Anderson Valley...Redux

Middle of my last full week. Can't believe how fast this last month is going!
Some of the Ramey crew got together last Sunday morning and met in the Anderson Valley for some wine tasting. Another beautiful, bright, sunny day in wine country. You may recall that I made a solo trip up there last month. This time it was with fellow production crew members Sam, Steve, Dave, his wife Carrie and their two kids, Andrew and Alexandra. We made the 55 mile trek north of Healdsburg. 

We spent the better portion of the day tasting Pinots, Alsace-style whites and Sparkling wines! Several of the wineries are family friendly. Meyers Family Winery had the whole playground setup and Bocce Ball court. They have children of their own. Matt is the son of Justin Meyer - one of the Silver Oak founders.
There is a lot of beautiful country  around these parts.  We spent the afternoon tasting through a choice of 14 Navarro wines and snacking on cheese, crackers and sandwiches out on their vineyard picnic tables! They had the best prices of any winery I've visited during my 3 months here. Most were less than $25 a bottle. Navarro is small and only sells wine from the tasting room. They have been around since 1979.

Then it was Sparkling wines at the Roederer Estate. L'Ermitage 2000 from a magnum was the highlight for me, although their NV Brut is always a good tasty value.
Standish is a micro-winery in a historic fruit drying building dating back to the 1880s. Some nice Pinots here. 

We hit the Londer tasting room as the afternoon sun was hitting the downside.  Some really great small production Pinots and Chardonnays here as well. 
So, this weekend I got to do some bonding outside of Ramey with my fellow interns. Some memorable times in the vineyards and in the tasting rooms. I work with a really enjoyable group of people. 
I'll fill you in on the work week next, as we did have quite a bit to do. Getting things buttoned down before the Thanksgiving Holiday!