A quick rundown of how things have been going the last few months...
I recently joined the wine club of a winery in Sonoma called Matanzas Creek. Matanzas Creek is the only winery/tasting room in Bennet Valley, one of the newest AVAs granted official status in Sonoma County. I can't recall what prompted me to seek them out, but I hadn't been to Bennet Valley and it seemed like a nice alternate place to explore rather than my home stomping grounds near downtown Sonoma. First of all, Matanzas Creek is a beautiful winery. And I know that they're all beautiful, but this one is different in that it's the only winery in the valley - tucked in its own little enclave that you might not discover unless you got lost. I was to learn that Bennet Valley has tried very hard to retain its rustic and isolated charm, and that Matanzas Creek is the only winery with a tasting room because they own more than 20 acres of land. The winery's claim to fame aside from their wines is their lavender fields which dominate the front view from the tasting room. I've since been back several times and have enjoyed all the wines I've tried. The girlfriend and I took her parents there and they loved picnicking and smelling the flowers.
I've also taken over as the lead of the tasting room I work at in Napa. Those of you with keen eyesight and knowledge of the area might be able to spot the winery in this photo, which I took from the lookout at the Pet Cemetery on Atlas Peak Road. The "lead" position is somewhere between a tasting room pourer and a manager, but I'm getting lots of exposure to new responsibilities and spending more time learning the behind the scenes activities of a winery.
The weather has been fantastic here in the area lately as well. Its been a nice cool summer, which may mean difficult times for the grape growers, but it sure is fun in the evening. I've been riding my bike down to the Sonoma square after work to get a relaxing beer. I like taking pictures of the back alleys that lead to the main square.
We also had our big company picnic at my favorite vineyard in all of wine country, MacMurray Ranch in the Russian River Valley. It was really nice to have a day for the entire winery staff to get together, especially considering that many wineries are just struggling to get by in this climate. I'm just glad we've got some good tasting $10 wines that pay the bills!
