Sonoma. We crossed pretty Golden Gate on a warm afternoon and drove with great winery suggestions from friends and colleagues including Gundlach Bundschu and Gloria Ferrer.

The landscape and hues were serene and so easy to soak in.

We loved the quaint farms and create signage.

We got somewhat carried away with downtown Sonoma. Not only did we enjoy wandering all the stores, boutiques, candy stores. The Sonoma Cheese Factory and Tiddle E. Winks were our favorite. We wish the tri-tip sandwich at Sonoma Cheese Factory was not sold out, because it would have been a great addition to our picnic in the late afternoon.

 We finally made it to our first winery Gundlach Bundschu and it was by far our favorite for the gorgeous scenery, outdoor space and tasting room. The wines were bottles we plan on drinking.

We were wondering about the correct pronunciation through a pictogram of a gun, a lock a hamburger bun and a shoe. GUN LOCK BUN SHOE.  

We tasted 7 wines and the Vintage Reserve and our favorite wines were the Zinfandel, and blueberry notes from the Spanish style Tempranillo and Pinot Noir.

We stopped by B.R. Cohn Winery and Olive Oil Company, enjoyed the vintage car scuptures from  local artist, Patrick Amiot and were impressed by the balsamic vinegars and olive oils, even more than the wine.

The 15 and 25 year aged balsamic vinegar, as well as the Fig Balsamic Vinegar were unbelievable.

B.R. Cohn was the manager of the Doobie Brothers and all the band and gold record awards and memorabilia were along the walls of the tasting room.

Sonoma was quaint and relaxed and we had a lovely day. Next time, we plan on visiting Ravenswood, Sebastiani, Buena Vista and Roche winery.