear there will be large crowds and little elbowroom, you’d be only half right. People do flock to Valley Oaks, but with 95 acres to ramble around and an enormous picnic area under a cool, leafy trellis, finding quiet paths to stroll and a spot to settle down for a sandwich, salad and a glass of wine is no trick at all.
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Handley Cellars

Six miles west of the tiny town of Philo in Mendocino County the traveler comes to a sign announcing that he/she has arrived at Handley Cellars, where Milla Handley is winemaker. As the great great granddaughter of Henry Weinhard of Oregon brewery fame, Milla must have had some bubbles in her genes and, thinking in terms of wine, not beer, Milla enrolled in fermentation science courses at the University of California at Davis.
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Rymill Coonawarra - The Answer Lies in the Soil

Careful note should be made of owner Peter Rymill’s middle name ‘Riddoch’. It comes from his great grandfather, John Riddoch, who is best-known as the Father of the Coonawarra region in South Australia.

Riddoch, initially a humble brickmaker, was born in Scotland in 1827 and sailed to Australia in 1850 on an assisted passage. In 1852 he struck gold at Ovens Valley, discovering a nugget that he sold for US$1450. This would have been enough to buy around 10 small houses, but instead he immediately invested the money in a bullock wagon and the construction of a supply store at Ballarat. From these premises he could provide any materials the goldminers wanted, from simple shovels to oil lamps or even woollen clothing. Next, he opened a second store at Geelong and continued to increase his profits by selling essential provisions within walking distance of the miners’ claims. He worked in partnership with his brother, Alexander, and they proved their considerable business acumen by following the gold strikes; as one goldfield became exhausted so they closed their local store and re-opened at the location of the next one.
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WYNDHAM ESTATE - World Renowned Vineyard Planted by Convicts

Wyndham Estate, founded in 1828, can justifiably claim the title of Australia’s oldest surviving winery. Yet many may be surprised to learn that it was cultivated initially by British convicts, who had been exiled to the colony of New South Wales.

To tell the whole story it is necessary to go back to 1801 and the birth of George Wyndham, son of local squire William Wyndham and his wife Laetitia, who owned the prosperous estate of Dinton, near Salisbury, in the English county of Wiltshire. George was born into a wealthy land-owning family, who possessed farmland stretching from the south coast of England across to the Bristol Channel. He received a privileged education, first at Harrow school and then at Cambridge University.
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Viansa Winery & Marketplace

Viansa Winery & Marketplace
25200 Arnold Dr. (HWY 121)
Sonoma, CA 95476
Phone: 707-935-2710

Less than an hour north of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge in Sonoma County you will find Viansa Winery & Italian Market Place perched up on a hill. The name Viansa stands for Vicki and Sam Sebastiani and the winery’s tagline is A Taste of Tuscany in Sonoma Valley.

This wonderful winery overlooking its own vineyards and wetlands (look for the Ducks Unlimited labeled bottles of Viansa Riserva Anatra Bianco and Rosso commemorating the Viansa Wetlands) that Viansa preserved has great character, beautiful grounds, excellent wine, and fantastic food outside at the Viansa Tuscan Grill. A perfect place for a wedding or a business meeting this is also the perfect place for just relaxing outside with you and yours.
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At the Winery: Caymus Vineyards

Caymus Vineyards
Rutherford, Napa Valley CA
Phone 707-967-3010

As you cruise up Route 29 through Rutherford and possibly pass all 500 or so residents you will see many well-known wineries and vineyards. If you are lucky enough to know about Caymus Vineyards then you will know to turn off the main drag and find the winery. Whether you cross the Pope Bridge built in the late 1800’s and take a right as we did or if you take a more direct route, once you get there, you will enjoy.

However, make sure you made your tasting reservations in advance. They recommend up to ten days prior, although we made ours one day in advance and they happen to have a couple spots open. The tasting is free and it will be memorable. It’s not the typical pile up of people at a counter waiting for others to finish.
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Mortons of Chicago

Mortons of Chicago
300 S. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
tel: 410-547-8255
fax: 410-547-8244

In our quest to raise our cholesterol, keep our high calorie intake on pace, and find the perfect beef and wine joint during a trade show in Baltimore, Maryland, fellow friends and finely aged carnivores Jim Diamond and Bill Marshall, along with myself, came across Morton’s, The Steakhouse. This was the same weekend we ate at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.

At first entrance, Morton’s is more down to business, more open, one level, and louder than Ruth’s. Nevertheless, when Jim and I dug into the large prime ribs we ordered, rare to medium rare of course, we realized we were at a place that knew how to cook prime rib. While we were mowing through the ribs, Bill had the New York Strip Sirloin. Communication at our table was stopped as we focused on getting a few good pieces digested… Then we all smiled and some level of conversation resumed! That’s a good sign.
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Ruth Chris Steak House

Ruth Chris Steak House
600 Water Street
Balitmore, MD 21202
410-783-0033

If you like thick, juicy, perfectly seared steaks served in a warm, comfortable atmosphere, accompanied by some of the best red wine in the world, you’ve come to the right place. I thought I was the only one who was able to sear a steak at 1800° Fahrenheit with the use of my Turbo grill – but guess what, Ruth’s Chris broils their corn-fed US Prime Midwestern beef at that same temperature to lock in the natural flavor. As a 6’2”, 290-lb carnivore, I know when I have found a great steak and here I found it.
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