drunk on shoes: benziger family winery

And sooooo.... After a successful hearty brunch at Dotties and a less successful dump (=x) we all hopped in the car for the short hour or so car ride into Sonoma. The road trip was like traveling into another world as the landscape after the Golden Gate Bridge started to unfold. We started to see miles of open space, some roaming cattle, smaller country roads, majestic hawks soaring the sky, and then finally, rows and rows of grape vines and rolling hills. It took my breath away as I thought that this must be a small slice of heaven.

We checked into the house I had rented for a week and quickly settled our things and got ready to head out to our very first wine tour at Benziger Family Winery. The minute we turned into the small uphill road which marked the entrance to the gigantic estate, our minds got blown away. The road was lined with trees which seemed to hide a beautiful secret because it opened up into acres and acres of vines and nature that renders you speechless. We ran a little late due to some crazy construction so we had to scramble to meet up our tour group.

At Benziger, there are two tour options. We opted for the semi private Partners Tour, which I recommend to anyone who has never done a wine tour before. Not only did they drive us around the grounds of the winery, but we also got to explore the caves that house what seemed like never ending lines of barrels. Our tour guide taught us a ton about the barrels and the importance of the different woods and "roasts" of the wood and how it can result in various tastes within the wine. We walked further into the caves and next came the best part. The DRAAAANKS! Hashtag nommanomnomnomma.

Inside this quaint room, the table is set up with wine glasses and various wine bottles. The room is so adorable that you forget that you are deep within a mountain and beyond the glass doors it's about a 10 minute walk to get out and at any moment there could be a small quake and the walls could cave in and you would be trapped. But hey, you gots tons o' wine so you'd probably be the happiest trapped person evz! Our guide took us through a variety of their wine offerings, the best being the Pinot Noir. He took us through the various taste profiles and how to do that swirl and sniff thing and to pay attention to where the flavors hit on the different areas on your tongue. Basically telling me that I've never been truly tasting my wines. He also let us taste the difference between wine after its been bottled and one straight from the barrel. After getting good and toasted, we left the caves and were driven to the public tasting rooms where we had even more wine! Score!! At this point you can choose to join their wine club and/or purchase bottles of wine. If you plan to bring it back home in your checked luggage, I suggest you get the bubble wrap wine bag they offer (because Southwest will make you buy one anyway at the airport). Apparently my 6 layers of sweaters and plastic bags and scarves around my one bottle was not good enough.

After the tour and after acquiring a hefty buzz, we decided to stick around and explore on our own. We tried to invite ourselves to a wedding rehearsal dinner that we stumbled on at a different cave entrance. We failed. We explored their little information area that talks about their organic and closed system for the winery. They even have their own livestock that provides the poo-age for their fertilizers. They apparently have their own water source and to ensure that Benziger controls pretty much every natural aspect that goes into their grapes that they can. I find that very cool. Overall, it was a fantastic way to start our Sonoma visit. Benziger also has a fig balsamic vinaigrette that will rock your socks! I suggest you take a bottle home for the best damn caprese salad EVER!