Sunday, May 3, 2009

Fairfield Wineries

So... I've been neglecting this blog and decided to start writing here again. I have lots of fun trips and good wine to recount, so I need to get in the habit of updating more often!

We had a really nice trip to some Suisun Valley wineries last week. We didn't even know there were wineries in that area! We found out from a brochure we picked up at the Jelly Belly Factory a few weeks ago (Jelly Belly is another fun place to see - totally worth a visit!). We were excited to find another wine region so close to home, so P made some arrangements for us to go explore the area. We started the day at Vezer Family Vineyard, where we met with Frank Vezer and learned a lot about his wines as we tasted. His passion for what he does was quite evident as he spoke. I always love hearing about wine from winemakers and vineyard/winery owners.



I learned of a varietal I'd never heard of before - Verdelho. It's a white wine with Portuguese origins. It reminded me a lot of the Viognier I love so much, only a touch sweeter. It's very, very fruity and lightly oaked. There is a definite honeysuckle essence in this wine as well. Vezer's Verdelho will definitely be on my list of favorite whites! I'm always excited to find a white wine that I really enjoy.

I really liked everything we tried here, but another stand out wine for me was their La Salette - a blend of Petite Sirah and Zinfandel . Both the 2005 vintage and 2006 Estate vintage are delicious, elegant wines. Pricier than we normally buy, but definitely worth it. Either vintage would make an excellent choice for a special occasion - a very impressive wine that I think even people who shy away from red wines would enjoy.

The gardens around the tasting room are a lovely place to spend some time. During the summer they have a deli open next to the tasting room where you can grab something to eat and enjoy their outdoor space. We will visiting again over the next few months to spend more time here!

There is also a beautiful barrel room/cottage. The barrel room is on the first level, with guest accommodations on the second level. A very charming place!

Next we visited another Vezer property and tasting room just up the road - the Blue Victorian.


This is another charming tasting room with more tasty wines! Here we got to meet winemaker Gary Galleron. This guy really knows what he's doing! Not that I'm some super wine expert, but I didn't taste anything that I didn't really enjoy. In fact, I was getting a bit too tipsy because my breakfast had worn off, and I feel horrible pouring such good stuff into dump buckets! We were able to do some barrel tasting of blends they'd made for an event the weekend prior. It was fun to taste the difference between what was in the barrels and what we'd tasted from bottles in the tasting room. The evolution of wine is interesting and I always like to see how it changes from barrel to bottle.

Next we headed to Ledgewood Creek. They have a nice tasting room/gift shop here. I enjoyed wandering around admiring all the wine-themed goodies, along with other gourmet treats. We ended up leaving here with a bottle of Viognier (I'm a sucker for Viognier!) and a jar of cherry brandy sauce (devine on vanilla ice cream! Can't wait to have it on some cheesecake...).

Our last winery visit of the day was to Wooden Valley. They also had goodies for me to wander around and admire. One of my favorites here was the 2004 Zinfandel Port. I love me a good Zin Port! However, since warmer months are coming, we were on a mission for more white wines that we can enjoy over the summer. We purchased a bottle of 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, just released early February. We liked the tartness of this wine... crisp and refreshing - it will be fabulous on a hot summer day!


That concluded our wine tasting day in the Suisun Valley. I'll leave you with a picture of a vineyard view...