Frommer's San Francisco 2012 - Matthew Poole [239]
Tastings of the standard-release wines are $10. Tastes including several limited-production wines or estate wines cost $20. The winery also offers several scenic picnic spots.
1883 London Ranch Rd. (off Arnold Dr., on the way to Jack London State Historic Park), Glen Ellen. 888/490-2739 or 707/935-3000. www.benziger.com. Tasting room daily 10am–5pm. Tram tours daily (weather permitting) $15 adults, $5 children, every half-hour, 11am–3:30pm (except noon).
Benziger Winery.
TOURING THE SONOMA VALLEY BY bike
Sonoma and its neighboring towns are so small, close together, and relatively flat that it’s not difficult to get around on two wheels. In fact, if you’re in no great hurry, there’s no better way to tour the Sonoma Valley than by bicycle, even though there are no great bike routes (it’s all along the road for the most part). You can rent a bike from the Goodtime Bicycle Company ★ ( 888/525-0453 or 707/938-0453; www.goodtimetouring.com). The staff will happily point you toward easy bike trails, or you can take an organized excursion to Kenwood-area wineries, south Sonoma wineries, or even northern Sonoma’s Russian River and Dry Creek areas. Goodtime also provides a gourmet lunch featuring local Sonoma products. If you purchase wine along the way, Goodtime will carry it for you and help with shipping arrangements. Lunch rides start at 10:30am and end around 3:30pm. The cost, including food and equipment, is $135 per person (that’s a darn good deal). Rentals cost $25 a day and include helmets, locks, everything else you’ll need, and delivery and pickup to and from local hotels.
Mountain bikes, helmets, and locks are also available for rent from Sonoma Valley Cyclery, 20093 Broadway, Sonoma ( 707/935-3377), for $25 to $55 a day. Hybrid bikes (better for casual wine-tasting cruisers) are $25 per day, helmet and lock included.
KENWOOD
A few miles north of Glen Ellen along Hwy. 12 is the tiny town of Kenwood, the valley’s northernmost outpost. Although Kenwood Vineyards’ wines are well known throughout the United States, the town itself consists of little more than a few restaurants, wineries, and modest homes on the wooded hillsides. The nearest lodging, the luxurious Kenwood Inn & Spa, is about a mile south of the vineyards. Kenwood makes for a pleasant half-day trip from Glen Ellen or downtown Sonoma. Take an afternoon tour of Château St. Jean (see below) and have dinner at Kenwood Restaurant.
Kunde Estate Winery Expect a friendly, unintimidating welcome at this scenic winery, run by five generations of the Kundes since 1904. One of the largest grape suppliers in the area, the Kunde family (pronounced Kun-dee) has devoted 700 acres of its 2,000-acre ranch to growing ultrapremium-quality grapes. This abundance allows them to make nothing but estate wines. (Wines made from grapes grown on the property, as opposed to also using grapes purchased from other growers.)
The giant tasting room and gift shop, located in a 17,000-square-foot winemaking facility, offers samples of six estate releases for $10 and reserve tastings for $20; bottle prices range from $15 for a Magnolia Lane sauvignon blanc to $35 for a Drummond Vineyards cabernet sauvignon; most labels are priced in the high teens. The tour of the property’s extensive wine caves includes a history of the winery. Private tours are available by appointment, but most folks are happy to just stop by to sip and sun at one of the many patio tables around a man-made pond. Animal lovers will appreciate Kunde’s preservation efforts: The property has a duck estuary with more than 50 species (which can be seen by appointment only).
9825 Sonoma Hwy., Kenwood. 707/833-5501. www.kunde.com. Tastings daily 10:30am–4:30pm. Complimentary cave tours Mon–Thurs 11am; Fri–Sun on the hour 11am