The first vineyard we visited was Charles Krug, founded in the 1860s by one of the valley's first winemakers. In St. Helena, the vineyard is rich in history, including family drama surrounding a fight between two of the Mondavi brothers, who bought the winery in the 1940s. Krug is still owned by the Mondavi family and apparently the younger generation has mended ways.
Krug is known for its old vine cabernets, which were served to us in a private wine library alongside a plate of cured meats, cheeses and housemade olives. I've never drank so much wine before noon!
After leaving Krug, we drove south on the Oakville Grade. It's a beautiful drive over the Mayacamas mountains into Sonoma. Sadly, we passed acres and acres that were burned in the October 2017 fire -- the same fire that prevented us from coming up here last fall en route to San Francisco. It's nice to see some homes are already being rebuilt after such tragic loss.
The highlight of of Valentine's Day wine tour was Hanzell Winery, a boutique vintner specializing in chardonnay and pinot noir. This gorgeous vineyard sits high in the hills above Sonoma, with awesome views all the way to San Francisco.
Hanzell uses sheep and small pigs to graze the wild mustard, barley, lentils and other plants between the rows of grape vines. Chickens follow behind the larger livestock, all of which fertilize and break up the soil. The original building that once housed the grape processing machinery and wine cellar now serves as a hospitality center.
Today, the cellar is built into the mountainside, where wines are kept cool as they age in French oak barrels. Each barrel costs about $1200-1300. As they say in the wine business, it takes a large fortune to make a small fortune.
At Hanzell, we enjoyed two vintage chardonnays and two pinot noirs while we looked out over the beautiful landscape. One bottle is coming home with us to celebrate another special occasion and remind us of this great day!
