Category: Wine Country

Robert Mondavi Winery

 

Robert Mondavi final_sI had the pleasure of working in the cellar at Robert Mondavi’s Winery back in 1990. At the time, I had just moved to California and a friend of mine Archi, introduced me to Dave the Cellarmaster at Mondavi. After a short conversation, I was hired on the spot. Maybe he liked the fact that I had ambitions to be an artist, I don’t know, but I got the job. I found working the harvest so thrilling, I almost didn’t finish school. But I knew returning to college was the right thing to do and if I still wanted to work in the wine industry, it would be there when I got through. Today I’m glad I finished school because now I get to enjoy both painting wineries and drinking their wine!

Sketches from Ready, Set, Sketch: Dry Creek Valley!

Dry Creek General Store 2013

I had a great time last weekend with the Ready, Set, Sketch! group. There were 9 participants at different skill levels and all eager to sketch. We started off at the Dry Creek General Store, sketching from across the road. It was a foggy morning but it cleared about 11am.Dry Creek Vineyards_s

At noon, we purchased some sandwiches from the Dry Creek Store and headed down the road to Dry Creek Vineyards which is one of the best picnic spots in the area, complete with shade trees, umbrellas, and picnic tables. Following a second sketch of the winery, Phil and I finished the day by tasting some of Dry Creek Vineyard’s wine. I especially liked their Chenin Blanc and Maritage.

Jimtown Store

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On any given day, cyclists, tourists, and locals alike can be found at Alexander Valley’s Jimtown store enjoying hearty seasonal soups, salads, and specialty sandwiches. Founded by Jim Patrick in 1865 as a general store and post office, the store was refurbished in 1991 by current owner Carrie Brown and her late husband John Werner. It’s hard to miss Jimtown’s mascot, a 1955 red Ford pickup parked out front, which was originally used as a county fire truck.

 

Vintage Passenger Train in Asti

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In 1881, Andrea Sbarbono developed an agricultural colony just south of Cloverdale that would later become known as Italian Swiss Colony. In the 1960s, the Colony produced TV commercials that strangely, featured a little old man as a winemaker costumed in an Alpine hat and lederhosen. He closed the commercial with the classic phrase, “That little old winemaker, me!”

Today the wine facility is home to Cellar No. 8 winery. Near the tasting room, two vintage train cars sit in the middle of a vineyard, a carryover from glory days of the 1960s when the Italian Swiss Colony tasting room received more than 10,000 visitors per year.

 

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

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Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, located in Asti just south of Cloverdale, stands in a serene landscape of vineyards and mountains. The church was built in 1960 by the agricultural co-op known as the Italian Swiss Colony that produced old world wines. In keeping with the spirit of the colony, wine barrel staves were used to construct the roof and interior wood workings of the church. Its exterior was designed to echo the shape of a wine barrel.

Bottling a Dream

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My Sunday Column “Sense of Place” usually runs at the bottom of the Towns section every other Sunday, but today my work was printed in the “Vignette” section at the top of the page. Today’s story is about Robert Rue Vineyards located in the town of Fulton. Bob and Carlene Rue, the winery owners, are some of the nicest people I’ve meet and make some great wines too.

Here is the text (I know it’s a bit hard to read the newspaper from my scan):

South of Fulton and down an old country road, a row of plum trees call attention to Robert Rue Winery. Bob and Carlene Rue purchased this 10-acre, 100 year old vineyard in 1973, and over the years have sold their grapes to many well known local wineries. The vineyard is a field-blend of predominantly Zinfandel, interplanted with Petite Sirah, Carignane, and Alicante Bouschet grapes.

In 2001, Bob and Carlene’s long held dream of producing their own wine became a reality. With the help of winemaker Dan Barwick, and before him, winemaker Carol Shelton, the wine blended from Rue vines has garnered many awards. The first vintage was produced at a custom crush facility and the finished wine stored in their garage. In 2010 the Rue family built a new facility on their property to accommodate an expanding production of almost 1,000 cases per year.

The Paris Tasting Block of Chardonnay on the Bacigalupi Ranch

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Back in 1964 when the Bacigalupi family planted six acres of Chardonnay on their property, many people thought it was a mistake since the conventional wisdom of the time was to plant prunes, a much more lucrative fruit. But the Bacigalupis gained widespread recognition as growers in 1976 when Château Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay (made with 40% Bacigalupi fruit) won the famed Judgment of Paris tasting over many highly acclaimed French wines. This single event helped to change the world’s perception of California wines.

This watercolor sketch shows the Paris Tasting Block of Chardonnay on the Bacigalupi ranch in Healdsburg as it exists today. The family plans to keep the vineyard as long as it’s producing grapes.
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Flying Goat Coffee

Flying_Goat _Coffee_s3One of my favorite places for coffee is the Flying Goat in Healdsburg. They have great, freshly roasted coffee, engaging art on the walls, and an overall nice coffee house feel. I’ve been coming here for years to sketch out ideas, think, write, and meet up with friends. Surprisingly though, this is the first time I’ve sketched the place from the inside.