The Decision to Go Wine:

Deciding to go play tourist at the wineries after all that had happened to friends, family and a part of the country we love dearly, the mood in the car drew quieter as we approached the Napa/Sonoma wine country.  I had been down once already to get with family and check on Mom’s house, which barely escaped with the ivy at front porch singed. The others had not yet seen the scope of things in person.

As we turned off Hwy 12 to Napa Road, still about 40 miles from Santa Rosa, the landmark original Clover Stornetta Dairy was gone, charred frames left jutting skyward into the now blue, smokeless sky. Traveling along the highway most of the forested mountains were burned, in stark contrast to the green tree sections spared by the fire gods for unclear reasons.

The fires had occasionally charged back and forth across the highway as if the road wasn’t there, with homes, barns, landscape and ranches left in ashes along the road.  We mused as best as possible about the irony of the vineyards themselves acting as fire breaks, possibly saving homes and lives. Maybe that’s why only about a dozen wineries burned.

Haunting scenes of deserted housing developments with nothing left but chimneys standing like gravestones next to burned vehicles popped up as we approached Santa Rosa.

Although the firestorm had consumed 110,000 acres, billions of dollars in damage and many lives, people there quickly shifted to recovery mode.  Not without pain and unforgettable memories, but for survival. There are mouths to feed, jobs to be done, friends and neighbors to support, now unobtainable rebuilding supplies to wrangle in the quest for regaining some seemingly idealistic dream of normalcy. The will to survive is what I now saw.

We turned North up Highway 101 and pulled into the hotel. Our reservation had been lost, and all rooms had been offered up to locals needing a place to stay.  Fortunately, a cancellation came in at that moment and we obtained lodging. Inside the Holiday Inn, Windsor Wine-Country which was doing its best to create normalcy for displaced locals, one would not know there had been such a disaster except for the occasional banter by locals about whether they would rebuild, or perhaps leave the area. Imported hazmat and fire crews spoke of their difficult job of sifting through the ashes.  None however were complaining or woeful or overcome. The prevailing attitude was about how to move forward to make the best of things already irrevocably complete.

Wineries to Visit

Friday we set out to taste at any of about 100 wineries for the weekend event. My expectation of what we might encounter in such a stressful time?  What I saw was not what I expected. We pulled into Foppiano to pick up our passes, and walked into smiling faces and a beautiful tasting and sweets pairing.

Foppiano has been around since 1896 when the locals came by to fill their jugs up with table wine. Guess what. They still do! We bought a growler of their table wine to refill next trip, along with a few of their reasonably priced Estate wines. (Foppiano.com)

 

Following are notes on  interesting Wine Road visits we made to put on your list.

 

Virginia Dare:

At the old Geyser Peak Winery, now the unusual Virginia Dare, you will discover how Francis Ford Coppola remembered the story of a legendary  “Virginia Dare” from his childhood.  Virginia Dare was the first child of English descent born in America in 1587, eventually being raised by the Chief of the Croatoan Tribe after the English settlers colony disappeared. Francis bought the rights to the “Virginia Dare” name and based this winery around Native American theme with “history, mystery and legends”.  I sampled some wonderful chili from the on-site restaurant for American Native food named “WEROWOCOMOCO”. Venison chili (yum!), Bison burger on acorn bun, cedar plank salmon and pine ice cream are a few items on the menu. Oh, and their wines are really nice too! (VirginiaDareWinery.com)

LOCALS:

This is a great wine tasting bar in downtown Geyserville (the town is not that big, but great restaurants and small stores) representing ten smaller local wineries. The behind the bar persons pouring are friendly and knowledgeable. The store displays local art for sale, along with unusual clothing and other fun items.  (www.tastelocalwines.com)

Francis Ford Coppola Winery:

This meticulous and beautiful winery is a sight to behold. It is more than just a winery with two swimming pools and dressing rooms, beautiful bocce ball courts, movie memorabilia and more. Francis wished to make the facility a family experience. For the event, their food offering was wild mushroom risotto prepared with wonderful spices and of course Pinot Noir.  Chatting with the servers here, I discovered that fifteen of Coppola Winery employees lost their homes to the firestorm. This winery paid employees wages for the time the winery was closed for the firestorm. Definitely a class act. The “Director’s Cut” wines became one of my favorites. Currently the proceeds from Survivor Vintages go to fire funds. (https://www.francisfordcoppolawinery.com/)

Selby:

Susie Selby’s motto is “Enjoy wine, enjoy life”. She is the sole owner of Selby Winery founded in 1994. The tasting room is conveniently located in the heart of downtown Healdsburg. Selby Winery has provided wines as requested by the White House for events by four administrations including Clinton, Bush and Obama. Thinking it was a prank, she hung up on the first call from the White House! Letters from the White House hang on the walls of the tasting room. (SelbyWinery.com)

Roadhouse Winery:

If you like high end Pinot Noir, this could be your place.  Outside of a few other varietals, the focus here is small lot high end Pinot Noir, consistently rating high and not at table wine prices.  This team of four are a fun bunch with a record player  in the lobby and a broad selection of music from Pink Floyd to the Beatles. The tasting room is on the Healdsburg Plaza. They source all Sonoma County fruit for their wines. (https://www.roadhousewinery.com).

AFTER THE FIRESTORM:

As tragic as this firestorm was, it did not burn every tree, every house and every business to the ground. It will take years of rebuilding and reforestation efforts, but this wonderful place is a tourist area requiring business as usual to rebuild! Green grass will grow back. By spring of 2018, most tourist and winery front facing areas will look like nothing ever happened.   Plan a trip. You, and the wine country locals will be glad you did.

Kenneth Hull

UPDATE:  Two years later.  2019 picture of fruit on the vine with a burnt hill in the background.  Recovery in progress!