Sonoma & Napa Valley 2017
Wine country has always been special to Sabine and I having lived a number of years in Mendoza the land of Malbec. It was our 2nd visit to the area with the previous visit to Sonoma being for a St Regis Polo affair and Napa was with Mum around 2000.
On this occasion we visited the Corroons in Sonoma for the weekend – what a lovely corner of the world Sonoma is and made even better with the warm hospitality of Mary & Jim. Local cheeses to kick off the evening followed by a beautiful dinner of salmon zuchini and caprese salad washed down with a delicious Gary Farrell 2014 Pinot Noir from the Area was the perfect way to kick off the weekend. Thanks Jim for the Salmon on the Barby paper bag technique!
Saturday was golf at Sonoma Golf Club – a pintoresque layout, nice club and good vibes ! Shot a 84 which was OK for the 1st time around the Track. Dinner in Sonoma town was a delight at harvest moon cafe – Jim and Mary’s favourite – great food great service and setting. A must to note down for anyone visiting Sonoma. I had the slow cooked Bolognesa with Tavelli pasta followed by the Rib Eye au poivre a Neyers Chardonnay and Jotelli Cab Sauvignon – a fun dinner indeed with Mary & Jim which even included a celebrity sighting !! A false alarm by Mary who owes me a hundred for that huge gaffe !!!
Sunday was off to Silverado Resort in Napa a short and scenic ride from Sonoma to participate in a Charity Golf event by Craig Stadler called Wine to Water which kicked off with a Dinner at the Flora Springs winery with the catering by Chef Sam Choy – what a memorable evening we had! We even ended up with our own Ryder’s Cup event for march next year!!
The golf at the Silverado was a very special as we rubbed shoulders with many of the PGA Champions Tour including Bill Haas, Lee Janzen, Lauren Roberts, Bill Andrade, Dave Stockton, Don Polley – up to 26 Pros in what was a really enjoyable day, plenty of wine and Gourmet nibbles! Our team with Stadler himself shot a 63 way off the 55 in a 4 ball scramble.
Sabine had visited Mondavi during the day and for dinner we had a beautiful dinner at Auberge du Soleil – the perfect setting.
To wind the visit up we luckily arranged lunch with Alejandra Letier in San Jose while dinner in San Fran with our niece Moana who we had not seen for years in the Restaurant she works Alexander’s Steak House with boyfriend Justin – yet another great eating spot in San Franscico always lovely to catch up with my niece who seems to love life in the restaurant world. A great way to wind up a busy few days in SFO, Napa & Sonoma