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Dry Creek Valley AVA

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Dry Creek Valley AVA

Looking to the West on Dry Creek Road

Dry Creek Valley AVA

The Dry Creek Valley in north Sonoma County is 16 miles long and at its widest point 2 miles. From the wine country town of Healdsburg, two beautiful backroads follow the Dry Creek Valley to its end at Lake Sonoma. Dry Creek Road is the main route along the Dry Creek Valley and West Dry Creek Road is much less traveled but very inviting to joggers, walkers, and cyclists. The Dry Creek AVA includes 9000 vineyard acres and 70 wineries. Most of the wineries are small and family-owned.

Travel Information on Dry Creek AVA

Wine Travelers in December

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wine country winter

The beauty of winter in wine country

Wine Travelers in December

Why wine travelers love December and January in wine country – Top ten reasons

  • December and January has a unique wine country beauty
  • The solitude
  • Quiet roads and byways
  • No waiting in the tasting room
  • Peaceful walks
  • The wild mustard
  • The bare vines
  • The blooming cover crops among the vines
  • The freshness of the air
  • The time for reflection and rejuvenation

Ballentine Vineyards Napa Valley

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Ballentine Vineyards

Ballentine Vineyards in the Napa Valley – Small and Family Owned

Ballentine Vineyards

Voted as one of Napa Valley’s top “Boutique Wineries,” Ballentine Vineyards is a refreshing change of pace from the usual fare of the fancy tasting rooms in the Napa Valley. Ballentine Vineyards founding date is 1906. The vineyard and winery are family-run, now by the fourth generation. The winery is low key and more like the Napa Valley was 25 years ago. Most visitors tend to pass up a visit to Ballentine Vineyards in favor of the more famous nearby St. Clements, Beringer, and Markham tasting rooms. Next time in St. Helena visit the Ballentine tasting room. You will be rewarded with good wines and good wine karma.

Napa Valley Travel Advice

Grilled Padrón Peppers in Wine Country

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Pedron Peppers

Pedron Peppers are a very popular appetizer in wine country

Padrón Peppers in Wine Country are “Hot”

When we say Padrón peppers are hot in wine country we do not mean hot spicy, we mean very popular. Simply take a gander at any of the Napa Valley restaurant gardens and you’ll see them growing abundantly. Check the menu at any Napa Valley restaurant and you are likely to find them on the appetizer menu. Nine out of ten of the Padrón peppers are mildly spicy, but one of them for some unknown reason is hot spicy. Padrón peppers have been very popular for many years in Spain and there they are called Pimientos de Padrón. Just about every Tapas restaurant in Spain serves this delicacy. It is just about mandatory that in Spain you drink a glass of Albariño wine with your Pimientos de Padrón. In the Napa Valley, a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, dry Riesling, or a stainless steel Chardonnay will pair nicely. The Padrón peppers are sauteed quickly in hot olive oil and then sprinkled with kosher or sea salt. They can also be grilled on the barbecue, placed on a vegetable grill pan. Padrón peppers can be grown in most warm climates. We have some growing in our garden on the San Mateo Peninsula. Mid July is when the Padróns become prolific on a plant. One must harvest them when they are small, just under three inches. Otherwise, they get too hot to enjoy eating. The plant will continue to provide peppers through October. One can also find Padróns at most Farmer’s Markets from now through September. Delicious, to say the least!

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Olive oil fun at Pasolivo

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Pasolivo oliveoil

Pasolivo – tucked away on Vineyard Drive in Paso Robles

Olive oil fun at Pasolivo

What a very nice activity to mix in with wine tasting in Paso Robles. We spent an entire hour having olive oil fun at Pasolivo. Pasolivo is an olive oil factory located on Vineyard Drive, a lovely wine county backroad. Pasolivo is open daily and is great fun for the entire family. We visited several years ago and on this recent visit there were big changes.  As we entered Pasolivo we were greeted by our host. She gave us a concise rundown of how the olive oil tasting works at Pasolivo. The biggest change since our last visit, a spice table and salt table. We placed a small amount of each spice and each salt on a small paper plate. With a bag of cubed French bread, we dabbed the bread with olive oil and then pressed the bread cube on a spice or salt. My, oh my; the spice or salt added so much to the olive oil. It is a great cooking lesson in how spices or salts work and match with various olive oils. We tasted several olive oils from plain to ones with basil, rosemary, lemon, lime, or citrus flavors. We purchased a can of the rosemary olive oil. One of my favorite recipes is oven baked potato fries. I can see my potatoes coated with the rosemary olive oil and then placed in the oven.  I can’t wait to try this!  Pasolivo, similar to most wineries, has an olive oil club. Twice a year, you receive shipments of various olive oils and other goodies. Check the Pasolivo Website for the Olive Oil Club details and other information.  One thing different at Pasolivo from wine tasting rooms is that there’s no fee to participate in the olive oil tasting. You can also purchase the spice, salts and other olive oil related items. If you visit Pasolivo around the lunch hour, think about packing a picnic lunch. There are picnic tables at Pasolivo set among tall oak trees. It is very inviting and peaceful. Pasolivo is located at 8530 Vineyard Drive and is open 11 am to 5 pm daily. Nearby are several wineries. See our winery recommendation on Vineyard Wine Trail.  Also, Halter Ranch Vineyards is great stop where Vineyard Drive meets Adelaida Road.

