Valley of the Moon

Yesterday was a great day! The sun came out and California finally felt like California. I went over to Sonoma in the morning and (at the suggestion of a wonderful reader) found Benziger Family Winery, where I went on a tour of the winery, learned a lot about wine and winemaking, and got to taste some incredible wine! I came to the realization that I'm a red wine kind of girl. Well, first and foremost I'm a beer kind of girl, but when it comes to wine, I like the reds. One of the wines I tasted was the 2006 "Oonapais" Sonoma Mountain Red. Stunning. It's composed of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, and 11% Petit Verdot. I ended up buying 2 bottles of it, definitely the most I've ever spent on wine (and probably any alcohol ever!), but I'm planning on saving it and letting it age for a while. Well, I got two bottles, so in case I end up drinking one in the near future, I'll still have one saved up for a special occasion in the future!

dress/modcloth :: top/thrifted :: tights/target :: shoes/kensiegirl :: necklace/the morose bee

Learning about how to actually make wine and all the work that goes into it, the nuances and the minute details that affect a wine- totally fascinating. It almost blew my mind how you can even perfect that art. I have immense respect for people who work hard to perfect their craft, and wine is one of those things that really takes an amazing amount of hard work, skill, and a lifetime of knowledge to do well. It makes me want to dedicate my life to doing something excellently. I guess I just need to find that thing that I want to do!

This was our tour guide. He was so good. I learned so much and he was incredibly friendly. They have these huge caves where they keep the wine in barrels. I love how winemaking is such an ancient art. I mean wine goes back to biblical times! It's amazing how long human beings have been making wine out of grapes. It's cool how much tradition is present in winemaking. It reminds me of the oral tradition of native american cultures, that knowledge and wisdom being passed down through the ages.