Seth and I enjoyed the following two wines. I don't know the vintages.
The "Official Guide to Wine Snobbery" mentions:
An any-weekend winery tour could be along this route and visit the Pichetti, Ridge, Paul Masson, and Mariani (Savannah Chanelle) wineries. A map showing all eight wineries is here.
| Winery | Address | Hours | Notes |
| Mariani Winery aka Savannah Chanelle | 23600 Congress Springs Rd. Saratoga 408-741-2930 map #43 | Open daily 11-5. | Pinot noirs, Chardonnays, 100 year old Zinfandel, 70 year old Cabernet Franc, 70 year old Carrignane, Syrah. |
| Picchetti Winery |
13100 Montebello Rd. Cupertino, CA. 408-741-1310 map #80 (Sunrise Winery on map) | Open daily from 11am to 5pm for wine tasting. | Participates in Passport.
4/21/2007 We bought a case of the 2005 Viognier, and one each of the 2002 Angelica and 2004 Zinfandel. Nice wide selection of wines to taste. Peacocks wander the premises and beg at the picnic tables. |
| Ridge Vineyards | 17100 Monte Bello Rd Cupertino, CA 95014 408-867-3233 map #63 | Open Sat-Sun 11-4 | Participates in Passport.
4/21/2007 We bought two 2005 Lytton Springs. Only 3 wines available for tasting today, due to Passport Day; usally 6 are offered. Steep bicycle ride up Montebello Rd. May 19 and 20, 2007: Futures Tasting |
| Paul Masson Mountain Winery | 14831 Pierce Rd
Saratoga 408-741-5181 (on printed map) 408-741-2822 (on website) map #58 | Wed-Fri 1pm-4pm, for weekends see Events Calendar (Mar 3,4,10,24,25, Apr 1,7) | |
| Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards | 22645 Garrod Road Saratoga, CA 95070 408.867.7116 questions@cgv.com | Tasting Room: weekdays 12-5, weekends 11-5 Winery: daily 10-5 | Participates in Passport Day. |
| Naumann Vineyards | 16505 Montebello Road Cupertino, CA 95014 (408) 867-7871 service@naumannvineyards.com | Can make a tasting appt. | Participates in Passport Day
4/21/2007 We didn't really like the wines. |
| Fellom Winery | 17075 Monte Bello Rd. Cupertino 408-741-0307 map #29 | By appt. only | Participates in Passport.
Saturday, April 21, 2007, 11am to 5pm WINE WITH HEART May 7 ; SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS VINTNERS' FESTIVAL June 2 & 3 4/21/2007 Very nice zinfandel, but I'm not so into zinfandel. We bought the zinfandel port, interesting, will be nice every once in a while. Longish steep driveway. |
| Cinnabar Vineyards & Winery | 23000 Congress Springs Rd. Saratoga. 408-741-5858 map #14 | By appt. only | Participates in Passport.
Saturday, April 21, 2007; 11:00 -- 4:30 pm 4/21/2007 2.5 mile mostly unpaved driveway. We didn't like most of the wines. The Lodi Cabernet Franc was ok, but not worth the $30+. |
| Thomas Fogarty Winery | 19501 Skyline Blvd Woodside, CA 94062 650-851-6777 info@fogartywinery.com (too far for this tour) | Wed-Sun 11am-5pm $6 and $12 tasting fee | |
| Mount Eden Vineyards | 22020 Mt. Eden Rd. Saratoga 408-867-5832 map #50 info@mounteden.com | Visitors welcome by appt only, Mon-Fri 11am-3pm, no tasting room available. Map claims: "Tours by appt only, 2 week advance notice." | |
| Kathryn Kennedy Winery | 13180 Pierce Rd. Saratoga 408-867-4170 map #38 cabernet@kathrynkennedywinery.com | No visitors. | Recommendations for other things to do. |
Hotels near the wineries:
Other things to do:
Passport Day is a day when some wineries that are otherwise not open offer tastings. Passport is coordinated by the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association and happens on the third Saturday of January, April, July & November (April 21 , July 21 , November 17 2007) 11am - 5pm for $30 per person. A PDF map of Passport participants.
Petaluma is 50 miles north of either the SFO or OAK airport. It is
about 40 miles north of downtown San Francisco. Napa is 60 miles north
of SFO. Healdsburg is 82 miles north of SFO.
The dots on the map show some (but nowhere close to all!) of the wineries in the area:
There's a bike tour company that does a tour in this area They describe it as " The Two Valley Road Bike Tour: The Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys. It's 40-45 miles of quiet roads, beautiful countryside, family farms, glorious vineyards and wonderful wineries." I'm not suggesting paying the tour company for a tour, but if they like to take tourists there, it may well be a nice route. I found a map of the same route on another website: a map of the route.
The wineries visited by the organized "Two Valley" tour include: Lambert Bridge, Quivira (I like their white), Preston, Seghesio, Pezzi King, and Dry Creek. Other wineries in the Dry Creek Valley include: Mill Creek Winery, Wilson Winery (wine tasting Fri-Mon 11-5), and a much longer list is here (because the page is really slow, a local copy is here).
A shorter (20 mile) tour is also possible: click here
We could also visit the Calistoga Inn and Brewery for a sampling of Micro-Brew, which might be a fun addition to all the wine we'd be drinking.
I haven't researched which wineries exactly are along the route, but this is recommended as a 20 mile bike loop out of Santa Rosa described as: "Rolling hills past small vineyards and courtry estates". So there must be wine. It's out of Santa Rosa. click here
The rest of my notes which include links to web sites with lists of wineries, the addresses of the wineries noted on my map above.
Given how much airlines charge to ship a bike, I may well be better off renting one. There are a few places in north San Francisco where I could rent a bike for about $40/day. There's also a rental place which will deliver a bike to your hotel in the Sonoma Valley for $55/day.
More details on businesses that rent.
Bikes on airplanes: AlaskaAir charges $50 to ship a bike, since it counts as oversize luggage. They have bike boxes available for purchase for $20+tax at either airport (SFO and OAK).
UPS:To UPS a bike would be about $30 each way.