Make sure your wine tasting outfit for SONOMA says Americana...
Americana, what? I wasn't aware I needed an outfit that channeled "Americana" for wine tasting in Sonoma until Mary casually commented that the trendy sweater I was packing, "didn't say Americana to her." Americana? Why yes, according to Mary, one should look the part for wine tasting as wine growers are essentially high end farmers working in gorgeous rolling hills and you've got to show some respect for the tradition and the hard work that goes into that Pinot you are sampling. Can the people who roll up on their Harleys (which seems very, very crazy while wine tasting), please take special note-- leather chaps do not say Americana. At least not the way we define it...
Upon our arrival to San Francisco with friends Sara and Carrie, both new mothers that had shed the babies and husbands for a Ladies Weekend to visit our friend Emma, we were brought to the Hayes Valley neighborhood for lunch and shopping. Although we hate most chains, La Boulange
Sara, Carrie, Emma, Lucy and Mary
is worth checking out. A better version of Le Pain Quotidien, with fresh delicious sandwiches, action packed salads and pastries, we loved our lunch here -- which we topped off with Nutella smeared on bread. There are a lot of cute boutiques lining the streets of Hayes Valley- we particularly like Lavish with its fun assortment of jewelry, stationary, home goods and clothes. After browsing for a bit we got a major energy jolt (and heart palpations) from coffees at Blue Bottle, which our native San Fran friends rave about.
The caffeine high came at the right time as Emma had planned a rigorous but beautiful hike for us in Marin. Tamalpais -- don't ask us how to correctly pronounce it-- is a beautiful trail where the first half you are clinging to the cliffs over the ocean with stunning views of San Francisco and beyond, and the second half you are dwarved by giant redwoods in a lush, deep forest. We emerged from the forest with an exercise glow and like we absolutely deserved a reward in the vain of cheese plates and wine at Cavallo Point. Wrapped in high end horse blankets on the porch, we enjoyed out post hike wine while watching the sun set beyond the Golden Gate Bridge. Pretty surreal.
The next day Emma had planned a delightful mini-tour of Sonoma and Glen Ellen which are less than an hour's drive from the city. Once in Sonoma, we picked up a picnic of all local foods and headed to Benziger, a bio-dynamic winery with the most gorgeous gardens and picturesque farmhouses which house the tasting room and offices.
Ken Jacobson, one of the big stars on the tasting room floor is incredibly knowledgeable without being intimidating. After tasting the best that Benziger had to offer (our favorites are the De Coelo Pinot Noir and the Estate Zinfandel), we headed over to Imagery which is owned by Benziger's brother. The Imagery tasting room is light and cheerful and decked with art-- each label is designed by a different artist and some of them are really gallery worthy. We are going to get our Mom, who is an artist, to design a label for some free wine!! Their white burgandy is truly an outstanding wine. After a day of drinking (albeit in a civilized Americana fashion) we were craving pizza and indulged in thin crust gourmet pizzas from Pizzeria Delfina, back in the city. It sounds gross but the broccoli rabe pizza was delicious! And good for you. Sort of.
The next day we powered through an intense (and hilly!!) walking tour of the city with lunch and a cookies n' cream milkshake from Polkers, a trendy version of the greasy spoon. Some noteworthy shops we stumbled across during our walk are Cris Consignment with too many high end designer cast offs in great shape, and Sarah Shaw, a small extremely well edited boutique.
And then we ran out of time. Having just scratched the surface, we can't wait to zip back up to San Francisco and the Americana that lies just beyond.
La Boulange
500 Hayes St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-863-3376
www.laboulangebakery.com
Lavish
540 Hayes St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-565-0540
www.shoplavish.com
Blue Bottle
315 Linden St. (Hayes Valley)
San Francisco, CA 94102
www.bluebottlecoffee.net
Tamalpais
www.mttam.com
Cavallo Point Lodge
601 Murray Circle
Fort Baker, Sausalito, CA 94965
415-339-4700
www.cavallopoint.com
Benziger
1883 London Ranch Road
Glen Ellen, CA 95442
707-935-3000
www.benziger.com
Imagery
14335 Sonoma Highway
Glen Ellen, CA 95442
877-550-4278
www.imagerywinery.com
Pizzeria Delfina
2406 California St.
San Francisco, CA
415-440-1189
www.pizzeriadelfina.com
Polkers
2226 Polk St.
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-885-1000
Cris Consignment
2056 Polk St.
San Francisco, CA
415-474-1191
Sarah Shaw
3095 Sacramento St.
San Francisco, CA
415-929-2990
www.sarahshaw.com