We visited this winery last weekend in Santa Cruz, CA. It is a tiny working winery in an industrial park building. Nothing romantic but Bill Miiler, the vintner, is enthusiastic and the barrels are there for an impromptu barrel tasting.

This evening we are drinking his 07 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot. The nose is outstanding and complex. While the finish is softer than we usually prefer it lingers instead of dying out fast like many Pinots. We will buy his Pinot again and want to return soon.

He doesn’t have a Web site so you will have to visit his winery. It is near seven others in Santa Cruz so plenty to do there!

Chuck Meeker’s tasting room is in little Geyserville in California’s Alexander Valley. Geyserville is one of our favorite wine country hangouts but avoid the place at night if you want action. In the evening it is a place for quiet conversations with the local winery folks at the restaurants and that is about it.

However, during the day the little agriculture town is booming with several quality restaurants, four tasting rooms, and now art galleries. One of those tasting rooms is in an old bank building and that be Meeker.

Meeker doesn’t make soft wines with taste that disappears when you swallow. His Syrah is a fine example. It doesn’t burn going down but it is robust, fruity, lots of nose, and a delight to drink if you really want to taste wine. We found it much more interesting than most of the Syrah we drink.

Now back to the tasting room. They retained the bank’s caged off interior and vault. Of course they still have the vault. They would have to blow up Geyserville to remove it. Anyway, Meeker’s “hand painted” bottles are a treat in vintner art and decorate the tiny tasting area. The tasting room is also one of the few “party” T/R’s in California.

The tasting room staff is a joyous bunch and it gets infectious. By afternoon the place is packed with tasters and no one is in a hurry to leave. During region events it is packed all day and tasters are having FUN! If Chuck Meeker is pouring then the decibels are ramped up a bit.

While all the other tasting rooms in the beautiful Alexander Valley are wonderful to visit, go to Meekers for a more social experience, and you’ll leave with good wine at a good price.

- jim

Heller Estate is known for their Carmel Valley, Monterey County, CA organic wines. They have a nice tasting room in the Village of Carmel Valley about 11 miles up the valley from the Pacific and the famous town of Carmel.

We were testing our iPhone app and doing a little videography in the area not long ago and noticed temporary signs on Carmel Valley Road to Heller’s mountain winery, not the tasting room in the village. We decided to follow the signs and see what’s up.

They were having a wine club event and barrel tasting and Katya and I crashed it. Fortunately we were welcomed and joined the tastings. Also fortunately we were spending the night at a nearby cottage. There was a lot of wine to try and lots of lively conversation and interesting people to share it with.

The winery is located at the end of a long twisting drive off a long twisting road that branches from another long twisting road – Carmel Valley Road. It is off Cachaqua if you must know and is rarely open to the public. We got lucky. It is soooo beautiful up there!

We tasted who knows how many wines from bottles and barrels. Their rich, bold, and complex 2004 Cab really stood out and we would buy again. We tasted it at home over 2 days and it tastes great, but a bit different, each day. I was tasting chocolate which for me is a special treat in Cab.

Heller’s vineyards are near last summer’s huge wildfire in the Ventana Wilderness. During barrel sampling we tasted smoke and we are really excited about their 2008 vintage. A little smoke in the back-taste is a treasure!

- jim

Bent Creek Winery has a small tasting room and nice picnic areas at the end of a long driveway off a Livermore Valley, CA back road. The trouble with visiting Bent Creek is that it is wildly popular. The wines are good but it is also the romantic setting in a small canyon with an intimate and friendly tasting room that draws us, and so many others, to Bent Creek.

Katya and I recently visited a few Livermore Valley wineries with some popular wine Twitters. The tasting bar was crowded but the staff put our small group at a table on the back deck with a view of the little canyon and vineyards. I could have kicked back there all day. We were served a nice variety of their wines but for us one really stood out – their Cab / Syrah Red on Red blend.

I’m not sure where the subtle coffee comes from but we love it! Others in our group didn’t seem to enjoy it as much as we did. We tasted Red on Red again at home over the next few days and it remains interesting each day. It is definitely on our to buy list the next time we are in the Livermore Valley. We’ll enjoy a picnic lunch there on our next trip.

- jim

Winery Quest is the best winery map yet and we were getting close to releasing a few of our apps to beta testers when Apple announced that the new, much improved, and free iPhone 3.0 operating system is to be released June 17.

