wine book club

CALIFORNIA: Napa Valley

Caymus Vineyards
Phone: 707.967.3010
8700 Conn Creek Road
Rutherford, CA 94573

Make a reservation for the tasting, it’s free. Excellent Cabernet. The Special Selection Cab from a dry harvested 15-acre parcel is outstanding. The tasting is limited in size so it’s comfortable, relaxing, and you might even learn a thing or two. Purchases of the Special Selection were limited to 3 bottles at our visit – and of course we bought the limit. See detailed review.

PlumpJack Winery
Phone: 707.945.1220
620 Oakville Cross Rd.
Oakville, CA 94562

Well what can I say – the first winery to offer a metal screw off top in their top end $145 per bottle cab. Should last forever… This winery is neat, comfortable, and fun. Interesting Sangiovese too. Enjoy a sandwich outside while drinking wine (your bring the sandwich).
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CALIFORNIA: Santa Cruz Mountains

Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vineyards
5937 Alpine Road
Portola Valley, CA 94028
Phone: (650) 851-6777

A frequent stomping ground of ours. Whether you found Fogarty’s name in the Time 2002 Almanac under the Inventor’s Hall of Fame, worked with him in the medical field, or know him personally, you need to stop at the winery if you are in the Santa Cruz Mountain Region, more specifically if you are traveling the Skyline Blvd area near Silicon Valley.

Jon Hunt manages Fogarty’s wine tasting room. Although he can’t make a good bet on a football game, he sure is fun to talk with at the winery. The winery has wonderful views of the vineyards and is a great place to have a great outdoor event like a business meeting or wedding. They have all that is necessary.
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CALIFORNIA: Sonoma County

Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery
8761 Dry Creek Road
Healdsburg, CA 95448
Phone: (707) 433-6700
Fax: (707) 431-1742

Beautiful grounds, flower gardens, lots of landscape. Nice place to bring lunch and have a glass of wine. Excellent Chardonnay. We visited here with our friends Tom and Jen Kaminski – the girls bought matching hats in the store, walked the grounds, smelled the flowers, and came back to the wine tasting area to find us… As usual, we left a little tipsy – it’s just too much fun. Life is good!

Annapolis Winery
26055 Soda Springs Rd.,
Annapolis, CA. 95412
Phone: 707-886-5460

This was the first winery I every visited and what a great place. It’s up in the north, not far from the ocean if you straightened out the curvy, 25mph road you need to take from the Sea Ranch area of California’s north coast. Annapolis is comfortable, casual, and fun. The people working the winery and pouring the wine are owners or family of the owners and that makes it fun. You’re always welcome to ask questions, see what’s currently going on, and take a bottle, or two, or three outside to drink under the apple trees.
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