We recently visited Francis Ford Coppola's winery and estate (Francis Ford Coppola Winery) in northern Sonoma County which with good traffic is about 1 hour and 20 minutes north of San Francisco California. The location is a rather bucolic one, the winery is nestled against the hills surrounded by vineyards. We have visited hundreds of wineries over the years; this one is unique. While wine is the focus of their operations here, the estate offers … [Read more...]
Family Winemakers Tasting, San Francisco
FAMILY WINEMAKERS OF CALIFORNIA 'TASTING 2010' SAN FRANCISCO EARLY BIRD TICKET SPECIAL ENDS ON AUGUST 1st Save 30 Percent Off At-The-Door Price for The World's Most Comprehensive Tasting of California Wines, August 22, 2010 Sacramento, CA (July 15, 2010) - The Early Bird Ticket Special for the Family Winemakers of California's 20th Annual Tasting ends August 1st. Tasting 2010 marks the 20th Anniversary of the Family Winemakers Tasting, … [Read more...]
Moon Northern California Wine Country
Moon Northern California Wine Country by Philip Goldsmith covers the major Northern California wine regions from Santa Cruz to Livermore up through Napa and Sonoma to Mendocino County in the north. Many wine guides either do to little or try to cover to much; this book strikes a nice balance between some of the off the beaten path wineries as well as those with more of a public presence. In addition the descriptions of the wineries are more … [Read more...]
Bodega Bay’s 37th Annual Fisherman’s Festival
Saturday and Sunday April 17-18, 2010 BODEGA BAY, CA. - The Bodega Bay community will celebrate its 37th annual Fisherman's Festival on the weekend of April 17-18, at Westside Park. Record crowds are expected to take in live music and entertainment, sample local cuisine, and browse the wares of 80 plus crafter and artisan booths. A special feature will be the dedication of a Fishermen's Memorial to remember fishermen lost at sea. The … [Read more...]
Yosemite – Wineries
Mariposa County is the southern most county in the Sierra Foothills wine growing region. There are merely 4 bonded wineries in the entire county! We are used to visiting the heart of California's wine region, Sonoma and Napa counties and seeing literally hundreds of wineries in each county. As a result, visiting Mariposa County for wine tasting is relatively easy as far as making choices of who to visit is concerned. Why not visit them all in a … [Read more...]
Mendoza, Argentina – Wineries
Bienvenidos al tierra del Malbec - or in English, Welcome to the land of Malbec! Numerous wineries within the region make this wine and it is commonly served in local restaurants. Lesser common, is Bonarda, also a red grape and Torrontés, a white grape. With that said, Mendoza is known for Malbec but the region certainly produces wines from numerous other varietals. Within an hour's drive of the city of Mendoza are several hundred wineries. … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – California Missions
California has a total of 21 Missions running from San Diego to Sonoma ranging in date of founding from 1769 until 1823. The intent with each mission location was historically to place each one approximately a days journey between each other. Greater Los Angeles and Orange County have three representatives of these, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Mission San Gabriel Archangel (the closest mission to downtown Los Angeles) and Mission San Fernando … [Read more...]
And That’s The Way It Is…
I am writing you from Chefchaouen Morocco. All the keys are reorganized on this computer so bear with me as it is very difficult to type. I am not looking at the screen just down at the keyboard. We arrived in Africa yesterday passing by the Rock of Gibraltar. Immediately as anticipated we were hounded by faux guides marketing to us with fear - telling us it was unsafe to travel in the afternoon because Moroccans become more dangerous in the … [Read more...]
Schulz Museum
The following is an article that first appeared in the April 2003 issue of Upbeat Times, a regional newspaper which is published once a month in Sonoma County, CA. I had just arrived at the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center and was waiting in the front lobby when a young girl skipped in and the first excited words out of her mouth were "Mom, look its Snoopy!" I immediately saw what attracted her attention. On the wall were several … [Read more...]
Safari West, CA
A "little piece" of Africa is available to the general public in Sonoma County, about 1 hour 20 minutes north of San Francisco. Safari West is a gem of a nature preserve located only about 20 minutes from Santa Rosa off of Mark West Springs Road at the corner of Franz Valley Road (3115 Porter Creek Road). The park is about 15 minutes from Calistoga in the northern part of the Napa Valley. Visiting Napa for some wine tasting? Need a break? Come … [Read more...]