The software development kit for the new OS has some very nice enhancements for using Google Maps so we decided to re-write the code and make an app that has a brighter future.  Hopefully we’ll have it in testing in a couple of weeks.

The big issue is getting it approved for the App Store.  There are lots of horror stories about Apple denying good apps but approving ones like Farts.  Winery Quest should be fine but we won’t have a release date until it is in the store and ready to download – for a price.

Features in version 1.0?  Google Maps with our markers and some profile data for 20 California wine regions and about 650 wineries.  You will see your location on the map so you can navigate unfamiliar regions.

The California winery pak, all regions, will probably cost $4.95.  If this is successful we’ll offer Oregon and Washington paks next year.  We have 4 versions planned so the app will get more exciting with time.

The app market for Blackberries and other phones is too small to make the investment now.  Each has its own operating system and code specs so development requires learning yet more stuff.  We aren’t going to rush into that.  We will make a mobile version of WineQuesters.com for these phones when their app market is big enough to be worth the cost of creating apps.

- jim

15 wine regions, 1,500 miles, 7 days. WOW did I see some beauty!

This shot of lupines along the Carmel Valley Road is common right now!

I started shooting spring scene photography April 11-12 in the Sierra Foothills wine regions of Calaveras, Amador, and El Dorado Counties.  I’m shooting for our Discover California Wine Regions video library.

High winds early the following week kept me off the wine trails but on Thursday April 16 I headed down Highway 101 and in two days shot spring scenes in Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, and Monterey County in both the Santa Lucia Highlands and the Carmel Valley.

The weekend of April 18-20 we stayed at the Meritage Resort and the Napa Marriott in the lower Napa Valley.  Katya and I shot the Napa, Sonoma, Dry Creek, and Alexander Valleys and the Carneros region near SF Bay.

This shot of a huge field of wildflowers is from just south of Ledson winery in the Sonoma Valley.

Since we have traveled and photographed these regions extensively it doesn’t take long for us to photograph the highlights of each region – IF we avoid tasting rooms.  So I limited my tasting room allowance to two a day.  Not easy to pass about 500 tasting rooms and only hit 10.

Most regions are drying out as I write this but Carmel Valley Road is still a good bet and Sonoma Valley may still have great fields of flowers if you are quick.  The poppies in this Dry Creek vineyard may still be waiting for you if the grower hasn’t turned them under yet.   Every other row of two vineyards along Dry Creek Road are stuffed with poppies. Poppies are available into October.

So wine tasting road trips isn’t just about wine, people, and tasting room ambiance.  Photography is a fantastic pastime in wine regions and spring is an ideal time to click your way along the wine trails.

I would really like to photograph the beautiful women of California wine regions but that project will have to wait.  That will be a more interesting blog post

- jim

We intended to ride out last weekend at home working, as usual.  However, on Wednesday I noticed that the Sonoma County tourism guy posted a real bargain on Twitter.com.  Rooms at 50% off at the stunningly beautiful Victorian-era Madrona Manor in Dry Creek Valley.  Rooms there are normally $350 a night on average and not the investment we need right now.  However, for $350 for the weekend …

Katya took Friday off and we made a lazy trip north up Highway 101 from San Jose, through San Francisco, and on to Healdsburg.  We dropped by the new Winery Collective tasting room near Fisherman’s Wharf for a visit and a little tasting.  This is a winery tasting room, actually owned by wineries, but is like a tasting bar in that you can taste from dozens of wineries from all over California.  Great ambiance in an old historic building with huge timbers, a nautical theme hotel, and one of my favorite restaurants – Blue Mermaid.

Later that afternoon we arrived at the Madrona Manor and checked into our Victorian style room with a wood fireplace – which we used often.  We had a little view of the surrounding gardens which are just starting to bloom.  LOTS of oranges on the orange trees and Katya picked a few with permission.  The landscaping there is famous in the area.  Spring and summer would be better but still beautiful.

It was strange that they had rooms available as this was the Russian River Wine Road Barrel Tasting weekend #2, one of the biggest local events of the year.  We avoided the event and tasting rooms so we could relax and enjoy the room and gardens for the weekend.  For us to avoid tasting rooms is a real adjustment.

We dined at our favorites, Santi in Geyserville on Friday evening and Ralph’s on the Healdsburg Square Saturday.  While we avoided tasting rooms we did meet up with wine bloggers in Healdsburg on Saturday afternoon and helped deplete their large collection of wines.  Rowdy bunch!

