Going back to Cali pt 1

Our long awaited Joe's Wine Club trip to Sonoma has come & gone & I'm still basking in how wonderful of an experience it was.

The best way to start it all off was our DIRECT FLIGHT to SFO. It's been too long since I've had a direct flight & they are truly the last enjoyable things about air travel. As you can see from above I was getting myself in the right mindset for a week of professional imbibing. When we touched down we went immediately to our hotel, grabbed a quick bite & crashed. The next day I was up bright & early (still on Central time) & ventured out for coffee.

But not before gazing out of my hotel room up at Coit Tower for a bit. I met up with cohorts Richard & Kelly to peruse the Wharf.

These succulent looking bad boys were just calling out "eat me"! so we scooped up some to take up to wine country.

After wandering around & checking out the waterfront we hopped in our rental vans & headed north to our first stop of the trip: Gloria Ferrer.

I absolutely adore bubbly & Gloria does a good job making good quality affordable bubbles. I wish more people would drink bubbly on a regular basis...but I digress. The wonderful staff at Gloria had set up tables & lunch for us right on a lovely terrace overlooking the vineyards. As we sipped their lovely wine the sun warmed us but didn't bake us. Each different bottle expressed a unique fruit flavor & texture. The Blanc de Blancs & Royal Cuvee were my favorite. They were bright, nutty, floral & not too fruit forward.

We said our goodbyes & thank yous & headed toward more bubbles....beer bubbles.

Lagunitas is one of the biggest craft breweries in the U.S but their size hasn't muddled quality. Their uniquely delicious beers are some of the best I've ever tasted. Ron Lindenbusch led us through a lineup of some of the best beers they make at Lagunitas. After waking up our palates with beer we headed on northward to meet up with a hometown boy made good....