Olive oil fun at Pasolivo Slideshow

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Additional Paso Robles wine country tips

Central Coast Wine Country

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Central Coast wine country

Santa Barbara area is Central Coast wine country

Central Coast wine country

The Central Coast wine country stretches from Monterey County through the Santa Barbara area. Some even consider Ventura as part of the Central Coast wine country. The vineyard acreage is huge, and many of the grapes are shipped to other wine regions of California. The most famous regions of the Central Coast wine country are Paso Robles and Santa Barbara. This is the hot bed for new wineries and winemakers to set up shop. This coming week, we will be heading down Highway 101 to visit wineries in the Paso Robles and the Santa Barbara area. We travel once a year to this vast wine region, and there are always wineries, restaurants, and artisan shops that are new since our last visit. Paso Robles has more than 200 wineries, and just recently the area was divided into nine different wine appellations. Wineries are on both sides of 101, stretching east to hills and west to the Pacific Ocean. One can only imagine the large difference in climate and soil from the east to the west. Santa Barbara is divided into five wine appellations. On the Pacific Ocean side of 101 in Santa Barbara, Pinot Noir is the top-producing grape. On the eastern side of Highway 101, we find more Rhone-style wines like Syrah, Viognier, Rousanne, and Marsanne.

Central Coast wine country details

Where does the tourist go in Napa Valley?

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Where to tourists go in the Napa Valley

Robert Mondavi is one of Napa Valley’s most popular wineries

Where does the tourist go in Napa Valley?

Quick tips on avoiding the tourist crowds in the Napa Valley

Spring is almost here. You would not know this by the high 70-degree temperatures in the Napa Valley these past February and March weeks. The tourist is back in full force in the Napa Valley. Tourism brings in more than five million visitors per year to the Napa Valley. The savvy and veteran tourist to the Napa Valley is anxious to avoid the crowds that flock to the tasting rooms and clog the highways. Find out where the tourist goes in the Napa Valley and avoid those spots. The Robert Mondavi Winery, featured in our Wine Country Photo of the Day, is one of Napa Valley’s most popular wineries. On weekends the parking lot is jammed, and the tasting rooms are as busy as can be. Robert Mondavi and many other popular wineries are along Highway 29 between Yountville and St. Helena.

Tips for avoiding the crowds

Avoid Highway 29 altogether and fast track over to the Silverado Trail.  Head up the Silverado Trail north to the Deer Park Road. Cross over Deer Park to Highway 29 and visit wineries between St. Helena and Calistoga. Along this stretch we like St. Clement, Ballentine, Madrigal Family Winery and Markham.

Traveling to Calistoga, we have the wineries on our Calistoga Wine Trail that are all small, fun, and not so crowded. These wineries are just north of Calistoga.

Hidden Wine Trail: These are some wineries scattered throughout the Napa Valley that are off the beaten path or, for some reason, bypassed by tourists. Pick a couple to visit. They are usually open by appointment only, so reserve your spot in the tasting room. Wineries by appointment are obviously less touristy.

Stryker Sonoma Winery is our Wine Country Photo of the Day

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stryker-sonoma winery
Located in the Alexander Valley of Sonoma County is the stunning Stryker-Sonoma winery

Stryker Sonoma Winery in the Alexander Valley

What a beautiful setting, especially when the Fall colors show in the vineyards, for the Stryker Sonoma Winery in the Alexander Valley of Sonoma County. The tasting room is spacious with  full window views of the vineyards on three sides of the tasting room. The picnic area is ideal for a secluded picnic and a glass of one of the many tasty wines poured by the Stryker winery. The winery started in 2002 with Tim Hardin the winemaker, who still indeed produces some delicious wines. The winery makes between 4000 to 6000 cases a year. Visiting hours are 10:30am to 5 pm daily. To get to Stryker Sonoma, take the Dry Creek Exit off Highway 101 to the east. Turn left on Healdsburg Ave. In a couple of miles pick up Highway 128 on the right. It will take you over the beautiful Russian River. When you get to the stop sign, take a left and head north about a mile or two to Stryker-Sonoma winery. At that stop sign on the corner, we suggest you also stop in at the Medlock Ames tasting room. It is a very cool tasting room complete with a large vegetable garden.

Other important information

CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY REGIONS:

Carneros • Livermore • Lodi • Mendocino • Monterey • Napa Valley • Paso Robles • Santa Barbara County • Santa Cruz Mts. • Sierra Foothills • Russian River • Sonoma Valley

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