I apologize for the long hiatus, friends! It has been quite the busy and exciting last couple of weeks. As a lot of you know, Caleb and I went on vacation to San Francisco/Sonoma County, California last week, which is why the posts have been non-existent. I tried to rack up some posts that could be released while we were gone, but it just didn't happen. However, I do want to share the most exciting part of our trip with you first. We're engaged! I'm still in a state of bliss and the happiest I've ever been in my whole life. So in still being in a state of euphoria from all that excitement and trying to get back in to the swing of things, that's why you all haven't seen any posts this week either. But it's time to get back in to it! A portion of our trip we planned around an #EpEx14 item and it was...
Go Wine Tasting in Sonoma County ✓
Caleb and I really are winos. Or so we thought. We knew we loved wine, and we knew a small amount about the different kinds but wow did we have a lot to learn and discover! We spent two days of our vacation in Sonoma County jumping around to different wineries to go wine tasting. Our first stop was Kendall Jackson. We have purchased their wine from local stores before but their reserve wines are about 1,000 times better. (WINE FACT: Reserves can only be found at the actual wineries and cannot be purchased in stores.) My favorite would have to have been the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Trace Ridge. Up next it was time for literally, and I |
mean literally, my favorite winery of all time, Clos du Bois. We discovered Clos du Bois's Chardonnay last year at a wine event called Indulge in Des Moines. When I discovered that their winery was in Sonoma it was a must visit. Our wine pourer was fantastic. He taught us so much about the different kinds of wine and proper wine tasting etiquette. (WINE FACT: There are two different kinds of Cabernets. There is a Cabernet Franc and a Cabernet Sauvignon. A Franc is lighter than a Sauvignon and research has been done to discover that the Franc grape is the parent grape to the Sauvignon. The Franc grape hails from Bourdeaux, France.) I highly encourage you to try multiple Cabernet Francs. You have to read the label very closely to ensure that it is a true Cabernet Franc though. A lot of cheaper wines will claim they are Franc or Sauvignon, but they will actually be blended with multiple kinds of red grapes, making them not a true Franc or Sauvignon. Basically...just try to get your hands on a bottle of Clos du Bois's Cabernet Franc because not only was it my favorite but it is truly a spectacular wine. Last, but certainly not least on our first day of wine tasting, we went to Francis Ford Coppola's winery in Sonoma. For those of you that do not know who he is, he directed The Godfather. He has two wineries, one in Napa and one in Sonoma. The one in Sonoma actually houses a lot of the movie memorabilia! The wine blew my mind, of course, with the Reserve Pinot Noir Dutton Ranch being my favorite.
On our 2nd day we went down Highway 12 towards Sonoma, CA and started out at Ledson Winery. When Caleb was growing up (HUMAN FACT: Caleb grew up in Santa Rosa, CA, which is in Sonoma County) he would refer to this winery as "The Castle." So naturally we had to go because who wouldn't want to go wine tasting at a castle!? The wine at Ledson was beautiful. That's the only way I can describe it. I would have to say my favorite was the 2013 Sonoma Coast Viognier. We also deemed our wine pourer there our "wine guy" because once you go wine tasting you have to have a wine guy. When our new collection of wines starts to dwindle you can bet we will be calling him up for some more! Our last stop of our wine adventure was at St. Francis Winery. This Spanish style estate with a glorious view of the mountains was just what we needed to round out the trip. Our favorite wine from St. Francis was definitely the Russian River Zinfandel. I was dreaming of having lasagna while tasting it.
My favorite part about the whole experience would have to be just discovering new kinds of wines. We always just stuck with what we liked...Pinot Grigo/Chardonnay for white and Cabernet Sauvignon for red. Now we love Sauvignon Blancs, Pinot Noirs, and Zinfandels. We also were introduced to Viogniers and Cabernet Francs. On top of all the amazing wine, we went to some wonderful restaurants in Sonoma, as well! It was just a big beautiful food and wine adventure.
Outfit details - Shop the Look:
Chambray // Tank // Skirt // Sandals (Color unavailable) // Sunglasses // Purse (Unavailable but other options) // Bracelet // Watch
Maxi dress (Not available online)
Location details:
Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens - 5007 Fulton Rd, Fulton, CA
Clos du Bois - 910 Lytton Station Rd, Geyserville, CA
Francis Ford Coppola Winery - 300 Via Archimedes, Geyersville, CA
Ledson Winery - 7335 Hwy 12, Kenwood, CA
St. Francis Winery - 100 N Pythian Rd, Santa Rosa, CA
Look for the Sonoma County city guide in the near future for more details on food and shops!
Also have no fear! Even though summer is coming to a quick end, we will be putting together a fall/winter #EpEx14 list. Join in on the fun this fall and use #EpEx14 to share your fun adventures, too!
If you have any questions regarding wines, wineries, or any of the places we went to on our trip PLEASE send me an e-mail or leave a comment because I would love to share more about our experience with all of you!
Chambray // Tank // Skirt // Sandals (Color unavailable) // Sunglasses // Purse (Unavailable but other options) // Bracelet // Watch
Maxi dress (Not available online)
Location details:
Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens - 5007 Fulton Rd, Fulton, CA
Clos du Bois - 910 Lytton Station Rd, Geyserville, CA
Francis Ford Coppola Winery - 300 Via Archimedes, Geyersville, CA
Ledson Winery - 7335 Hwy 12, Kenwood, CA
St. Francis Winery - 100 N Pythian Rd, Santa Rosa, CA
Look for the Sonoma County city guide in the near future for more details on food and shops!
Also have no fear! Even though summer is coming to a quick end, we will be putting together a fall/winter #EpEx14 list. Join in on the fun this fall and use #EpEx14 to share your fun adventures, too!
If you have any questions regarding wines, wineries, or any of the places we went to on our trip PLEASE send me an e-mail or leave a comment because I would love to share more about our experience with all of you!