On Sunday Katya wanted oysters for lunch so we we packed up and drove along the Russian River to the coast and then south on Highway 1 to Tomales Bay.  Oysters are everywhere along the bay, in cafes, restaurants, stores, and many oyster plants. While I’m not into oysters at all I love to drive through the dark redwood forest along the Russian River and the expansive views and rocky Sonoma and Marin coast.

We love to stop at the little cafes for apple pie, rock cod tacos, hearty clam chowder, and of course oysters.  We bought whole milk from a dairy store in a real glass bottle and a variety of local cheeses are available.  Munching your way down or up the coast is a great way to get to or from wine country!

- jim

We recently finished-off a bottle of Jessie’s Grove Winery Old Vine 05 Lodi Zinfandel.  We were reminded of two things:

1) Lodi Zins are often terrific and this one is no exception. We loved the strong rich flavors and nose.  All to often we drink wine that has a great nose but not much to taste.  This Zin doesn’t disappoint if you are looking for robust but still soft on the finish.

2) Jessie’s Grove Winery is a ranch with a wine tasting room.  There are a few farm animals around, a huge barn, and a desert tortoise that is sometimes lively.

Besides the wine and tortoise the real attraction here is the preserved ancient oak savanna from pre-European times.  Walk into the oaks for a little glimpse of the past at a little museum and wonderful picnic grounds.  Buy their wine and hangout for a while.

- jim

Jeff Stai of Twisted Oak Tweetered me Friday night that it was snowing in the Murphys area. Jeff knew that I want Sierra Foothills wine regions photos and videos with snow at the wineries and in the vineyards for our Wine Questers Discover Wine Regions series.

Saturday AM we packed the cameras and drove a bit more than two hours to the Gold Rush era town of Murphys in the Sierra Foothills. Sure enough there was snow and we got our shots in town and at Ironstone and Twisted Oak wineries. By afternoon most of the snow was gone.

A storm was forecast for Sunday and we decided to spend the night and see if we could shoot a snowstorm. So we hit a few tasting rooms and restaurants.

We didn’t just do dinner, we wandered the main street of Murphys trying a little at each fine dining restaurant. I have many favs here but Mineral is at the top. This high-end veggitarian is where meat eaters hang out.

I can’t describe any of the courses we had but stunning comes close. The chef carefully prepares each plate and then entertained us with his description of the course.

Katya and I split the meal to save calories and money. The six course meal was hardly filling but wonderfully entertaining.

A year ago I would be the only patron in the restaurant and there was plenty of time for the chef to BS with me. Now it is reservations only but we talked our way to the counter.

The veggie meal was hardly filling so we finished the evening at Notos up the main street with a bowl of raviolis. Notos is another Murphys treat and the owner, Lorenzo, spends time with his customers – and his fresh sauces.

As I post this mid day Sunday the rain is starting to turn to snow in Murphys. We’re hanging out at a coffee bar and waiting to see what happens. Photography requires so much patience!

Thumb typing on this iPhone requires patience but my technique is improving. The 19 tasting rooms along the main street just opened but we see no tasters walking along with their event glasses. I’m sure they will rally to the cause.

- jim

Winter Wineland is a Russian River Wineroad event for the Alexander, Dry Creek, and Russian River regions in Sonoma County, California.  There are well over 100 winery tasting rooms in these regions and the ambiance, and wine, is some of the best in the world.

Katya and I moved right along during the 5 hours a day open for event tasting and hit 16 wineries on January 17 – 18, 2009!  This was only a week after tasting at 7 San Francisco urban wineries.  What wonderful adventures to start the year.  We LOVE 2009 already!

There were about a hundred wineries participating. It was impossible to try them all of course so we narrowed it down to 16 over two days. That is a lot of wineries but we sipped and poured out the wines.  Most of the wineries were serving food with their wines so we were able to stay full the whole day.

The weather was sunny and in the low 70′s!  We were in short sleeve shirts before noon, in January!

This was the first trip for using our new breath analyzer, AlcoHawk from Amazon.com.  My highest blood alcohol level was .05 before a long dinner, well below drunk driving, but for driving I was at .03 or less. I’ve always suspected I was careful and it is comforting to have some proof.

Follow me on Twitter.com/winequester for live tasting room reports during our road trips.

