My 30th Birthday Trip - Recap

As you know, I turned the big three oh a few weeks ago and I let you know that Michael was taking me on a mystery birthday trip. I knew very little before we left - basically just the temperature range and that's about it.

At the airport, Michael did not want to tell me where we were going until we went through security, so we used the online boarding passes on our phones to get through security. Once through, Michael gave me our wine journal and told me to open it to find out where we were going. So I opened it up and saw a ticket to SFO - San Francisco. I was excited - I haven't spent much time there but I know M loves it. Then he said "No, we're going back to Sonoma." I squealed with excitement - I never thought we'd get back there so soon! On to the Russian River Valley!

Our itinerary

Michael had reserved an adorable little cottage for us on a small, local vineyard in Healdsburg, CA. It was the perfect space for us, as we were hardly there during our trip. We had spent one day in Healdsburg when we were in wine country for our honeymoon so we were familiar with where we were.

Our view from our little cottage

I spray tanned pre-trip. M didn't. Can you tell? :-)

Saturday morning, we grabbed breakfast at a locals' favorite coffee shop, the Downtown Bakery and Creamery. On our honeymoon, we never went out for breakfast because we stayed at a B&B, so it was fun to try it. We ended up loving it and going there every day :-) On Saturday morning, we ended up sitting at a communal table and chatting with some locals. One of the guys, named Bill, became our next best friend for the weekend. He has a house in Italy that he offered to rent us anytime "at a good discount." He is close personal friends with our favorite wine maker of all time, and offered to set up an introduction with her the next time we are in Sonoma. He reaffirmed the plans we had made (dinners, winery tours) and told us about a few hidden gems as well. We plan to keep in touch with Bill in the future!

Saturday morning, we did a tasting with Lioco, a newer wine produced in the Russian River Valley. They do not have a winery yet so we did our tasting at a warehouse where they and other smaller wine makers make their wine. We met Jim, their director of sales, at the Pinot in the River festival we went to while on our honeymoon so Michael pulled some strings and got him to agree to host a tasting for us. Well, the day of our tasting, there was a "pick up event" (when people on wine lists can come and get their case vs paying for shipping) so there were lots of places hosting tastings in the warehouse. It was sort of chaotic but we were in our own little world, enjoying the wine with Jim. Just as we were starting, one of the founders/owners/winemakers stopped by and did the whole tasting with us. It was SO much fun and we learned a ton from Matt. We ended up buying a whole case from them :-)

Then we headed to Beonvia, a place we had not yet been. We had a great tasting (though the other two girls in it were sort of annoying) and then sat on the patio for a bit and enjoyed the scenery. Here are some picture of us and the scenery at Benovia.

Then we headed to a final tasting at Siduri. They also have a warehouse vs. winery and they produce a LOT of wines. There were at least 20 people in our tasting and they offered us 15+ wines. I had had my share for the day so I opted not to do the tasting but Michael enjoyed it and we called it a day.

That night, we had dinner at a local restaurant in Healdsburg called Zin and then enjoyed some gelato in the town's adorable square.

Sunday was my actual birthday and a wonderful day. We started with coffee from Downtown Bakery (and a nice conversation with Bill) before having brunch at Bistro Ralph. I had the best eggs benedict of my life and Michael had a crazy good (and spicy) bloody mary.

Then it was off to more wineries and vineyards. We went back to two of our favorite places - Merry Edwards and Lynmar - and then tried some new places. Bill had recommended we go to Francis Ford Coppola's winery. It was hardly a winery - there was movie paraphernalia everywhere, three tasting bars, two restaurants, a full-size pool (free and open to the public), three bocce ball courts, and an awesome pool-side cabana. We ate some food but aren't really big fans of their wine so we skipped it. Still, it was great to see the place because it was spectacular.

We ended our day at Ferrari-Carano. My mom's cousin, another winery enthusiast in our family, is on their mailing list and recommended we check it out. The grounds were beautiful! But after a disappointing tasting with a sort of rude staff member, I was ready to write it off. But Michael asked a question and we were introduced to a new staff member name Nicole, who realized that we knew our stuff and wanted the "good stuff." We were led downstairs to the private tasting area, where we saw the owners private wine selection (including a bottle worth $15,000!). We tried several of their reserve wines, which we really enjoyed. It was a great way to end our winery experience on this trip!

For my birthday dinner, we went to Farmhouse, where were stayed for our honeymoon. Their Michelin-star rated restaurant is open Thurs-Sun and as remembered, it was amazing. They still had us in their system and knew I didn't do seafood. Michael had aspargus soup, lamb chops, and carrot cake. I had potato ravioli, ribeye, and a chocolate souflee. We tried a French Pinot, which was different but delicious. Our meals were seasonal, local, and delicious!

Monday was spent driving back to San Francisco and traveling back to MN. It was a quick trip but a wonderful way to celebrate turning 30. I can't wait to go back again someday!!!