Alexander Valley (Geyserville & Cloverdale)
We met in the lobby to head into town, and I acted shocked at the rain coming down outside. My first thought was, what is this? Of course I hadn’t packed a jacket. Candy explained that it’s just the “Marin fog” that rolls in here in the mornings, and sure enough it pretty much stopped. Luckily Kim had packed a second light hooded rain windbreaker and let me borrow it, and it turned out to be something I needed the entire trip, so next time I’ve got to bring my own. Once it cleared we walked into town along the Foss Creek Pathway, the flat, paved trail that follows an old rail line from up near our hotel through the middle of Healdsburg down to the plaza, dotted with benches and public art. Tim and Bob had left right at 7, so they were the first group out, and Kim, Barb and I were the second group, heading in with Uncle Jim. Jay and Candy skipped the walk and stayed back at the hotel over coffee.
After a coffee visit, we said goodbye to Candy and Jim, though we’d see them again in the city later in the trip. They headed into town to eat at the French brunch place, the same one we’d end up at ourselves down the road.
Francis Ford Coppola Winery
We rolled out around eleven so we’d have time to wander the grounds at Francis Ford Coppola Winery before lunch.
If you’ve never been, it’s more of a wonderland than a tasting room, with the pools, the bocce courts, and all the movie memorabilia. Nobody in the group had been there before except me and Tim, so I got to walk everyone through the whole site: the film pieces from the Godfather and Apocalypse Now, the grounds, the works. Last time we went, the Godfather desk was out on loan, but this time it was back!
One thing has changed since our early visits. The Sonoma winery merged with Delicato Family Wines a few years back (2021), so it’s under their umbrella now, even if the Coppola name and feel are still all over the place. We used to be members ourselves but dropped it after the merger. They slowly adjusted their offerings, the penny shipping seemed to disappear, and we couldn’t get the deals we were used to. The sales associate explained that those deals had gone away for a while but are back now.
We were all taking turns grabbing wine for the fire pit later that night. I picked out two bottles of the Pitagora and talked to the sales associate about rejoining the wine club, but I decided to think it over at lunch before committing. (The Pitagora is their Syrah-backed red blend, named for the mathematician Pythagoras, or Pitagora in Italian.)
Our lunch server, Renee, was super fun. Kim and Jay did a tasting flight. Later Bob did a red wine flight, and by the end of lunch he’d signed up for the wine club himself, which meant we all got to benefit.
Renee also had me revisit the Eleanor, Francis’s tribute to his wife, and I liked it much better than I remembered. Seems my palate is changing.
Lunch was so good, fresh salads and delicious entrees.
J. Rickards
After lunch and a bit more wandering, we drove up to J. Rickards. We’ve been members here since 2017, so this one’s our personal favorite.
It’s a family operation run by Jim and Eliza Rickards, tucked up at the northern end of the Alexander Valley in Cloverdale, on what used to be called Chianti Mountain. The original Zinfandel vines on the place date back to 1908, and old-vine Zin is still their calling card. They call it darn fine barn wine. The main tasting room is a converted brown barn with a down-to-earth, no-pretense feel.
The backstory is part of why we love it. Jim bought the property as a single dad, and in the early days they lived in a tent on the land. He’s an ER nurse by training, and he taught himself the chemistry of the grapes and brought the old vines and the winery back to life. Last time we were there I even got a photo of Jim in his Lamborghini.
These days they run on appointments, different from when we first found them back in 2017. Inside tastings are available, but everyone always seems to find a place outside, so we got seated in the shade on the patio just outside the barn, looking out over the valley. It’s a dog-friendly place, and the woman who served us looked familiar. She turned out to be the same one who’d hosted us last time, now with her dog Buddy along for the afternoon. As members we worked through a lot of great pours, Bob picked up two bottles for later, and Tim grabbed his favorite, the Bettino’s Blend, their Super Tuscan-style red. This time we missed the cave and vineyard tour, since they were busy.
One thing we picked up out here: a lot of the wineries close at 4, J. Rickards included. It’s common in this part of the county, since each winery sets its tasting-room hours under its own permit.
Here’s how we scored the flight, out of five:
• Grenache: Carrie 4, Tim 3, Kim 3, Jay 2, Bob 3, Barb 3
• Pocket Zinfandel: Carrie 4, Tim 4, Kim 3, Jay 2, Bob 3, Barb 2
• Voigt Zinfandel: Carrie 4, Tim 4, Kim 4, Jay 4, Bob 4, Barb 4
• GSM: Carrie 3, Tim 5, Kim 4, Jay 3, Bob 4, Barb 4
• Syrah: Carrie 4, Tim 4, Kim 4, Jay 4, Bob 4, Barb 4
• 5 Sisters: Carrie 4, Tim 5, Kim 5, Jay 5, Bob 4, Barb 2
• Petit Syrah: Carrie 4, Kim 5, Bob 4, Barb 4
• Twilight: Kim 5, Jay 5
Order again: the 5 Sisters, Twilight, and Petit Syrah were the clear keepers, with the GSM (Tim’s favorite) and the Voigt Zinfandel right behind them. These run big and bold, so they aren’t for Barb, who likes her wines on the lighter side. I’d steer her away from the 5 Sisters and the Pocket Zin.
Dinner at The Burrow
That night we ate at The Burrow, a newer spot just off the square run by a husband-and-wife team, David and Elise Baeli. David cooked in San Francisco before they opened here, and now they do a seasonal, farm-to-table menu. Bob, Kim and I ordered the chicken piccata, which was delicious. Jay, Tim and Barb went for the scallops, which were really good but came just two to a plate, so we decided they should’ve been an appetizer. We laughed about those scallops the rest of the trip.
Afterward we walked over to Noble Folk, the ice cream and pie bar on the plaza. They’ve been making small-batch ice cream and pies by hand since 2010, with all kinds of inventive flavors, and pie à la mode is kind of their signature. I got the salted caramel and a scoop of something else I can’t remember now, probably strawberry or peach, and Tim got the strawberry peach pie à la mode.
We ended the night outside by the fire pit, and I opened one of my Pitagoras to share. We didn’t get into anyone else’s bottles. The guys didn’t last long, but the girls stayed up by the fire, enjoying that one bottle and leaving the second for another night. A good end to the day.
Happiness is Possible 