We took about an hour and half by car to get from the San Francisco Airport to the town of Healdsburg in Sonoma County California. We could have taken less time, but we wanted to wind our way through some of Sonoma County's beautiful wine country.
ヒールスバーグまでのドライブは、両サイドにワイン畑が延々と続いています。春の雨に洗われ、濃淡の緑の絨毯で覆われた緩やかな丘陵地帯が続くこの辺りは、昔は牧草地帯だったようですが、数十年の間に次々とぶどうが植えられ、今では美しいぶどう畑の奥に、山並みを背に豪奢なエステートがそのここに林立していました。いくら眺めていても飽きない光景に、明日からのワイナリー巡りへの期待が膨らんでいきます。ブドウの仕立て方も様々。羊や牛が草を食んでいる地域もまだ残っています。
The road to this wine capital was lovely, especially on this early spring day, where recent rains had made everything unseasonally green. The area used to be used primarily for grazing cattle, but has slowly been converted to farmland and cultivated into beautiful vineyards with gorgeous estate buildings at the deep ends of sprawling grape fields. I never tire of gazing at all of the beautifully trained grape trees. There were still left over reaches and spaces here and there in-between the big vineyards and my mind was floating in expectation of my coming winery visits.
この辺りは、早朝には海からの影響で一帯でモヤが立ち込め、朝晩の寒暖の差も大きい。乾燥していて日陰を探すのが難しい。カリフォルニアワインの濃厚な果実味はこんなところから来ているんだと改めて納得しました。
This area gets foggy in the morning due to the regions oceanic climate and temperature difference can be extreme, with cool early morning fog usually burning off by mid-day. In this normally dry landscape it is hard to find shade. It now makes sense to me why California wines are so condensed and fruity.
Healdsburg is a city located in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. As of 2010, the city had a population of 11,254. Healdsburg is a commercial center for northern Sonoma County as well as being one of Northern California's wine capitals: three of the most important wine-producing regions in the area, the Russian Rier, Dry Creek, and Alexander Valley AVAs, all intersect in Healdsburg.
There are over 260 wineries in the area and this town has over 20 shops that represent several wine makers and offer wine tastings. The convenience and location of Healdsburg allows you to narrow down where you would like to visit rather than blinding driving around the over 14 appellations in the area. If you are tired of driving, you can just wander around the city, enjoying wine from the surrounding countryside. Some of the wineries sell their wine exclusively in this town. Well I guess I had to make sure not to miss that!
この日の受付にはロスっ子でリタイアしたクリスさん。お勧めのワイナリーやドライビングに良さそうなスポットを教えてもらい、のMAPをゲット。さて、まずはホテルに帰って絞り込みをしましょう。
Let's get the tourist information first! I visited the Chamber of Commerce Office located on Healdsburg Avenue. You can get maps and tourist guide books at bookstores in the area, but at this office it's all free. Chris, the receptionist that day taught me about the best areas to visit and suggested some of the nicer restaurants in the area. I took all of this information back to the hotel and made a plan for the following day.
テイスティングは4種類で10ドル。購入したのは2012プティ・シラー ドライクリークバレー。果実味豊かで丸みのある酸味にタンニンが力強いながらもバランスのよく、熟成感のあるエレガントなワインでした。
Stephen & Walker Winery, exclusively sold in Healdsburg. They are regulars at Wine Spectator, consistently scoring over 90.
$10 for tasting 4 wines. I bought a 2012 Pettite Sirah, Dry Creek Valley. Very elegant and complex, dense and powerful, with dark fruit flavors and a good acidic balance. A nicely structured wine.