Armida Winery – one of the best picnic wineries

Enjoying a picnic lunch at a winery is one of life’s finer pleasures. We have our list of favorite wineries with great picnic areas and views, and the Armida Winery is one of those that head the list. Armida is located on the edge of the Dry Creek Valley on Westside Road, a couple of miles from the town of Healdsburg. It is small family-run winery producing 10,000 to 12,000 cases a year.

The winery is situated high on a hill affording a spectacular view of the Russian River Valley area. Yes, although the winery is situated in the Dry Creek AVA, the view is of the neighboring Russian River Valley. The winery has a good-sized deck with several tables that afford this wonderful scene. A pond just below the deck adds to the beauty of the vineyards off in the distance. Once people experience this beauty, they return again and again to enjoy this spot. Saturdays are very popular here, especially from Spring to the early Fall months.

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Bistro Ralph – 19 Years of Delicious Dining in Healdsburg

Note: Bistro Ralph has closed its restaurant.

On the spur of the moment, we decided to take a quick overnight trip to the wine country in the Russian River area. We have a couple of favorite spots in this area that we love to visit during the Fall. The colors are absolutely beautiful in the Dry Creek Valley, the Alexander Valley, and the Russian River Valley.

Besides the Fall colors another good reason to travel at this time of year, and in midweek, is that you can get a better lodging rate and things are much less crowded everywhere you go.

Liquid Amber on West Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg
Liquid Amber on West Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg

We found a room at the Best Western Dry Creek Inn for a measly $69. The room is in the new Tuscan center of the hotel and has a fireplace, large screen TV, and a Jacuzzi tub. We don’t really need those things but why not take them if they come with a room that normally prices well over $200? For you travelers to Healdsburg, this online midweek offer is probably going to continue to run during the winter months.

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Geyserville Wine Country Excursion – Five Lovely Wineries to Visit

Who would of thought that the tiny Russian River town of Geyserville would someday emerge as a destination spot for wine tasting and gourmet dining? Yes, amazingly, this little town and its surrounding countryside has much to offer for those who love to visit wineries. Here are five wonderful wineries to visit in the surrounding area of Geyserville. This route will take you to some absolutely beautiful vineyards along the Alexander Valley and into the Dry Creek Valley.

Head north on Highway 101 and take the Independence Lane exit some 20 miles past Santa Rosa.

Francis Ford Coppola Winery

You will either love it or hate it. This is Hollywood time in the Alexander Valley. It’s got swimming pools, cabanas, Bocce courts, the Tucker automobile, movie memorabilia and something for the entire family to enjoy. The Rustic Restaurant is a “must” for lunch and if the weather is nice you should ask for an outside table. What a view! You can take a tour of the winery and taste wines galore; there are many options at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery. The winery is open daily 11 to 5 pm.

Poolside at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery

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Biodynamic Farming — Montemaggiore Winery in Dry Creek Valley

We have a great five-minute video of how biodynamic farming is implemented at the vineyards of the Montemaggiore Winery near the town of Healdsburg. We interviewed winery owner Vince Ciolino as he walked us through his hillside vineyards in the Dry Creek Valley. Vince along with his wife Lise are the owners of this beautiful winery. Lise is the winemaker and Vince is the vineyard manager. The wines are Rhone style wines and the emphasis is on Syrah. The winery is open only by appointment, but don’t let that stop you from visiting. If you are looking for something very different from the standard tasting room fare, then you will find a visit to Montemaggiore an exciting diversion.

One of the coolest and most unusual biodynamic practices at Montemaggiore is the use of chickens. The winery has 15 chickens that live in a chicken coup on wheels. This little chicken habitat is an exact replica of the winery. Vince can move the chicken coup to various locations on his estate vineyards to do their work. The chickens leave the coup periodically to roam the vines in search of insects. They scratch the soil with their claws to find the bugs. That scratching helps mix in the natural compost that Vince has applied to the vines. The chickens eat tons of insects and that removes many an insect pest from the vines.

