Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1,000 wines and a rowdy “crush” contest in which shoeless stompers try to juice
the most grapes in open-topped barrels.
To learn about
blending,
or the art of mixing different varietals to create a cus-
tom beverage, there's no more affordable place than COPIA, which often sched-
ules (especially on weekends; about $65) afternoon-long workshops. You'll use the
same tools that modern winemakers use—including ones more appropriate to a
chemistry lab (pipettes, beakers) than one would think—to mix a balanced wine.
COPIA gives you a bottle of your custom blend at the end—no promises on how
it'll taste—plus a personalized label.
A few wineries offer occasional blending seminars, too, including
Ravenswood
Winery
(18701 Gehricke Rd., Sonoma;
%
888/669-4679 or 707/933-2332;
www.ravenswood-wine.com),
a relaxed winery that mounts 1-hour sessions yield-
ing a free 375mL (about a Coke can's worth) bottle of wine, for $50 on Fridays
at 11am. Another is
Mayo Family Winery
(13101 Arnold Dr., Glen Ellen;
%
707/
938-9401; www.mayofamilywinery.com),
which offers an appointment-only
seminar ($35) of about 2 hours in which three types of wine are mixed to taste
Developing a Crush
Unfortunately for visitors, learning how to make wine yourself isn't as eas-
ily done as learning how to appreciate the finished product. Many of the
area's vintners mastered their craft either by years of on-the-job training
or through months of college courses. And because the winemaking
process is split between seasons (harvest and pressing in fall, blending
and bottling in spring), you can't get a full, hands-on sampling of the art
without at least two trips. But if you're willing to put in the effort, here
are some options:
The upscale
Hope-Merrill Bed-and-Breakfast
(
%
800/825-4233 or
707/857-3356; www.hope-inns.com),
located in two adorable Victorian
houses in Geyserville, is known for organizing
“Pick and Press”
events.
These furnish four all-day lessons (2 in Sept, 2 in May—the price includes
both stays) in which guests pick grapes by hand and then press them, with
guidance from an expert, on old-fashioned equipment. The $1,500-per-
couple price includes all meals, lodging at the B&B, and wine. That price
seems at first blush to be as back-breaking as grape-picking work is, but
it in fact breaks down to about $170 per person, per day, and it includes
two cases of your homemade wine. The downside, of course, is that you'll
have to come twice in a year to get the full education.
In late September for the same price ($1,500/couple, including meals and
2 nights' lodging; $200 more for solo travelers), the Sonoma County
Winegrape Commission holds its popular annual
Grape Camp
(
%
707/522-
5860; www.sonomagrapecamp.com),
which gives you much the same experi-
ence but without bottling your blend, which won't have had time to ferment.
