Wine whine
 

I have gotten no response in the local club about doing a wine tasting tour. Taste the wine, people, not swallow it. I even had it set up for a sag wagon to carry purchases. Dead in the water. Are we too healthy for our own good? I'd like some BFers to drop by Sonoma county and go tasting with me. I know some little known tiny wineries that would give a nice hilly ride or flat loops with wineries per mile rather than miles per winery. Any interest?

Wine tasting = Drinking, yes indeed. I would have no problem drinking loads of wine and riding sounds almost great:D.

If the timing's right and the pace not too fast, I'd be interested.

Me too! I've done two rides up in that area and the scenery is fantastic! :)

I have been overloaded with work at a winery and just thought to check here. Crush is over after the first good rain or very early November. Lets think about something then.

Did anything ever come of this? Are there any bicycle friendly wineries? Where you wouldn't be out of place showing up with your bike shoes and gear on still etc?

1) Nobody just "tastes" wine. Everybody swallows. Yes, everybody. Only weenies spit it out like you see in the movies.

b) I have done a bike tasting tour. Even for a short distance (<10 miles) it's fairly challenging, especially after the 3rd or 4th winery (why lie? wine is great!).

iii) My conclusion is: wine and cycling just don't mix very well, unless the wine comes *after* the cycling. Before or during is just a little bit too much excitement, especially along the popular wine routes (drunk cyclists + drunk drivers = !@#$%^!!!).


I will say, though, that I thought it was a good idea at the time (I was young and childless), and I had a great time doing it. My conclusion in number iii) comes from the lack of wisdom acquired through aging gracelessly, so take it with a grain of salt (and pepper).

Also: all of the wineries we visited (Sonoma area) were bicycle-friendly and we didn't feel at all out of place with our cycling gear on.

Organized ride.

http://www.deltavelo.com/giro_d_vino.html

Hermes and I did a four day Napa tandem rally with Santana a year ago. Twenty tandem couples took over the Geyserville Inn which served as our hub for the rides. We visited a few wineries along the way for wine tasting. The wineries were very bike friendly and welcomed us. Note that Bill McCready had scouted these out and educated the wineries that cyclists do indeed drink and buy wine – maybe not while they are cycling but afterwards. The wine tasting was done in moderation (literally tasting) and seemed to be compatible with the cycling.
Here are the wineries we visited:
Day 1: Upper Alexander and Dry Creek Valleys. Wine tasting at Geyser Peak Winery, Ferrari Carano Winery (so it awe of the gardens I didn’t do the wine tasting although their wines are excellent), and Pedroncelli Winery (special tour by Grandpa Pedroncelli)
Day 2: Russian River Valley. Wine tasting at Davis Bynum Winery, Korbel Winery, lunch at Hop Kiln Winery
Day 3: Over the ridge to Napa. Wine tasting at Sterling, Clos Pegase (special cave and art tour) and lunch at Cuvaision Vineyards
Day 4: short ride to Healdsburg for a bakery and coffee stop before brunch and departure

We saved the serious wine tasting for dinner – Bill and Jan McCready offered an optional wine package that featured some special wines (magnum, special releases, etc).

If this happens, me and the fiance would be interested.

You may want to try this ... adds two hours of decanting time--just by pouring into a glass (without having to pour the entire bottle into a decanter). It really works.

http://www.vinturi.com/i/splashv.jpg

:)

One from the vaults. I'd forgotten about this thread. I have little idea in advance how a winery will react to bikes. Many part-time temporary sales staff blow me off as I do not look like a stock broker and I can't carry a case with me anyway. At one place the lady raced around from behind the counter, threw her arms around me, and greeted me like a long lost lover. "Excuse me, do I know you? . . . Oh, I did not recognise you with your cloths on." :p We were doing Class in Ballet together so I had no idea what she looked like in street cloths. If I want respect in a winery here, I go to a smaller winery, and wear one of the special T-shirts given only to someone who has worked the Harvest at a winery. The best time to visit wineries in Sonoma County is during the late winter Barrel tasting festival. Lots of free food.

The best time I've had in years -- doing the wine-tasting thing that I once associated mostly with No. Cal. -- was in Solvang a few months ago. Their grapes (being much further south) are more like those that you'd find in Italy, so you get some interesting reds, like Sangovese and Noblesse.

:)