Watch the video to get an idea of what goes on at a biodynamic vineyard.

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In Search of the Perfect Paella — Gerard the Paella Guy

Soon after returning from a visit to Spain in the Spring of 1994 I began my trials and tribulations of attempting to cook the perfect Paella dish. Here we are some 15 years later and even though I think I make a seriously good Paella, I am still trying to master this famous Spanish meal. This past Saturday I learned interesting tips and tricks from one of the best-known Paella celebrities around, chef Gerard Nebesky. Every weekend, he and his crew cook up huge Paella dishes for events throughout Sonoma and Napa Counties and even beyond. Gerard was cooking at the annual Vendemmia party at Montemaggiore Winery in the Dry Creek Valley and I was lucky to be one of the invited guests. Lise and Vince Ciolino, owners of Montemaggiore, had about 120 guests at their home to celebrate the harvest with their wines and Gerard’s delicious Paella.

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Gustafson Family Vineyards — Dry Creek

Wow, what an amazing winery in so many ways. You must plan a day trip to visit this new winery that sits high atop the mountains of Dry Creek Valley. Although the winery is officially in Dry Creek, it is far from any of the wineries on Dry Creek Road that you might have visited … Read more

Lou Preston — Wine Man of Many Talents

We always enjoy a visit to Preston Vineyards, but this time our visit was more special than usual. We had the pleasure of meeting and taking a tour with Lou Preston. Lou’s story began 40 years ago when Lou and his wife Susan purchased their property in the Dry Creek Valley. They slowly grew their winery and vineyards, producing some 25,000 cases of wine. In the year 2000, they decided that big is not necessarily a good thing. They began to “grow down”their winery and today produce 8000 cases of wine, and farm and live a lifestyle that is environmentally in tune with their farmland.

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Mounts Family Vineyards – Dry Creek Valley

Among things I enjoy so much about the Dry Creek Valley are the numerous backroads and side roads throughout this amazing wine area. On Wine Creek Road, just off West Dry Creek Road, there are two hidden wineries, one of which is Mounts Family Vineyards. Rich Mount and his son David are the owners of … Read more

Will Smoke Taint be an Issue with the 2008 Vintage?

On June 21, 2008, we attended a Maurtison winery outdoor dinner for wine club members at one of their Rockpile Vineyards deep in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County. This is an amazing area of deep hillsides and rough terrain. We took a tour of the vineyards that sit high above Lake Sonoma. The air was clear and breezy and the views terrific. Two hours later during dinner, it was a completely different story. The entire area was filled with a haze of smoke. A wave of lighting strikes had set forest fires in Mendocino County and the winds brought the smoky air to the south. The smoky air lingered there for days as far away as the San Mateo Peninsula, but in Mendocino Country and parts of Sonoma County the smoky air was there for three weeks.

Rockpile before the fires
Rockpile before the fires

Two hours later the smoke filled air
Two hours later the smoke filled air
The 2008 vintage will begin to emerge soon with white wines. These wines should not have a problem with smoke, because in the winemaking process the juice is squeezed from the grapes and the skins discarded. In the case of red wines, the skin is in contact with the juice, and hence the greater chance for smoke taint. The 2008 reds are in barrels now and I imagine the vintners have a good idea of how these wines will taste.

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More on Dry Creek Valley, The Trip Planner, & Robert Mondavi Summer Concerts

We recently blogged about Montemaggiore and Quivira wineries, two biodynamic wineries in the Dry Creek Valley. There are at least four other wineries practicing sustainable and organic farming in the Dry Creek Valley. If you are interested in touring the sustainable wineries of the Dry Creek Valley, I have outlined a suggested two-day tour of these wineries on WineCountryGetaways.com. One thing that is very nice about visiting wineries in the Dry Creek Valley is that most of the wineries are small and family-owned. If you visit during the week, you might even find the winemaker or owner in the tasting room.

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