Wine Country!

What fun would a post about wine country and gorgeous scenery be without a picture post? Thanks to Amy for being our photographer extraordinaire. Here we go!

Day 1.  Karen picked us up from the airport and we headed to visit a couple of smaller wineries in Healdsburg.

First stop:  A Rafanelli - YUMMY Zinfandel!  Pricey, and they limit your purchase to a couple of bottles, but definitely worth the stop!


Stop 2.  Arista - a variety of Pinot Noirs, and gorgeous grounds to walk around.

We also visited Thomas George which was good, but not great.  I think I bought a Chardonnay from there.  Not normally something I go for, but it was light and crisp, a great summer wine at a good price.

That was it for Thursday - the next two days were all about the race;  rest, hydrate and EAT!

On Sunday we booked a limo to drive us around to all our wineries.  Karen and I spent a couple of days booking appointments and trying to find some off the beaten path Boutique wineries, ending with my very very very favorite place!

The girls are dressed up and out of spandex, ready for our adventure!


It's not very often the LaPan couple cleans up!


First stop, Yoakim Bridge Winery.  Again found a super yummy Zinfandel and had a HOOT talking to the winery owners.  Their story of how they met, how they came to make wine and first start selling it is worth the visit itself!

A quick visit to J Cellars for some Bubbles!  


Our next stop was Deerfield Winery.  The tastings take place in their wine caves which is pretty cool!  Unfortunately, I feel like we maybe didn't really enjoy the experience as much as we would have because we were rushed for time to get to our final place…..  Maybe next time?


Last and most certainly NOT least.  Colin Lee.   A few years ago Shane & I were doing a wine tour with a group of friends and our Limo driver took us to this amazing place.  It is still, the best experience I've ever had in the area.  I couldn't resist the opportunity of showing our friends this gem so I called Guy, the wine maker up and asked if our group of 11 could visit his winery and home.  He was incredibly welcoming asking if we had any special food restrictions, etc (as athletes) because he wanted to make something for us to have with the wine…

The visit did not disappoint.    This is Guy's lovely wife Debbie pouring our first "taste."  The 2007 Syrah.  #meltinyourmouth

As we sipped our wine Guy talked about his history, and how he became a wine maker… We all listened to his recap of being a professional triathlete in the days of Dave Scott and Mark Allen, to how he got very ill for several years and moved to wine country only several years later finally being diagnosed with Lime Disease….

You can tell when someone is really passionate about what they do because everyone thoroughly enjoys hearing the stories!


Not only did we enjoy the stories, but also the WINE!


The homemade chili! 


We spent way too long here, but just didn't want to leave!  We had to pay our driver for an extra hour +.  Totally worth it though….




After places all our orders (lots of wine bought!) we got a tour of his small cellar where all the magic takes place.  

I can NOT wait to go back!!

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