Honeymoon Series - Day 6: Zinfandel, Lavender, and a $75 Bet

Next up in our Honeymoon series, May 25th, 1998. Scott’s journal entry starts by admitting he woke up grumpy. By evening, things had improved.

Breakfast at the B&B turned things around: a mushroom crust quiche that Scott called outstanding, along with sausage he described as "very yummy." We also sorted out our dinner plans before heading out the door. We decided to skip Timberhill Ranch since the drive wasn't worth it, and switched our reservation to Tre Vigne. With logistics handled, we headed to Sonoma Valley for what Scott's journal calls "some serious wine drinking."

Ravenswood

Our first stop was Ravenswood. Scott noted they had some good whites, and not surprisingly, their Red Zins were really stood out. We were only supposed to pick four wines. We tasted all eight on the list. On our way out, he spotted a sign advertising a BBQ on the property and made a note to go.

Matanzas Creek

Matanzas Creek had sculptures throughout the grounds and rows and rows of lavender, which weren’t quite in bloom yet. The person pouring told us we were about a week early.

The Sauvignon Blanc was a hit for both of us. The Chardonnay was nice but not the creamy style I used to go for. The Merlot was, in Scott's words, the best he'd had.

Then they poured the estate-bottled '93 Merlot — the first vintage they'd produced. We loved it so much that we bought a bottle for $75 and decided to save it for our 5th anniversary.

Chateau St. Jean

From Matanzas Creek, we went to Chateau St. Jean. We tasted four wines. After a nice tasting we headed across the street to St. Francis.

St. Francis

We still have the tasting menu from this visit. We tasted the 1996 Chardonnay, the 1996 Chardonnay Reserve, the 1995 Merlot, and the 1995 Zinfandel Old Vines. Then we continued our marathon tasting afternoon at Kenwood and Kunde.

Kenwood and Kunde

We have photos from both Kenwood Vineyards and Kunde Estate. We brought home two recipe cards home from Kunde and tucked them into an album. They've been there for almost 30 years: a rosemary and scallion stuffed brie paired with their Magnolia Lane Sauvignon Blanc, and a honey-glazed salmon with peach salsa paired with their 1996 Gewurztraminer.

It was a whirlwind day of wine tasting, and we slept well that evening!

Stay tuned for the next post in the honeymoon series, where we’ll dive into Day 7, when we visited Cakebread, .Joseph Phelps, and Robert Mondavi. For the full itinerary, check out this post.

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Cheers from the lake!
—Niki and Scott