Sonoma 1st day

We already had a hint that Sonoma is more price effective then Napa. Well, from the 5 wineries we visited it seems true. The most expensive wine we found was about $55. Now, we haven't tried any famous ones (yet?) but it certainly confirms the expectations. On the other side the quality of the wines is also really good. We haven't run into any Cabernet Sauvignons of the Napa quality yet , but most other wines seemed a fair competitor.

So what stood out in Sonoma ?
It seems that there are a lot of 100 year old Zinfandel vines around. So nearly each winery had a Old Vine Zinfandel. We picked of course the one we liked the most by far, at the Eric Ross winery.

And what was by far our favorite ? We in fact have 3 , and all 3 happen to be Zinfandels.

Here is what I think really stood out :




The Zinfandels from Sonoma :

2008 Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley from Adobe Road winery at $35

http://www.wineoland.com/sku37209.html

And it seems on sale here. Great flavor in the nose. Great bouquet, great aromas, flavorful , no strong tannins. Red fruits... I loved it.

2007 Manzanita Creek Stealth Zinfandel from Alexander Valley $55

(this one had a lot of grape flavor in it !!)
and

2007 Manzanita Creek Carreras Old Vine Zin from Russian Valley $42

http://www.manzanitacreek.com/

Both amazing Zinfandels !! Can only recommend. However much less subtle then the Adobe Road one. They are what you expect they would be from the label on the bottle and the price. With one small exception, the Stealth one has a lot of grape flavor in it, I loved it but my wife hated it.