Winter Wineland, Part 2

On Day 2, we started in Forestville and visited a few wineries we hadn't been to before.

First stop was Wine Guerilla. They had a nice tasting room with a turn table and you could choose your own LPs. They had nice zinfandels but no food pairing.

Just a block away was Jigar Wines. They served a nice Pinot with a lamb stifado, prepared by Hazel (the restaurant). This was an amazing dish--loved the cinnamon flavor and rich stew.

Across the street was Joseph Jewell Wines.

They had a great Beef Bourguignon served with Earl Grey Mashed Potatoes, catered by Epicurean Escape. It was paired with their cabernet.

Our next stop was MacPhail, in the Barlow.

I loved their etched magnum bottle.

They paired their 2014 Vagon Rouge Pinot Noir with a blood orange chocolate, which was delicious. The chocolate was prepared by CocoTutti Chocolatier.

Just a block away was Friedeman Wines, in the same location where La Follette used to be. They had some nice Pinots as well.

From the Barlow, we went to Carol Shelton. I love their Wild Thing Zinfandel and it paired well with the Chili they served.

Our final stop of the day was Inspiration Wines. I was so wined out from the 2 days of tasting, I couldn't taste any more. Our group liked the sins.

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Winter Wineland 2018

Winter Wineland was this past weekend. A weekend pass was $52.32 (including tax and service fee) and $6.69 for the designated driver. The event was 11am-4pm Saturday and Sunday.

You get a logo wine glass or a mug (if you're the dd). I loved the mug!

Prior to the start of the event, we were invited to a brunch at Soda Rock. I love the metal boar out front.

The brunch was quite good--bagel with lox, biscuit with jam, bacon, quiche. The bacon actually worked well with their cabernets.

Our official starting winery was J. Rickards. They had a nice Portuguese Bean Soup, paired with 2016 Bettino's Blend. The soup was nice since it was a cold morning.

Next stop was Truett Hurst/VML. We had gotten a case of Bradford Mountain in past years but this year, they didn't have any great case deals.

At Kokomo's, they paired White Bean Cassoulet with their Grenache.

Next door, at Colliers Falls/Lago di Merlo, they had a nice Cioppino.

We also visited Papapietro Perry and Peterson at the Family Wineries. In addition to Kokomo's, Colliers Falls and Lago di Merlo, other wineries included Amphoro, Dashe, Mietz and Philip Staley.

Our next stop was Mazzocco, known for their Zinfandels and then Ridge Lytton Springs. Ridge had a bottle of Monte Bello Cabernet for $200. That was probably the most expensive wine we saw throughout the day. Unfortunately, they weren't offering tastings.

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