Wine Tasting Weekend(s): #1

Earlier in June, I went wine tasting for one night with friends, and the following weekend for two nights with my spouse. I’m going to split this into two posts because otherwise it would be too long.

First Weekend

This weekend, I stayed with our friends in Santa Rosa, so no hotel to report on.

I started the weekend attending Ceritas Wine’s annual lunch. I really enjoy their Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. For $75, you get an appetizer of spot prawn carpaccio with two different Chardonnays, chicken confit with two different Pinots, and a cheese course with their 2023 Peter Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon. I ended up buying the 2024 Mt. Pajaro Chardonnay ($70), which is a vineyard that Rhys owns. I didn’t know that John Raytek, Ceritas’ owner/winemaker, helped Rhys plant their vineyards. That’s a pretty impressive combination!

After that, we did a tasting at Flowers Winery. We’re Members there, so we get 4 tastings per year for up to 4 people. It’s an amazing experience because they pour two of their Chardonnays, accompanied by some pretty sophisticated bites. Then, they do the same thing again with two of their Pinots. The wines aren’t cheap: $90, and you have to buy a case each year. But when I think about the value of the tastings and their other events (see next weekend!), we think it’s worth it. And my spouse just loves their wines. After the food and wine, they always bring out an expensive bottle. This time they poured the Pietra Pinot, and it’s great but not cheap. So I had to buy 2 bottles.

For dinner, we ate at Willi’s Wine Bar, which is a tapas place. Pretty good, but not cheap. The best bite was their lamb chops.