We can not possible buy everything we like so we hit a few highlights.  Also, I rarely tell you what you will taste, just the wines that I think are unusual and interesting.  Everything about your context and physiology will be different than mine and affect the taste.

And the winners are:

Trentadue was a hit because I won a 1.5 liter bottle of 06 Alex Valley Zin as I walked in. Their polenta was nice but rather small. We purchased 05 Old Patch Red, 05 Cote del Leone, a blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah, Zin, and a dash of Carignane, and Chocolate Amore.  I wanted a barrel of Chocolate Amore but …

Truett-Hurst in Dry Creek Valley are the new kids in that area but producing top wines.  They are remodeling the old Martin Family property with big and very exciting plans for a biodynamic farming exposition and a picnic area by the creek that will be one of  the top winery picnic areas in the state.  They served BBQ tri-tip, a hit with Katya.  Purchased: 06 Old Vine Rattler Rock Zin and Stonegate Napa Valley 02 Cab.  (They purchased the iconic old Stonegate name and inventory.)

Alexander Valley Vineyards had a diverse tapas bar with some of the best food we found.  Nice prices at AVV.  Purchased: 05 Alex Valley Syrah, 07 Dry Rose’ of Sangiovese.

White Oak offered to-die-for pork sliders to pair with their Napa Valley 04 Syrah. This is such a beautiful Tuscan style winery!  Purchased: 04 Napa Valley Cab Sauv, 07 Russian River Valley Sauv Blanc.

Forchini is a tiny Italian family winery with a wonderful picnic area and view on the east side of Dry Creek Valley.  Purchased: 06 Papa Nonno Tuscan red estate grapes, 05 estate Cab Sauv Reserve.

Route 128 is a new little tasting room in Geyserville and VERY FRIENDLY. Vintner’s pour for you.  Purchased: 05 Syrah.  Their vineyard is in the Yorkville Highlands north of Cloverdale in Mendocino County on Route 128.

Mill Creek is an ALWAYS FRIENDLY (get it, that’s important, and unusual) family winery and served a killer chili (recipe on their Web site).  They have a picnic site beside a pond and a water wheel and another up the hill with a fantastic view toward Healdsburg.  Purchased: 99 Cab Sauv, 06 Dry Creek Valley Zin.

Everett Ridge was baking various pizzas in an outside stone oven to taste with their reds. They also baked a flat bread to dip in Dry Creek Olive Oil Company’s olive oil. Great view from their elevated view bar and deck!  Purchased: 05 Diablita red wine and 05 Diablita Zin.

Hawkes is a newish tasting room next to the Jimtown store in Alexander Valley. They served a nice macaroni and cheese.  Purchased: 04 AV Cab Sauv, 06 AV Chard.

Preston (no relation) was serving homemade pizza from a stone oven.  Purchased 07 organic Barbera.  I thought we had two bottles but the other must be lost in action.  Happens.

Hanna has one of the best views in the Alexander Valley and served a tasty chicken apricot stew.  Purchased: 99 Bismark Ranch Noir, a red blend from mountain grapes.

Bella has one of the few cave tasting rooms in Sonoma County.  They served a stunning Paella.  Their wines are a bit soft for us but most tasters would love them.  Great place to visit and picnic!!  Purchased: 06 Syrah.

Trione is new to the Geyserville area of Alexander Valley.  We’ve watched the construction of the new winery and remodeling of an old stone building for well over a year.  They served oysters, not my thing, but Katya went crazy for them and now loves Trione.  Purchased: 06 Russian River Valley Sauv Blanc and their Syrah.

We also tasted in Meeker’s tasting room in little Geyserville but it was too choatic to purchase wine.  We love to hang out in Geyserville so we’ll be back soon anyway.  When Chuck Meeker is in his tasting room it is always lively, and sometimes more.  This is California’s premiere tasting room for frivolity.

We tasted the very old vine Zins at Sausal but they seemed too soft and mellow for our tastes.  We expected more robust aromas and flavors.  Maybe it was just us. 

We arrived at Amista late on Saturday and didn’t have a chance to taste about half their wines.  I know I want their Cab.  We expected to return on Sunday but never made it.

Such TREASURES!  I think I found all the wines we bought but Katya may have put some away that I didn’t spot.

What do I regret from the weekend?  That we couldn’t buy one of EVERYTHING we tasted.  I hate limits.  Try all or some of the above for a wonderful adventure!

- jim