Vacation Friday

On Friday, Erik and I took a road trip north. First, we went back to IKEA to look at the desk and the couch again. We realized that we had to figure out a)how to dispose of our old couch and b)how we were going to get this new desk and couch to SF. Ugh! The next time we buy furniture we are only going to ask two questions a)when will it be delivered and b)when will you be picking up the old furniture. haha!

Afterwards, we headed north to Healdsburg. I really wanted to go to the tasting room of our new favorite winery, Edmeades! On our way up, we first stopped in Santa Rosa for lunch. Then, went up to taste some wine!

 Edmeades is in the same location as Murphy-Goode, which we have been to in the past.

 We tasted both Edmeades and Murphy-Goode wine in the same tasting room. We started with the Murphy-Goode wines and when we got to their Zinfandel, we moved over to Edmeades Zinfandel, then finished the rest of the wines on the list.

 We found Edmeades Zinfandel when we went to the Taste of Mendocino earlier this year. We never had an affinity for Zinfandels or knew much about them. But, this wine changed everything. It is so delicious!

 We learned a lot about the winery and the vineyards. Edmeades is produced in Mendocino at single vineyards. So, for example, 2007 Zinfandel from Perli Vineyards is from one group of vines in this area. Some wines you might drink have different grapes from many different vineyards. Edmeades is unique because the grapes come from single vineyards. This also only allows the winery to produce a small amount of wine each year. Some of our favorite wines are only made for 200-400 cases per year. When you think of a huge winery like Mondavi, who makes thousands of cases per year, Edmeades is pretty unique.

 Currently the only wine in wide distribution is the 2009 Zinfandel. This wine is very good but 2007 is really THE best year we have tasted so far. You can really only buy other years besides 2009, at the winery or through their website. Therefore, I made a bold move & joined the wine club. We will get 3 bottles, four times a year. I am so excited!!

We left the winery with two bottles of 2007 Perli Vineyards and 2007 Shamrock Vineyard. We purchased the bottles for 50% off! Now that we are members, when we return, we can taste for free and get a discount on any wines purchased that day.

After the wine, we headed back to Bear Republic (we went there in July 2010 too!) Erik tried a few different beers that they brew themselves. Then, we headed home. Erik and I talked about how although we live pretty close to wine country, it's not truly a day trip. Someone always has to drive up (1 - 1.5 hrs) and home, which means someone can't have a great time drinking.

Although it's not THAT far away, it's far enough away to make a night of it. While it would make the trip much more expensive, it might be worth it to get a hotel room for the night so that everyone can enjoy their time. Especially in Healdsburg, where you can walk to so many great wineries and restaurants!

Great end to the week!