Our first stop was the Rafanelli family vineyard. The story here is that Hannah's Mum had tasted a bottle of their Cabernet Savignon around 15 years ago when a family friend brought a bottle back from a Californian holiday. She'd kept the label, and today marked the end of her pilgrimage to its source.
Unlike some of the big, garish wineries that charge $20 a tasting (but you get to keep the souvenir glass - woo!) this was a proper family farm. We had to phone in advance to make sure someone was there, and had a lovely chat with the great-granddaughter of the original A. Rafanelli, and her Dad who had made the 1990 wine that Mum drank all those years back.
From there we had a whirlwind tour of Healdsburg, a town where a large number of wineries have outlets and tasting rooms. We sampled Manzanita Creek Wines, with their promise of "thinking outside the box" (very tasty), the Lake Sonoma Winery (generous portions) and a few others, finishing with Champagne, of course. I drove home to the sound of snoring.
Now where's that corkscrew...
Hannah at the Rafanelli vineyard. Sadly we weren't born into a winemaking dynasty, only a winedrinking one.
Where's the fun in that?
Lining them up at Sonoma Lake Winery.
Putting it away.
Yep, that's the size bottle we were after.
