Wow Wine Picnic

Filed in archive Wine Events on May 25, 2007

It's not your average pic-i-nic basket. (I'm doing a very bad Yogi Bear imitation there if you are under 35!). Sonoma County is loaded with wineries and picnic facilities at wineries to boot and lucky wine journalist, W. Blake Gray, was handed the brutal job of covering all 275 of them:

Even if I ate faster than champion hot-dog eater Takeru Kobayashi, I couldn't get to them all. But here are some of the highlights from my whirlwind tour:

Best winery for one-stop shopping: Chateau St. Jean. Unlike at almost every other winery, you can buy wines by the glass and take them to one of two picnic grounds, a closed-in rose garden in back or an expansive lawn in front. They have a small deli on the premises that sells fine panini as well as cheeses and salami, baguettes, and pasta and bean salads. I had the longest, most interesting conversation I've ever had about apple varieties with the guy behind the counter before buying a Pink Lady. The panforte, an Italian fruit-and-nut cake, is delicious, and a surprisingly good match with the reserve Merlot.

Best view: Paradise Ridge Winery. The winery is 800 feet above sea level, giving a stunning overlook of the farmland surrounding Santa Rosa. This place has the feel of an insider's secret. Unlike more rural parts of Sonma County, you drive up through suburbs that could be anywhere in America, and it's easy to get lost. But it's well worth the effort to find: Tasting is free, and the wines are outstanding. The 2003 Paradise Ridge Sonoma County Syrah made The Chronicle's Top 100 wines last year, but it was the minerally 2002 Paradise Ridge Rockpile Merlot that totally rocked my world. The staff is super-friendly; if the picnic tables aren't set up on the balcony already, they'll lug one out there for you. Buy food a few miles away at the showplace deli at the 6-month-old Skyhawk Village Market, where prices were significantly lower than at other gourmet delis. We loved the asparagus, fennel and Spring Hill Dry Jack salad.

This is a fun read, so worth a full reading of this article if you are the Yogi Bear type!