Wine Tasting in Healdsburg

Sonoma in January possesses a unique kind of beauty. Temperatures hover around a toasty 59 degrees, the rain spits from the thick fog cloaking the mountains, naked vines stand in stark contrast along the rolling patchy green hills. I'm relaxed and happy to be here for the first time with my best ladies. 

On Saturday morning after an early check in at the Renaissance Marriot Lodge at Sonoma Resort + Spa our driver, David, of Intimate Wine Tours whisked us off to Healdsburg, a small city located in Northern Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley where we tasted wines at Bella Winery and Yoakim Bridge. Because of the 1:30 Patriots playoff game we only had time for two tastings before booking it over to Lagunitas Brewery in Petaluma to ensure prime seating in front of their one TV!

Bella Vineyards + Wine Caves 

$10 tasting / beautiful wine caves / relaxed tasting atmosphere /

gorgeous property / excellent Zinfandel.

9711 W Dry Creek Rd

Healdsburg, CA 95448

Yoakim Bridge Estate

$10 tasting / intimate yet lively tasting room run by a spunky couple /

great Zins and a really delicious 2010 merlot.

7209 Dry Creek Road

Healdsburg, CA 95448

Lagunitas Brewing Company

noshed on soft pretzels + smoked pork nachos /

tasted unique beers - a range of hits and misses.

1280 N. McDowell Blvd

Petaluma, CA 94954

Post Lagunitas and a Patriots Win(!!) we headed back to The Renaissance Lodge where we were just in time for wine tasting happy hour, along with the rest of the hotel guests. After some hotel lobby shenanigans it was off to Sonoma Plaza for one last tasting. Our good natured driver who is now off the clock joins in on the fun at Roche Winery Tasting Room before bidding us farewell until tomorrow. We make our way across the square for dinner featuring inventive contemporary 

Portuguese cuisine at La Salette. Pictured is the Tasca Tasting Platter: Fried Goat Cheese, Spicy Fried Pig Ears and Escargot in Garlic Butter.

Roche Winery

popular downtown Sonoma tasting room 

outdoor patio on the square

122 West Spain St.

Sonoma, CA 95476

La Salette

Cozinha Nova Portuguesa

452 First St East

Sonoma, CA 95476  

Sausalito

Sausalito is a dreamy little coastal town on the San Francisco Bay. Strolling along the quaint waterfront with trendy restaurants, coffee shops + art galleries and taking in picturesque views of the sprawling San Fran cityscape makes for a really nice afternoon. 

We scored the perfect waterfront deck table at The Trident and had a fantastic lunch. There was tuna tartare, truffle fries and a crab Caesar salad, complimented by a bottle of Ferrari-Carano Fumé Blanc.

The Trident

 558 Bridgeway

Sausalito, CA 94965

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A glimpse at our night out in San Fran for good measure. We are at Smuggler's Cove an exotic nautical bar devoted to tiki craft cocktails featuring over 700 types of Rum.

Smuggler's Cove

650 Gough St

San Francisco, CA 94102

The Progress | San Francisco

We are 20 days into 2016 and I've found my favorite meal of the year so far! An impromptu girls trip over the long MLK weekend brought me to California, and I'm so glad I decided to make the journey. When is girl time in SFO, Sausalito and Sonoma ever a bad idea?!

The Progress located in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco defines themselves as a vehicle for a completely local production. Innovative banquet-style meals served with memorable wines. The greatest dinner party ever.

Turns out, it is one of the greatest (intimate in our case) dinner parties ever. Everything about this place feels fresh and inspired. No one is doing it quite like they are here. Take for instance their Manhattan ($12) made with a smooth and intense black butter bourbon, vermouth and bitters. They make the black butter in house before steeping it in the bourbon. We also drank some delicious and interesting wines including a Georges Descombes Gamay ($14) (Morgon, Beaujolais, France) and a Piquentum Refosk ($15) (Istra, Croatia).

Meals are shared family style for a fixed price of $58, starting with five rotating small plates served in a portion size to compliment your party. Pictured up close and personal are the bahri dates with hazelnut crema and bite size roasted carrots with curried yogurt. The rest seen in the group photo include: smoked trout + seven pepper cracker, fish fry with kimchi tartar sauce, and buttermilk biscuits with apple bourbon black butter. These small tastes were a welcome prelude, and we had fun each ranking our favorites to least favorites. 

Then you choose four meals. These are listed on the menu from lightest to heaviest, with a recommendation to order two from the lighter section and two from the heavier section. We ended up with one light and three heavy - and although it was a bit too much food to finish as our waiter warned it would be, we were happy that we chose what spoke to us! These plates were truly remarkable and I urge anyone living in or planning a visit to the awesome city that is San Francisco to make a reservation here ASAP. 

In order of appearance: Fried Rice | tea-smoked liberty farms duck, lap cheong (Chinese sausage), bok choy + maitakes 

Celery Root Ravioli | wilted escarole, apple paste, shavings of goat gouda 

Half Moon Bay Black Cod | pea greens, pomelo + aromatic vinegar 

Lamb Merguez, Octopus + Crispy Squid | Mediterranean stewed yellow-eye beans

The Progress

1525 Fillmore Street

San Francisco, CA 94115

Avana Sushi

I am excited about having Chinatown restaurants on the blogs radar lately. There are spots I have been frequenting for years that are finally getting their due. A couple weeks ago we took a look at Hei La Moon, then last week we talked Pho. Now, Avana Sushi. This hole-in-the-wall four seat counter is surrounded by about five tables in a mini-food court off of Beach Street. I typically grab takeout and bring it back to the office, but dining-in is also a treat! A waitress ensures you will always be well taken care of here despite the haphazard ambiance. 

You can't go wrong with the luncheon special - for $7 you get a choice of 1 maki, 2 sides, a miso soup and a green tea. Pictured above are a couple different combos: spicy salmon avocado roll + seaweed salad + tuna nigri. Then a salmon mango roll + edamame + avocado salad. My favorite rolls to order on their own (not part of the lunch special) include the Spicy Caterpillar Maki ($8.95) - unagi, cucumber, avocado + spicy mayo topped with avocado, eel sauce + tobiko, and the Black Pearl Maki ($8.95) spicy salmon, tempura flakes, scallions, avocado + black tobiko.

Super fresh sushi, creative maki rolls and perfect little lunch specials all at a great value, Avana is the best!

Avana Sushi

42 Beach St

Boston, MA 02111